For the inquiry project I will be working with Pat Sutor. We have decided on an overall focus for the project. Pat and I are both in the MAT program for music education. Our inquiry project will focus on music education. We are specifically interested in the impact that a greater emphasis on popular music can have on student interest in school music programs. There has been much research done regarding the importance of arts education for students. We are not interested in contributing to this research but exploring how to better increase student interest in arts education. Our hope is to conduct a small case study at East Side High School in Newark. East Side High offers us an interesting example because of two factors. One, the school system does not offer instrumental music until students reach the high school level. And two, the music teacher Aril Ocasio, regularly uses popular music as an educational tool. The fact that instrumental music is not offered prior to students reaching the high school is significant because it creates great pressure for Mr. Ocasio to recruit students and to maintain student interest in the various ensembles within the music program. It seems that part of his success may be attributed to his introducing popular music into the performance repertoire of the ensembles.
We are planning on interviewing Mr. Ocasio as well as a sample of students from his classes. Although Pat and I have settled on a general topic we have yet to decide on specific things such as the interview questions. We will most likely have different ideas about the questions in this blog. I feel that this is a good opportunity to see where each of us is headed with the topic and gives us the opportunity to use any discrepancies that might arise to further focus our topic. Some possible questions I am considering asking Mr. Ocasio are:
What are some of the challenges you face as a music educator in an urban school?
Why do you regularly arrange popular music songs for your ensembles? / What is your motivation for doing this?
In your opinion does the knowledge that a student will get to perform music that they listen to regularly have an impact on their desire to be part of an ensemble?
In your opinion was popular music a genre, or style of music that was emphasized in your training as a music educator? If yes, why do you think it was? If no, why do you think that it wasn’t?
Are you a fan of popular music? What do you listen to?
Some potential questions for the students include:
What is you favorite type of music?
What is your favorite artist/band?
How often do you listen to music? When is your favorite time to listen to music?
What is your favorite piece of music that you have performed in school? Why do you think you liked it so much?
Why did you decide to join the school music program?
Did you know that you would get to play songs such as _________ (popular music piece performed in the past, or maybe the piece the student cited as their favorite if they stated a popular piece) when you joined? If you did know, did that influence your decision to join?
This is clearly far from a finished project, but it offers a jumping off point from which the investigation can be focused. I am examining this through the lens that arts education in very important in the lives of students and that it is our job as educators to find a way to motivate students to participate in the arts. The example of East Side High School can offer some good insights into the usefulness of studying popular music to increase interest as well as a means to exploring the importance of popular music in the lives of the students.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Fiese, J.K. & Decarbo, N.J. (1995). Urban Music Education the Teachers’ Perspective. Music Educators Journal, 81(6), 27-31. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from JSTOR database.
This article focuses on the responses of twenty successful music teachers to four open-ended questions about their experiences and backgrounds in teaching music in an urban setting. Many of the answers were similar in addressing the challenges of teaching in an urban setting.
The first question dealt with how the teachers viewed their undergraduate/graduate courses in preparing them for teaching in an urban environment. According to the authors, “The majority of the respondents felt woefully unprepared to teach in the urban setting”. Many felt that their training prepared them to deal with the “ideal” student and missed the complexities of handling the issues of students from differing social and economic backgrounds.
The second question asked the teachers to offer examples of one or two techniques or approaches that they have utilized and have found to be particularly effective. There was a range of responses, but some of the overlying themes touched on the importance of experience and ultimately experimentation to find what works the best. Also, it was pointed out that having the respect of the students and control over the learning environment is paramount in achieving any level of success.
The third question asked, what factors the teachers felt contributed most to their personal success. “Several teachers identified various support networks of teachers, supervisors, mentors, and others that helped them meet their goals.” Others cited their continued educational studies through, professional clinics and conferences.
