Guest Feature


Embracing Human Differences in Music Education: Suggestions for


Honoring Diversity in Music Classrooms by NAfME Members Mara E. Culp and Karen Salvador


C


hildren occupy intersectional identities comprised of (dis)ability, ethnicity,


race, gender, home language, religion, sexual orientation, and social class, among others. Therefore, music educators have a responsibility to create environments that value and challenge all students by providing relevant, inclusive, and responsive experiences for diverse learners. Here, we provide suggestions for honoring the diversity represented in today’s schools. We hope to empower stakeholders, such as music teachers, students, parents, and administrators, to examine current practices and begin or expand conversations about inclusive and responsive practices.


Avoid Assumptions and Overcome


Biases It is natural to have biases and make related assumptions about the world. Biases and their related assumptions are a result of cognitive efficiency. For example, upon entering a room and with a pile of shoes near the door, you may assume you should also remove your shoes. Unfortunately, we also have biases and can form assumptions about human difference. Becoming conscious of biases allows us to acknowledge the child’s reality and work to create a supportive learning environment.


To recognize and overcome biases and related assumptions: • Reflect on times people made assumptions about you based on their perceptions of your identities. Drawing on this experience could be a helpful way to empathize with others and seek to understand rather than act on assumptions.


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• Learn about your biases by taking


Implicit characteristics. Association


Tests. Recognizing your implicit associations can be one step toward overcoming biases.


To get to know students and families: • Allow students to self-identify in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, etc. Do not assume you know such information on the basis of appearance, and talk with the student about needs and preferences. • Some students may feel comfortable speaking about their experiences and individual identities, while others may be more reserved. Students may be more or less reserved during activities such as teaching classmates lyrics in Spanish, providing sign language interpretation, and/or talking about home culture or home


• Consider your responses to children with identities that are different from your own. For example, when working with children with disabilities, a teacher’s fear, discomfort, and/or pity can result in ignoring or sidelining the student.


Know Students as Individuals Getting to know students as individuals can also help avoid assumptions and overcome biases. Our brains naturally group “like” items to make cognition more efficient, especially when we lack substantial knowledge or experience in a given area. Building personal relationships, particularly with students whose backgrounds differ from yours, can help remove previously held assumptions by providing more in-depth knowledge and context about the student. Such information will also lessen the likelihood you would apply the same assumptions to the next individual with similar


music.


• Make positive phone calls home. Phone calls home are often associated with a negative interaction, however calling home to report a success to a family can also provide an opportunity to build relationships and learn more about the child.


• Go to events in the school’s neighborhood and community. Attending local events will provide opportunities to meet and interact with families outside of the school environment and provide additional insight into familial dynamics and how the child fits into the family structure (e.g., birth order, child’s role in caring for younger siblings).


• Use student-preferred music. To understand musical preferences, use an assignment such as a “playlist of my life,” make time for open discussion in class, and listen attentively.


Continued on Page 53 Wyoming Windsong


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