describe the cultural facilitator as one who determines a contextual “appropriateness” with the community as a result of discussions on a range of topics. The cultural facilitator avoids preconceptions and value judgments while considering the impact and importance of social contexts. The teacher acting as a facilitator “changes the role of the teacher to guide, coach, and advisor” and “encourages student ownership and empowerment” (Elam & Duckenfield, 2000, p. 8). Adopting the role of cultural


facilitator was not possible until I recognized and addressed the separation I had made between my personal musicianship and my teaching. When I realized that I was living and teaching drastically different musical values, I questioned which set of values were most appropriate for the general music class that I was teaching. I wondered if I should be teaching the conservatory music values I had learned as an undergraduate or the popular music values I had learned playing in garage bands. The answer was, “Neither.” Teaching any set of predetermined values to students would inherently limit their musical experiences. Instead of teaching either set of cultural values that I had adopted, I instead focused on allowing students to develop their own values through musical experiences. I continued to employ lead sheets


and excerpts from the Riff Notes books for skill introduction in music class, but the class eventually shifted into small group arranging and composing projects for which students formed bands and acquired whatever skills they needed to accomplish self- and group-determined goals. Through creating, performing, and recording music that belonged to them, students’ motivation increased and their ability to acquire and improve their musical skills amplified tremendously. In this student-centered environment, where students impacted not only isolated activities but the curriculum itself, students created meaning by navigating and negotiating their own musical beliefs and values. This navigation and negotiation of values allowed culture to serve not merely as an outcome of student learning (“becoming cultured”), but as both the setting in which learning occurred and the means


by which understanding and meaning were created.


CONCLUSION Examining the roles of culture


bearer, cultural broker, and cultural facilitator in the music classroom introduces some important considerations. If the music teacher acts only as a culture bearer, students simply acquire culture in the music classroom in a one-way dissemination of predetermined beliefs and values. Those same predetermined beliefs and values can be translated and transmitted to students in an effort to create understanding with the teacher and students acting as cultural brokers; however, while the role of cultural broker is an improvement over the one- dimensional role of the culture bearer, static beliefs and values inherently limit the empowerment of students and the authentic creation of culture in the classroom. The role of cultural facilitator requires the teacher to embrace the flexible, contextual nature of musical beliefs and values allowing students to navigate and negotiate these values through musical activities. These roles need not exist exclusively from one another. Learners and teachers alike may act as cultural brokers, making sense of the classroom culture through their preserved musical culture outside of school, while the teacher acts as a cultural facilitator, encouraging the navigation and negotiation of musical beliefs and values in the classroom. Considering these roles calls for


critical questions for music teachers and music teacher educators. Are music teachers responsible for passing down a specific set of musical values to their students? Do activities in the music classroom promote the acquisition of skills, the development of conceptual understanding, or promote creative and critical musical thinking? In postsecondary music education programs, how do admissions processes and course offerings affect the diversity of musical beliefs and values presented? Do music teacher educators encourage pre-service teachers’ necessary critical questioning to promote the role of cultural facilitator in the music classroom, or do they perpetuate static views of musical beliefs and values? As


tricky as the definition of culture may be, challenging the music teacher’s role within classroom culture can be even trickier. Empowering students to navigate and negotiate musical beliefs and values (instead of acquiring a predetermined culture) requires the evolution of the teacher’s role away from the culture bearer toward the cultural facilitator. This evolution possesses the potential for more satisfying and empowering musical experiences for both students and teachers, as both may play active roles in not only acquiring musical culture but also defining it.


REFERENCES Elam, K. G., & Duckenfield, M. (2000). Creating a community of learners: Using the teacher as facilitator model. Clemson, SC: National Dropout Prevention Center.


Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. London: Ashgate Publishing.


Hodge, P., & Lester, J. (2006). Indigenous research: Whose priority? Journeys and possibilities of cross-cultural research in geography. Geographical Research, 44(1), 41-51.


Morrison, S. J. (2001). The school ensemble: A culture of our own. Music Educators Journal, 88(2), 24-28.


Saville-Troike, M. National Institute of Education, Office of Bilingual Education. (1978). A guide to culture in the classroom. Arlington, VA: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.


Weiss, M. S. (1994). Marginality, cultural brokerage, and school aides: A success story in education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 25(3), 336-346.


Woody, R. H. (2007). Popular music in school: Remixing the issues. Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 32-37.


Adam Kruse is a music education doctoral student at Michigan State University. Prior to his current studies, Adam taught instrumental and


general music in southern and central Indiana for seven years.


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