The final question asked if the teachers might offer some observations for improving music education in urban schools. Some of the responses pointed out the need for programs that addresses the needs of low-income students being created and integrated within the curriculum. Also it is suggested, “ Having all of the constituencies involved in dialogue, rather than parallel monologues, for the advancement of the students’ music education is perhaps one of the central features of successful urban school music programs”
Overall this article offers an insightful glimpse into the realties of music education in urban schools. It offers input directly from teachers involved in the action of teaching music everyday, and achieving successes in doing it.
This article focuses on the responses of twenty successful music teachers to four open-ended questions about their experiences and backgrounds in teaching music in an urban setting. Many of the answers were similar in addressing the challenges of teaching in an urban setting.
The first question dealt with how the teachers viewed their undergraduate/graduate courses in preparing them for teaching in an urban environment. According to the authors, “The majority of the respondents felt woefully unprepared to teach in the urban setting”. Many felt that their training prepared them to deal with the “ideal” student and missed the complexities of handling the issues of students from differing social and economic backgrounds.
The second question asked the teachers to offer examples of one or two techniques or approaches that they have utilized and have found to be particularly effective. There was a range of responses, but some of the overlying themes touched on the importance of experience and ultimately experimentation to find what works the best. Also, it was pointed out that having the respect of the students and control over the learning environment is paramount in achieving any level of success.
The third question asked, what factors the teachers felt contributed most to their personal success. “Several teachers identified various support networks of teachers, supervisors, mentors, and others that helped them meet their goals.” Others cited their continued educational studies through, professional clinics and conferences.
The final question asked if the teachers might offer some observations for improving music education in urban schools. Some of the responses pointed out the need for programs that addresses the needs of low-income students being created and integrated within the curriculum. Also it is suggested, “ Having all of the constituencies involved in dialogue, rather than parallel monologues, for the advancement of the students’ music education is perhaps one of the central features of successful urban school music programs”
Overall this article offers an insightful glimpse into the realties of music education in urban schools. It offers input directly from teachers involved in the action of teaching music everyday, and achieving successes in doing it.
Cultural Identity
Culture is of great significance when approaching an understanding of learning. It is through culture that we formulate our identities as individuals as well as members of society. More often than not it is through the lens of our culture that we view the world. Ultimately, culture creates for us, a series of expectations regarding all aspects of our lives. This is very significant in evaluating the way that students learn and will learn. When we analyze this further we see that we might gain the ability to account for some of the shortcomings of our educational system as well as foresee potential problems that could arise. Therefore, exploring this idea of cultural and the role that it plays in education, serves to aid a host of players within the educational arena including, students, parents, teachers, and administrators. As a future educator it is quite clear that there is a lot to gain in exploring this idea further. In this entry I would like to explore initially exactly what culture is. We can explore some of the main factors that shape it. After we have looked at what shapes culture we can explore the impact that culture has on a persons views regarding, race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion. From there we can examine the impact that my culture has had on me as a learner and how this can be applied to others. Finally we can look more deeply at the role of cultural in the classroom. We can look at how culture creates expectations between students and teachers and how problems can arise when those expectations are not met.
What is culture? Culture is comprised a many factors that make up our identity. A big factor is ethnicity. Every group of people has their own set of traditions. Also religion plays a big part, many of the values that a group has can be a product of their religious beliefs. Regarding religion, we are mostly talking about moral values, Though shall not kill, etc., We can also include the values a culture might have concerning things such as motivation or life goals, in other words what the cultural view is regarding purpose in life, what pursuits are worthy ones and what pursuits are not worthy ones. Regarding urban education, we have seen the problem where education is at conflict with cultural dismissal of the importance of education from both family and peers.
