Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom: A Guide to Survival, Success, and Reform
Carl Webb
reviewed by Gerry Petersen — August 16, 2006
Title: Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom: A Guide to Survival,
Success, and Reform
Author(s): Carol Frierson-Campbell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, New York
ISBN: 1578864615, Pages: 194, Year: 2006
Search for book at Amazon.com
Music education, a combination of social and musical facets of
diversity, can be a tool to help transmit cultural information that
"involves the creator, creation, and context in which the creation was
constructed" (Young, 1996, p. 3). Since people are products of the
culture(s) in which they live (Macionis, 1997) and since historically,
culture has influenced American music (Mark, 1998), music teachers
remain an integral factor in the advancement of implementing
multicultural music in urban public schools. Music is a model approach
to education that is ideally multicultural (Chase, 2004; Vulliamy &
Lee, 1982; Young, 1996) and, as declared in the Housewright
Declaration (Madsen, 2000), all music that people experience has a
place in the public school curriculum. The changes needed to implement
music education in urban settings rely on the music educator, and may
be affected by those teachers' understanding of diversity in education
(Moore, 1995; Randall, Aigner, & Stimpfl, 1995). The self-reflection
to critically view oneself as an instructor (Bell, L.A., Washington,
S., Weinstein, G., & Love, B., 2003; McLaren, 2003) is needed to
combat possible cultural and societal oppression (Freire, 2003).
Frierson-Campbell's book, Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom, sets
a foundation to begin these conversations. A music educator who reads
this book will embark on the self-reflection needed while teaching in
urban classrooms.
The book consists of a forward by Willie L. Hill Jr., former president
of the National Association of Music, an introduction, and 14 chapters
divided into four parts: Cultural Responsivity, Music Teacher Stories,
Teaching Strategies, and Alternative Teaching Models. Cultural
responsivity is a natural beginning to this book. Identifying oneself
within culture, education, and the arts is an important position when
thinking about pedagogy and reflecting on one's teaching philosophy.
Chapters 1 through 4 sequence this matter. Cathy Benedict proposes
that if teachers position themselves as the other, they may transform
cultural possibilities in the classroom. Benedict believes that
focusing on specific models or methods of cultural transformation in
the classroom hinders cultural diversity. Ending the first chapter
with what seemingly should be the entire book's purpose, Benedict
suggests that:
If our primary purpose as music educators is to improve the quality of
life for all students, then taking on transformative pedagogy to
advocate for social change, rather than relying on methodologies that
suggest that the universal language of music transcends all, would
enable us not only to develop students' capacities to participate
fully in their musical cultures, but our own capacities to transform
culture as well. (p. 12)
Donna T. Emmanuel discusses the urban culture and an internship
program between a Big Ten university and a Detroit, Michigan school
district in Chapter Two by illustrating the experience of one of the
music education interns. Emmanuel employs Freire's (1982) pedagogy and
a rationale similar to that of Benedict's in Chapter 1 to further the
self-examination process. In Chapter 3, Regina Carlow discusses how to
develop relationships—or building confianza—with English language
learners (Monzó and Rueda, 2001). Carlow suggests using journals as a
mode to build these positive relationships between students and
teachers. Moreover, Carlow gives practical advice and ways to
implement and assess the use of journals in the classroom. Chapter 4
completes the first portion of the book. Kathy M. Robinson discusses
the practices of four music educators from middle-class backgrounds as
they use culturally responsive teaching in their urban classrooms.
Part Two, "Music Teacher Stories," relates how urban schoolteachers
are the experts when discussing success and reform in diverse schools.
In Chapter 5, Janice Smith shares an exploratory case study involving
six New York City area music teachers. Smith focuses on the reasons
why the six teachers teach in urban schools and their thoughts
regarding the challenges of teaching in such environments. As Smith
stresses, "[T]he voices of practitioners need to be part of the
ongoing conversation about music education in urban schools" (p. 73).
By coding the interviews, Smith notes four important suggestions to
aid in improving urban music education: (1) the recruitment of urban
school teachers who grew up in urban areas; (2) the planning of urban
field placements for pre-service teaching; (3) pre-service training
that includes public law; and (4) helping urban school and central
administrators understand music programs. Smith's study compliments
Carlos R. Abril's case study of three music teachers in an urban
school district in Chapter 6. Abril interviewed and observed three
music teachers who are at different stages of their career. Throughout
the study, Abril found similar perceptions and experiences among the
teachers such as: personal life experience, a connection with the
students and community, a connection with the subject matter, student
behavior, diverse student needs, and change. The teachers Smith and
Abril interviewed share their first-hand knowledge of urban music
teaching for further discussion.
Frierson-Campbell describes Part Three, "Teaching Strategies," as the
section that "recognizes the importance of bringing practicing music
teachers into the conversation about music in urban schools" (p. xv).
In Chapter 7, Elizabeth Ann McAnally draws on Maslow's (1954)
hierarchy of needs in order to explain how urban music students need
to be motivated before learning can take place. To facilitate an
atmosphere that meets personal needs, McAnally suggests that teachers
should: (1) ask the right kinds of questions; (2) understand that
music understanding occurs at different levels and speeds; (3) plan
classroom activities which spur creativity; (4) think critically
about how to react to discipline issues in the classroom; and (5)
recognize reward processes for motivation. Chapter 8 corroborates the
information of Chapter 7 and relates it to the choral rehearsal
through differentiated instruction. Daniel Abrahams lists six
constructs developed by Tomlinson (2001) that provide the basis for
addressing the needs of all learners:
1.
