Mr. William Hart is the PA Distance music teacher for grades 8-12. While high school music courses are electives at PA Distance, Mr. Hart strives to provide a variety of course options that educate students about the wonderful world of music.
Mr. Hart is in his 11th year of teaching and, as a newer member of the school family, has just begun his second year at PA Distance. After earning a Bachelor of Education Degree in Music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Mr. Hart went on to teach for three years until deciding to return to school, at Bloomsburg University, for his Master’s in Education for Special Education. He is state certified in Music K-12 and Special Education PK-8.
“A few of my family members are teachers,” he said. “So that played a part in why I wanted to be a teacher.”
“I also had some really great teachers growing up, including my orchestra teacher, and I saw how revolutionary helping kids transform into who they want to be,” he explained. “I thought, I want to do that. That’s what teaching is about for me.”
At PA Distance, Mr. Hart teaches three high school classes: Class Procussion, Music Appreciation and Electronic Music. He also assists Elementary Music Teacher, Mrs. Carpenter, with her 5th-grade and 8th-grade music classes.
Mr. Hart grew up playing the trombone and piano and makes time out to play and practice his skills on various instruments he has collected throughout his life - from electric keyboards to a clarinet. He uses some of his personal instruments to explain and demonstrate concepts to his students in his live classes, like Class Percussion.
“Class Percussion is a performance-based class with the goal of giving students a base understanding of the fundamentals of percussion instruments, and how to become a performer,” he explained.
To supplement Mr. Hart’s Class Percussion lessons, PA Distance mail each student a drum pad and a pair of drumsticks at no cost to the students and their families.
“Students play using these instruments and record themselves on their Chromebooks using a program called Smart Music,” he explained. “It is specifically built for recording performances and transferring them to a gradebook so I can assess, give them feedback, and further their understandings of percussion.”
His Electronic Music class is a little different as it focuses on the sounds and haptics that are created using technology, on a computer or electronic keyboard, for example.
“I love teaching Electronic Music and the primary goal is to show the methodology and capabilities of using computer-based technologies to produce music,” he said. “We show them what an electronic workstation, like Garageband, can do and how they can use it to create their own music. It’s a lot of fun.”
Lastly, is his Music Appreciation course, that highlights the various dimensions of the music world - from analyzing genres to music history and everything in between.
“Music Appreciation is a history-based course in eDynamics. Students learn about the different music genres and how that they have evolved throughout the years,” he explained.
Each of Mr. Hart’s classes utilize online programs that make learning music easier and more interactive. Along with the remote capabilities, these programs have other benefits, too.
“The great part is that if our students graduate, they can continue using the online programs that we used in class. They also get to keep the drumsticks and drum pad, too,” he said. “So if a student is really interested in music, they have those resources at their disposal.”
“Music is such an expressive element that everyone has at their fingertips,” he said. “Even if my students don’t play an instrument, they can find and appreciate music everywhere."
“I’m looking for my students to strive for perfection. In the long run though, I just want my students to have fun with my class and lessons. It’s all about improvement and having fun,” he added.