As a culturally responsive, relevant, and ABAR teacher, my praxis is always evolving. One of my goals is to guide my students through the discovery of their cultural identity. This guided process is aligned with two of the SEL Standards of Self-Awareness and Social Awareness, as well as our 2014 Musical Standard of Connecting. I find that some of my students mistakenly suggest that "they do not have a culture." This misconception is grounded on what they consider to be culture. To them, culture is the colorful dresses, the beautiful songs, energetic dances, the yummy foods, and interesting celebrations to name a few. This is what we know as Surface Culture. But culture is much more than that. As I approach the "what to teach," o ne of the challenges that I typically encounter, is how limiting the musical curriculums available to us can be. To address this, I am always asking questions and consulting cultural bearers, community stakeholders, and student family memb
Valentine’s day is approaching, and like many educators, I like to take advantage of the excitement my students feel about some celebrations and holidays, which allows me to practice essential musical skills, tailored to also acknowledge the occasion, in a fun and engaging way. In the past, I used to reinforce singing and listening using contrasting dynamics such as piano and forte by playing a game of hide and seek with my students. For this game of listening, singing, and seeking, I used the song “ Lucy Locket. ” After learning about the obscure past and the adult theme content of this song, thanks to the Song with a Questionable Past document compiled by Lauren McDougle, I quickly realized that I can no longer use this song in the classroom. I strive to correct course content as I learn new information that can impact my students negatively; simply trying my best to do better. Last year, my students asked to play the game and I explained that the history behind the song was inappro