early childhood music Teaching and Learning for Social Justice in
the Early Childhood Music Classroom Beatriz E. Aguilar, WMEA State Chair, Early Childhood Music
Diversity, equity, inclusion and anti- racism have been a stated priority in every sector of so- ciety. Education, of course, is not the exception. A lot is being written about teaching for social
justice, but imagining how something like teaching for social justice looks in the early childhood music classroom is very challenging. To find ways to embody teaching and learning for social justice, we have tools such as the social justice standards, created by Learning for Jus- tice. These standards are divided in four domains: identity, diversity, justice and action. Next, I have selected some stan- dards and described the way they could take form in the early childhood music classroom.
Figure 1 & bbb 4 Figure 2 & ## œ Snail, Figure 3 & #### Œ Literal translation: & #### Œ
œ œ Ca ra
- Snail,
œ œ Ca ra
- Snail, 3 œ - col - œ - col, œ snail, œ snail, œ snail,
2 œ. œ œ -
Jam Ho
-
bo la,
Jam ho
œ. œ œ -
-
bo, la,
Identity
“Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.” (Identity Anchor Standards, Learning for Justice)
Examples for Social justice Article by Beatriz E. Aguilar
Jambo
Jam hola
œ œ œ .œ - bo
misIa -
bwa mi
-gos, -na Snail, snail œ go
œ a
œ - Caracol, caracolito Public Domain
œ œ ca - ra
snail,
œ œ ca - ra
snail,
& #### œ œ œ œ œ œ 3
¡Sa - ca tus cuer nos - Take out your antlers to the sun. al œ sol! 54 Œ œ - col - œ - col,
œ œ ca - ra
œ œ ca - ra
snail, - little snail, œ - col œ ¡ay! œ que œ bo -
œ œ œ œ œ œ 3
¡Sa - ca tus cuer nos - Take out your antlers to the sun.
Oh! how beautiful. 3
œ al sol!
œ ni
œ - to. Œ ..
œ œ œ œ col
ca - ra - co -
œ li
œ - to, œ round and œ round œ and
Jam ho
œ. œ Œ -
-
bo, la,
Jam hola
œ œ œ .œ - bo
misIa -
bwa mi
-gos, -na
Recognizing cultural traits can start with the seemingly simple act of greeting. The song “Jambo” (Figure 1) allows not only to sing “Hello’’ in different languages, but also to discuss greeting traditions in differ- ent cultures. Some Botswanans handshake with locking thumbs; some Maori press their noses together; some Mexicans kiss each other on the cheek. You can invite students to share the ways in which they greet relatives or friends within their social group. Then, sing the song (Figure 1) substituting the Swahili words by the languages represented in your classroom
Public Domain
jam ho
œ. œ Œ -
-
bo. la.
Public Domain œ round. .. ..
and community at large. Make sure the dif- ferent greeting rituals are described with respect. Pressing noses might not be the best idea during a pandemic or in certain cultures, but it should never be looked at as inferior or with lesser moral value.
Diversity
“Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.” (Diversity Anchor Stan- dards, Learning for Justice)
One of my favorite activities to learn about diversity by comparing and contrasting cultures is singing “Snail, snail” (Figure 2) walking to the beat in an open circle. I follow by singing “Caracol, caracolito” (Figure 3), a song from Mexico that has almost the same lyrics as “Snail, snail,” walking to the beat, holding hands, mov- ing in a spiral until the circle resembles a snail shell. When asked to form a circle, students in the United States usually do not hold hands. When I lead the game in Mexico, students immediately reach out to hold hands. I suggest discussing the different levels of physical proximity and contact that are perceived as comfortable in different cultures. This understanding is critical not just for young students, but for teachers. I once witnessed a kindergarten teacher saying to a Mexican mother dur- ing a parent-teacher conference that her son tended to get too close to his friends but that she was “fixing” it. This child was not broken and his behavior did not need fixing. He was raised in the Latinx culture, which not only allows but expects higher levels of comfort with physical proximity. The child was made an outsider, a cultural characteristic was judged and oversim- plified, and an opportunity to teach and learn about diversity was lost. In time, the cultural context was assimilated by the child, who in time learned the physical distance his peers would establish, while still conforming to the acceptable forms
September 2021
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