The learner must make meaning of the information
2.
Meaning making is influenced by the student's prior understandings,
interests, beliefs, how the student learns best, and the student's
attitudes about self and school.
3.
Knowledge must be clearly and powerfully organized.
4.
Students should be highly active in the learning process.
5.
Assessment should be rich and varied.
6.
Students should feel a sense of safety and connection. (as cited in
Abrahams' Ch. 8, p. 109)
In Chapter 9, Kevin Mixon explains how to build an urban school band
program. Mixon provides strategies for accounting for need, how to
recruit and retain students, obtaining the support of colleagues and
parents, and for facilitating funding opportunities from
administration members. Overall, Mixon believes that a "tenacious
director who strives to effectively reach and teach urban students
while building bridges to colleagues, administrators, parents, and the
greater community will have success in building quality instrumental
music programs" (p. 123). Rounding out the traditional secondary music
education program, Jeanne Porcino Dolamore's chapter explains "The
String Chorale Concept." Incorporating this concept into an urban
string program focuses on: (1) striving to meet high musical standards
through the organization of materials, helping students to internalize
and memorize music, create goals, and utilize assessments; (2)
embracing cultures and socio-economic levels through choice of
eclectic repertoire and creativity with the current group of students;
(3) developing a student-centered curriculum through a commitment to
phrasing, using student contributions, and eliminating competition;
(4) keeping the audience in mind by performing literature in all
stages of development, talking to the audience, and seeking out joint
performances; and (5) enlisting the aide of the community through
internships, community partnerships, and the use of data. Dolamore
suggests this is a model that has worked only for certain groups. Most
importantly, using The String Chorale Concept can be "a catalyst for
observation and discussion among all who would like to see music in
our urban schools profoundly impact urban students and communities"
(p. 136).
Shifting the discussion of teaching strategies to research, in Chapter
11, Karen Iken parallels her qualitative study with the story of a
journey. Iken remarks that the students are the characters and their
journey with their instruments is the plot. Through the coding of
observations, personal journals, and interviews with students,
parents, teachers, and herself, Iken reveals how music education is
important for urban students.
Part Four focuses on alternative teaching models. These models may
help connect teaching strategies, music stories, and cultural
responsivity. In Chapter 12, Frank Abrahams and Patrick K. Schmidt
describe Critical Pedagogy for Music Education (CPME), a philosophy of
music education. While explaining how CPME addresses how music
embodies social, political, cultural, and economic issues, Abrahams
and Schmidt use the following questions to guide planning: Who am I?
Who are my students? What might they become? What might we become
together? Using a complementary, yet different approach, Edward Green
and Alan Shapiro explain how to use the Aesthetic Realism Teaching
Method in Chapter 13. This teaching method is based on Eli Siegel's
philosophy, which was developed in 1941. Siegel (1976) believed "that
the purpose of all education is to like the world through knowing it"
(as cited in Green & Shapiro's Chapter 13, p. 165). Green and Shapiro
explain this method by explaining how all cultures' music places
opposites together, and how learning about contempt and respect are
important issues for teachers.
Carol Frierson-Campbell writes the final chapter in the book on the
importance of having music educators take part in the reform
conversation. Frierson-Campbell goes on to discuss a coalition between
three universities to develop the New Jersey State Teacher Quality
Enhancement Consortium. Wanting to focus on the needs of the music
teachers in selected participating schools, Frierson-Campbell
completed interviews and observations of teachers and administrators
in their first year. She used field notes from an advisory group of
teachers, and a needs assessment from the music teachers in all three
participating districts.
Overall, Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom is necessary addition
to the music education literature. The only topics desired for future
volumes or editions would be chapters on nontraditional forms of urban
music education such as garage bands, steel drums, and mariachi as
well as further discussion regarding the focus on ensemble conducting
and directing versus a true encompassing education approach to the
ensemble experience. These two suggestions would advance the
conversation in urban music education and music education as a whole.
Discussions have existed in urban settings, multicultural music
education, and teacher attitudes and experiences; however, this book
allows these worlds of discussion to merge and forge ahead in that
fissure of music education research, philosophy, and pedagogy known as
urban music education. Carol Frierson-Campbell does a remarkable job
assembling researchers and authors who have developed this guide to
further music education support, achievement, and reform.
References
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ourselves as instructors. In A. Darder, M. Baltodano, & R.D. Torres
(Eds.), The critical pedagogy reader (pp. 464-478). New York:
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Chase, S. (2004, Winter). Music education: A model for cultural
diversity. Reprinted from Oregon Music Educator. Arizona Music News,
48(2), 43-45.
Freire, P. (1982). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Freire, P. (2003). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: The Continuum
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Prentice Hall.
Madsen, C.K. (2000). Vision 2020: The Housewright Symposium on the
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Moore, T.J. (1995). Assessment of multiculturalism: Life experience,
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Vulliamy, G. & Lee, E. (Eds.). (1982). Pop, rock and ethnic music in
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dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1996).
Cite This Article as: Teachers College Record, Date Published: August 16, 2006
http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 12669, Date Accessed: 9/20/2006 6:36:36 PM