Culturally Responsive Music classroom

  This week we welcome the celebration and acknowledgment of our Latinx communities even though the proclamation made by our government is a missed opportunity for true inclusion and representation.  "In recognition of the achievements of Hispanics, the Congress, by Public Law 100-402, as amended, has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month.”"  A Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month,   2021 As you can read above, the language used in the proclamation made by the White House, suggests that we should celebrate the contributions made by the Hispanic community in the United States. But, because they chose to use the word Hispanics instead of Latinx, they are excluding many communities whose heritage does not includes the Spanish language, even though many of these diasporas descend from countries geographically located in Latin America. Countries and territ

As a culturally responsive, relevant, and ABAR (Anti-Biased Anti-Racist) 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 the two SEL Standards of Self-Awareness and Social Awareness, as well as our 2014 Musical Standard of Connecting specifically.  I find that some of my students mistakenly suggest that they “do not have a culture." This misconception is due to their limited view of what culture entails. To them, culture is colorful dresses, beautiful songs, energetic dances, yummy foods, and interesting celebrations. However, this is what we consider to be Surface Culture. As I consider implementing culturally responsive strategies in my teaching, one 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 s

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

Hi all, I have been away from this space for a while. 2021 was absolutely crazy.  2022 brings hopes of getting back to the things that I enjoy most. Writing about my experiences in the music classroom is one of them.  I would like to start the year by sharing with you some of the strategies and activities that worked for me in the classroom to promote students' agency.  At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, I made it my goal to focus on creating a space for my students where they could explore their identities. Our mantra is, "every day is a new beginning and I get to choose to show who I am." I asked them "How do you want to be seen?"  Whether we are listening or making music, navigating how to play various instruments, getting into ensembles, or composing a song, our identities are bound to come out at every step of each activity.  With all the trauma we have endured the past two years, I must create trauma-informed lesson plans that purposefully embed so