An important aspect of culture is that it encompasses not only what makes us who we are but also how we will view others. Ultimately because of the values and traditions that exist, expectations are created concerning aspects of the world. In certain cultures women are viewed as being inferior to men. It is therefore expected, that women will not pursue things such as education. An idea such as this viewed from an American cultural perspective seems absurd. This isn’t to say that there is no gender bias here within U.S., there is still some progress to be made, however I think most people agree that women are just as capable as men, more so if you count the whole multitasking thing. Culture has a big impact on shaping our identities, both individually and collectively. We decide who we are and where we belong with in society. If we look at the example of a culture that regards women as inferior it is easy to see how this could have the effect of causing a women within the culture to underestimate her abilities. Also In this instance the women’s culture has dictated to her, her place within society. She has been allocated to being below the status afforded to men. Gender is not the only thing affected when viewed through the cultural lens; we also see how it impacts the views of race, class, religion, and sexuality. Religion plays a big role in dictating what is “appropriate” regarding sexuality. Religions such as Catholicism, which was how I was raised, state that homosexuality is a sin against God and wrong. I personally do not feel this way about homosexuality. We might consider an instance where we have a wonderfully effective teacher who connects to his or her students, keeps them motivated, engaged, etc., but is a devote Catholic and views homosexuality as wrong. What happens when this teacher has a homosexual student? This is a tricky problem and it raises the notation, can anyone ever really be neutral with regards to others? This is an important question for an educator who is most likely going to encounter views and opinions that differ from their own. The answer is probably not. Culture is powerful and it is through it that we see the world, however people have the ability to change their views. One step to dealing with this dilemma is at least being aware of it and trying to be conscious to what our own cultural views are.
My upbringing and cultural identity is one in which education is extremely important. I was always expected to perform very well in school. I’m still expected to perform well. For me the expectation was such that there was never a question about finishing high school and going to college. My grandparents did, my parents, did, and I was going to as well. I went to Catholic school through 5th grade. In 6th grade I went to public middle school. When I got to the public school I rebelled a lot, which I credit to the stifling strictness of the catholic school. I started smoking cigarettes, and I tried drinking and smoking pot. I did all the things I wasn’t supposed to do. Interestingly though, for me the importance of school as I stated was drilled into me. Therefore, despite my rebelling I never stopped doing what I needed to do in school. I always received very high grades because that was how it was supposed to be in my mind. The pressure of the importance of school was so great that I couldn’t escape it, so much so that I never even thought about not doing well in school as an option. When we look at the instance where a student has cultural pressure to not do well in school I can understand how significant the challenge is to go against the strength of that cultural pressure.
The last idea we can look it at is the role of culture in the classroom. We can elaborate of the idea of culture creating expectations. Within the classroom culture creates expectations for the students of the teacher as well as expectations for the teacher of the students. We find the potential for problems when these expectations are not met. An example that we saw in class is one in which a student in an urban school does not know what a yacht is. There is a level of expectation that everyone knows that that is a boat, but a student who grew up poor, within an urban environment may have no idea because they have never seen one or even heard of one. An obvious expectation for students is that they speak English. What about an immigrant child who has just come to the U.S.? They will not be able to meet this expectation. Another example regarding language is the expectation that the student’s parents can speak English. What happens when they cannot understand the important documents that are sent home regarding the child? Further still, what if the parent speaks English but can’t read? With all these examples we see how there are expectations that are created within the school environment and how easily problems arise when the expectations are not met.
After exploring all of the notions we see how important culture in creating a person’s identity both individually and collectively as a member of society. Culture dictates that rules, beliefs, and values, serving as a lens through which a person views the world he or she lives in. Culture also serves to create expectations regarding the person themselves as well as expectations of others both within and outside of a particular culture. This fundamental component of a person’s existence is crucial concerning education, especially with regards to understanding the pressures and needs a student will have to be successful in their learning. As a future educator I can take this knowledge and use it as a tool to prevent the problems that arise when expectations are not met, blurred, or missed between my students and myself.
What is culture? Culture is comprised a many factors that make up our identity. A big factor is ethnicity. Every group of people has their own set of traditions. Also religion plays a big part, many of the values that a group has can be a product of their religious beliefs. Regarding religion, we are mostly talking about moral values, Though shall not kill, etc., We can also include the values a culture might have concerning things such as motivation or life goals, in other words what the cultural view is regarding purpose in life, what pursuits are worthy ones and what pursuits are not worthy ones. Regarding urban education, we have seen the problem where education is at conflict with cultural dismissal of the importance of education from both family and peers.
