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jection). These examples of behavior are typically not seen by the teacher and commonly rely on student’s self-report to a teacher for documentation. For music education, oppor- tunities for documenting this type of aggression have gone under-researched; however, evidence of reputational or psy- chological aggression can be seen in our classrooms.


Relational aggression is the only documented form of bul- lying behavior that may be classified as either direct/overt or indirect/covert depending on the perpetrator’s intent and involves manipulating relationshipsix.


. According to Faye


Mishna, author of Bullying: A Guide to Research, Interven- tion, and Prevention, direct forms of relational aggression “… include breaking confidences or talking just loud enough or within earshot so that the targeted peer hears; indirect forms comprise behaviors such as excluding or ignoring someone” (p. 7). Although indirect/covert forms of aggres- sion are rare in elementary schools, research has shown that relational aggression has been shown to appear in as early as fourth grade. Since indirect/covert forms of relational ag- gression are difficult to measure as they can go unseen by music teachers, part of creating a safe and supportive envi- ronment for music making will be to create a culture, which is educated about these behaviors.


How do music teachers recognize bullying behaviors? Socio-cultural context, student’s age, gender, and classroom operations directly relate to the type of aggression that may be witnessed in music classrooms. Every school culture is different and a “one-size-fits-all” answer will not be useful as the success or failure of bullying prevention programs continue to prove. What can be helpful for all music teach- ers is an examination of how these behaviors manifest in a music classroom and when they may or may not appear.


How bullying behaviors appear in the music classroom.


Bullying behaviors only have an opportunity to enter the music classroom environment if the broader school com- munity and society has allowed these behaviors to persist. The principle behind this statement is that the music student learned the bullying behavior somewhere. Physical aggres- sion (hitting, pushing, shoving) and verbal (taunting and teasing) aggression may appear in the school building on a daily basis. Research evaluating positive school climate programs suggest that physical and verbal aggression ap- pear most frequently when students are not academically engaged. Specifically, before/after school, lunch/study hall times, and transition between classes. For music teachers, if music instruction is not carefully planned, transitions be- tween activities can be a time for this aggression to show up.


Motivation and intent is also something to consider when 26


recognizing bullying behaviors. What are the possible mo- tivators for students to act aggressively? Power. This power struggle in music is currently reflected in the hit American television series Glee, which highlights the fictional lives of high school musicians who endure low social status to be members of a show choir. Weekly episodes chronicle the life experiences of teens competing in and towards a first place award in multiple-tiered show choir competitions. One en- during question is “who will get the solo?” Conflict between television characters exists because an opportunity to have power is perceived by the student musicians. The process of assigning a soloist and/or first chair musicians is inherently problematic. Blinded audition processes, as modeled at the state-level, is a promising practice for our field and despite what is shown in Glee, music educators should adhere to these procedures as to not create an opportunity for physical or verbal aggression. Additionally, another popular practice is to have the ensemble membership democratically select soloists for programs and sometimes music for programs as well. My philosophy, as a way of subverting the power structure, is It’s not the chair you sit in, it’s the music that you make.


In athletic bands, music directors may grant drum majors more power in rehearsal than other musicians. Careful train- ing of these student leaders must be given and continued in an ongoing, frequent manner. Drum majors have been seen to have power over other musicians; however, the responsi- bility of drum major is meant to create a power with other musicians perspective. In order to streamline the operation of a large athletic ensemble, music directors may elect a stu- dent leadership team. This level of power given to students can have positive effects and negative consequences on a music program. By dividing power amongst multiple stu- dents, sometimes dozens, the more opportunities the mes- sage of leadership is equated to power. Leadership is not power, it is rather a calling to serve others, what ever it takes.


Indirect/covert aggression is difficult to witness by music teachers; however, we must remain diligent in conveying its unwelcome status in our classrooms. Since most evidence of indirect/covert aggression is student generated, it is recom- mended that music educators remain open to having discus- sions relating this this issue.


As adults, we may choose to engage in these forms of ag- gression and it is important to not model these in front of the students. Students mirror behavior in an attempt to find their own social identity constructionx.


. A dysfunctional student


population riddled with reports of covert aggression may be symptomatic of a larger issue with faculty and staff. As mu- sic teachers, we mostly have an opportunity to teach more students than the average classroom teacher and therefore


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