Monica Shelly
EC Music Teacher
At WES Since: 2022
What is one of your goals as a teacher?
My goal as a teacher is to instill a lifelong love of learning and experiencing music! In every music class, we will sing, play, say, and move!
What is your philosophy on teaching?
I believe that music is a vehicle that drives children to learn social emotional skills. Everyone loves music and learning music is important in helping children during their formative years. An important part of my philosophy and approach to music learning: I strongly believe in and use the Orff Schulwerk approach to music education which is child-centered. It treats music as a system like language whereas every child experiences music learning through singing, playing instruments, improvisation, and movement before labeling it in a formal and developmentally appropriate way.
Bio:
Growing up, I quickly grew a love for music—so much love I became a flutist! I also enjoyed the company of children, and eventually thought that it would be a fun experience to combine these two loves which led me to pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education from the University of Tampa and the University of Miami. During that time, I participated in a research project that studied the benefits of music on children from birth to age 5. Through this, I discovered my true passion for early childhood music and the importance that music has on children during their formative years. When I’m not working I love spending time with my family and being a mother to my two children!
