feature Continued from page 39
• Partner with teacher education programs – they (we) are also interested in increasing the diversity of the music teacher workforce, and working toward inclusion, equity and justice in music education.
• Recruit students from a variety of backgrounds to become music teachers, and recruit teachers from a variety of backgrounds (and who teach in a variety of places) to be on your MEA’s board(s) and committees.
Closing
Many teachers find the above arguments for inclusion, equity and justice in music education convincing, but nevertheless do not make changes in their practices. The reasons I hear essentially amount to this is outside of my comfort zone. Teachers say:
• I am teaching the things I know, in the best ways that I know how to teach.
• I am terrified that I will do or say the wrong thing, and someone will be upset.
• I am afraid of poor scores at festi- val or on my teacher evaluations if I change my practices, especially when I am on a learning curve to- ward something I have never tried.
Each of these are understandable, but not sufficient reasons to continue our erasure of “other” music and “other people’s children” (see Delpit, 2006). We must ac- knowledge and value human differences, if not because it matches our country’s ideals about liberty and justice, then because research and experience indicate that social identities affect the educational experiences of our students. Teaching – especially teaching music – is an act of vulnerability.
Music is personal; it is a part of who we are, and it is a part of who our students are. We teach in an subject area that is
Wisconsin School Musician 41
integrated into the human psyche, a sub- ject area that is a rich and vibrant reflec- tion of our humanness (Lind & McCoy, 2016, p. 131).
Therefore, as you head back to your class- room, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Remember that inclusion, equity and justice are processes. Just as our stu- dents make incremental progress toward their music learning goals, we can make progress toward being more responsive to student needs. We are only truly stuck if we never begin.
Notes:
1. Black students may not be on this list because the study was of schools with music programs; school segregation means that Black students are dispro- portionately served in schools that may not offer music (Orfield, Kuscera, & Siegel-Hawley, 2012; Salvador & Al- legood, 2014).
2. By virtue of teaching all students in a given school building, elementary gen- eral music is more inclusive. However, elementary general music teachers might consider equity-oriented ques- tions (see “…where do I even start” section).
3. Conversely, perhaps it is time to stop performing music associated with op- pression, such as minstrel songs, songs with lyrics that reinforce gender stereo- types, etc., unless it is very sensitively and explicitly taught for the purpose of engaging students in empowering, emancipatory transformation of these messages.
Karen Salvador is associate professor of music and music teacher certification program coor- dinator at University of Michigan – Flint. She is also president of Michigan Music Education Association. Email:
ksalvado@umflint.edu
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