Culturally Responsive Music classroom

Unity and healing are the buzzwords of the moment. Like many Americans, I was inspired watching the inauguration ceremony. The words of the brilliant young poet Amanda Gorman filled my heart with so much hope. The diversity at the event was a much-improved sight. Purple, my favorite color, was worn by many of our leaders with the intent to visually represent a desire to communicate a message of unity. But what is this unity that I keep hearing about? What does it entail? After George Floyd and what seems never-ending events of police brutality and tumultuous protests, many have been awakened to the deep neglect and injustice suffered by our underrepresented and marginalized communities. Many have been compelled to learn and study the racial tensions that exist in our society. We are now learning about violent historical events that are often omitted from our history books. Music educators in particular are also realizing how pervasive is the use of songs with a dark historical backgrou...

The current challenges of our society are forcing us, in a good way, to reflect on our teaching philosophy and practices. We are asked to revise our curriculum and our own intercultural competence in order to foster a more culturally responsive classroom. Here is an essential question: How do I become an Anti-Racist teacher? Here is a great definition: Anti-Racist Pedagogy: 1.“It is a pedagogy that is grounded in deep self-interrogation of your role in upholding White Supremacy and internalizations that come from being socialized in a racist society. It evaluates areas of racist thought that result in behaviors that cause students to have to navigate, suppress, and ignore moments or environments where racism is apparent. 2.It is a pedagogy that is undergirded by efforts outside of the classroom that focuses on antiracist engagement. It focuses on changing “policy instead of groups of people.” A Pedagogy for Living by Jason A Dungee. Choral Journal Volume 61 Number 4, 2020 Being more in...