Stephanie G. Mathis In the context of high school music education, images and sounds are usually associated with bands, choirs, and orchestras. General music classes in elementary schools are seen as places where students sing, dance, and play instruments like the recorder.
These experiences are rooted either in a Western view of music, which places Western classical music at the top of the musical spectrum, or in European methods of teaching music.
My research revealed that relying on a general music teaching method in a classroom with a majority of Mexican-born students created a bias against their culture and a feeling of isolation among the students. This bias was a result of the teacher’s beliefs, which created an atmosphere that didn’t support the integration cultural, linguistic, and popular music experiences.
The findings of Regina Carlow were also supported. She found that students who did not have their cultural identity respected or acknowledged in a choir setting at a high-school developed a feeling of isolation.
It can create an unjust learning environment.
Teachers are not diverse
Why don’t we engage our students in musical practices rooted in the cultural and musical background of their classrooms? You can find the answer in American music education traditions.
Researchers in music education Carlos Abril, Kenneth Elpus discovered that 65.7 percent (of students) were whites and of middle-class background. Only 15.2 percent (15.2%) were blacks and 10.2 were Hispanics. These statistics show that white students dominate high school ensembles. Only 9.6 percent were composed of students for whom English wasn’t their first language.
Teachers are mostly white and middle class. Andy Bullock, CC BY
Elpus also found that 86.02 per cent of the music teachers who entered the profession were white, middle-class people.
The process of becoming an educator is also rooted in Western classical tradition. The National Association of Schools of Music does require a classical performance, but it is not required by the.
According to my experience as a professor of music education, in order to become a music teacher, you must first pass an audition for Western classical music with an orchestral or vocal instrument, or a classical guitar, even though there is no explicit school requirement.
This is why music education programs reflect primarily Western European classical music and create an endless cycle.
Understanding music is the first step.
Music curriculum is a great place to begin culturally responsive education. Music is a universal experience and crosses all cultures.
Education researcher Geneva Gay explains culturally responsive teaching , as a practice which supports learning about and through other cultures.
Included are cultural values, traditional practices, communication, styles of learning, contributions, and the way people interact. This does not mean that you have to spend a month or a week studying folk music from Mexico. It’s about creating a curriculum to allow students to explore, discuss, and perform music that is culturally and societally relevant.
Teachers can achieve this by combining different musical genres and styles. You could, for example, learn to sing ” The Frog Went A Courtin’,” based on the American version, and then compare it with the Flat Duo Jets rock version.
Chee-Hoo Lum, a researcher in music education, recommends that teachers begin by examining the cultural and musical backgrounds of their students to help them better understand and interact musically with different experiences.
In a classroom, the cultural contributions and values of different musicians and genres are a great way to learn and explore the “other”. The chance to sing, listen and play music from other cultures can create a global perspective and understanding.
