Music in Urban Schools
In Urban Music Education: The Teachers' Perspective, an
article by Richard K Fiese and Nicholas DeCarbo, twenty urban music teachers
are interviewed and questioned about their unique experiences in urban
teaching. I found that teachers were asked the same questions I have been asking myself since I
decided to become an urban music teacher. Did my undergraduate degree prepare
me to teach in an urban school? What specific techniques, strategies, and
approaches will I need to use? What can I do to improve music education in
urban schools?
Despite having taught
in urban schools during my undergraduate studies at Illinois State University,
I felt very cautious about perusing a teaching career in Chicago. I knew that I
would be a great teacher some day and that teaching in an urban school would
have the biggest impact on the largest number of students. The Chicago Tribune published an article stating that ISU aims to prepare
teachers to teach in an urban setting. However, after graduation, I kept asking
myself if I was prepared to take that leap. A study conducted by the University
of Toronto found that most new college graduates did not feel prepared to teach
in an urban environment. When asked to rate how prepared they felt to teach in an urban schools on a scale from 1 to 5, 68% of students gave a rating
of 3 or less. I am shocked by this number and believe it is the responsibility
of educational institutions to prepare teachers for all education settings. So
many talented teachers shy away from urban schools simply because of their lack
of exposure or confidence to succeed. So many teachers believe it is their job
to make a difference in the world. The biggest difference a teacher can make is
providing a quality education to the students who need it the most. This is
exactly why I've chosen to teach in Chicago's lowest performing schools.
One of the biggest
questions I will be pondering throughout the next year will be on what I can do
to improve music education in music schools. Many believe that music in schools
is a waste of time and has no real value to students. This recent article from the Chicago
Sun-Times discusses the growing financial burden of the Chicago Public School
system. Among a few other terrible options, cutting music programs is being considered
as a solution to their debt crisis. As a musician, I am disappointed that many
students don't receive any type of music education. It burns even more that cutting
music is one of the first options when funds are running out. However, as a
teacher, I am absolutely furious that music and art would ever be considered expendable given the amount of support it provides to other
subjects. In the following video, author and politician Mike Huckabee states, "(The)
dumbest mistake we've made in education in this country in the last generation
is cutting music and art programs out of our education system..."
As he
discusses, music provides students with the capacity to learn math and language
while also promoting creativity. To improve music education in urban schools, I
will strive to eradicate this ridiculous notion that music and art are not
essential to a child's education. One of the best music lessons I have taught was lesson and
activity connecting music to fractions. After discussing with a fellow teacher
that many students were not understanding fractions, I created an engaging and
catchy song to go along with that weeks lesson in their math class. The teacher
saw a marked improvement their ability to understand the basics of fractions
and used the song in future lessons to help struggling students. This is just
one of thousands of ways music can be used to improve student achievement.
Beyond anything, creativity is the most important thing I teach. The future of
our society depends on the creativity being developed in the minds of every
child in our classrooms. Perhaps some creativity would have prevented this
budget crisis in the first place...
The opinions expressed here by me (and those providing comments) are mine or theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of AUSL, NLU, or any employee thereof. Neither AUSL nor NLU are responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied here or in any linked web site.
Brian, your post is most thoughtful. I couldn't agree with you more that music is such an important of a student's education. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, I believe in the cliche that "music soothes the savage beast." The right kind of music in the classroom can be both calming and interesting for students. Next, music teachers have the opportunity to introduce students to all types of muscial genres. I believe in the power of planting seed;. who knows how a musical seed will grow in a student's life.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your honesty in admitting that you have some trepidation about teaching in urban classrooms. I think that being armed with the knowledge you have about the issues that have surrounded the lives of poverty-stricken students, both past and present, you'll have enough empathy and understanding to get in there and get the work done. I wouldn't try to fool you and say that it will be easy, because it will not be. The question you must ask yourself is whether you're willing to stick it out long enough to gain your students trust. Once you've earned their trust and respect, you'll do an amazing job at exposing them to the wonderful world of music.
P.S. They're waiting for you!
ReplyDeleteBrian, I am very enthused that you are entering into music education. I have a huge appreciation for music and the arts in general and I only wish I could teach it. I couldn't agree more with the uncertainty or the feeling of not being prepared for teaching in urban education. Teaching in general is a field where you do not know what to expect and going into urban education is even more frightening. One thing to remember is that music is the one thing that connects people from different backgrounds and has the power to influence and change the way students learn. Just knowing that will help you get through and also challenge and encourage you to empower your students.