An important aspect of culture is that it encompasses not only what makes us who we are but also how we will view others. Ultimately because of the values and traditions that exist, expectations are created concerning aspects of the world. In certain cultures women are viewed as being inferior to men. It is therefore expected, that women will not pursue things such as education. An idea such as this viewed from an American cultural perspective seems absurd. This isn’t to say that there is no gender bias here within U.S., there is still some progress to be made, however I think most people agree that women are just as capable as men, more so if you count the whole multitasking thing. Culture has a big impact on shaping our identities, both individually and collectively. We decide who we are and where we belong with in society. If we look at the example of a culture that regards women as inferior it is easy to see how this could have the effect of causing a women within the culture to underestimate her abilities. Also In this instance the women’s culture has dictated to her, her place within society. She has been allocated to being below the status afforded to men. Gender is not the only thing affected when viewed through the cultural lens; we also see how it impacts the views of race, class, religion, and sexuality. Religion plays a big role in dictating what is “appropriate” regarding sexuality. Religions such as Catholicism, which was how I was raised, state that homosexuality is a sin against God and wrong. I personally do not feel this way about homosexuality. We might consider an instance where we have a wonderfully effective teacher who connects to his or her students, keeps them motivated, engaged, etc., but is a devote Catholic and views homosexuality as wrong. What happens when this teacher has a homosexual student? This is a tricky problem and it raises the notation, can anyone ever really be neutral with regards to others? This is an important question for an educator who is most likely going to encounter views and opinions that differ from their own. The answer is probably not. Culture is powerful and it is through it that we see the world, however people have the ability to change their views. One step to dealing with this dilemma is at least being aware of it and trying to be conscious to what our own cultural views are.
My upbringing and cultural identity is one in which education is extremely important. I was always expected to perform very well in school. I’m still expected to perform well. For me the expectation was such that there was never a question about finishing high school and going to college. My grandparents did, my parents, did, and I was going to as well. I went to Catholic school through 5th grade. In 6th grade I went to public middle school. When I got to the public school I rebelled a lot, which I credit to the stifling strictness of the catholic school. I started smoking cigarettes, and I tried drinking and smoking pot. I did all the things I wasn’t supposed to do. Interestingly though, for me the importance of school as I stated was drilled into me. Therefore, despite my rebelling I never stopped doing what I needed to do in school. I always received very high grades because that was how it was supposed to be in my mind. The pressure of the importance of school was so great that I couldn’t escape it, so much so that I never even thought about not doing well in school as an option. When we look at the instance where a student has cultural pressure to not do well in school I can understand how significant the challenge is to go against the strength of that cultural pressure.
The last idea we can look it at is the role of culture in the classroom. We can elaborate of the idea of culture creating expectations. Within the classroom culture creates expectations for the students of the teacher as well as expectations for the teacher of the students. We find the potential for problems when these expectations are not met. An example that we saw in class is one in which a student in an urban school does not know what a yacht is. There is a level of expectation that everyone knows that that is a boat, but a student who grew up poor, within an urban environment may have no idea because they have never seen one or even heard of one. An obvious expectation for students is that they speak English. What about an immigrant child who has just come to the U.S.? They will not be able to meet this expectation. Another example regarding language is the expectation that the student’s parents can speak English. What happens when they cannot understand the important documents that are sent home regarding the child? Further still, what if the parent speaks English but can’t read? With all these examples we see how there are expectations that are created within the school environment and how easily problems arise when the expectations are not met.
After exploring all of the notions we see how important culture in creating a person’s identity both individually and collectively as a member of society. Culture dictates that rules, beliefs, and values, serving as a lens through which a person views the world he or she lives in. Culture also serves to create expectations regarding the person themselves as well as expectations of others both within and outside of a particular culture. This fundamental component of a person’s existence is crucial concerning education, especially with regards to understanding the pressures and needs a student will have to be successful in their learning. As a future educator I can take this knowledge and use it as a tool to prevent the problems that arise when expectations are not met, blurred, or missed between my students and myself.
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