Abstract
Over the past few months, the pandemic has led to many changes across the world. What used to be a part of our daily routines (e.g., strolling in the park) suddenly becomes risky and dangerous. As many states issued stay-at-home orders to avoid unnecessary travel and potential spread of infection caused by close contact, many schools closed and migrated lessons to online platforms. Schools teachers are now expected to explore remote teaching resources to create engaging learning experiences. As many described the current situation as an impasse, I propose that this slowing down of time may be an opportunity for us to rethink what values and beliefs we bring into our classrooms. What really matters in music learning? I end this column with some ideas for your consideration as you plan for the next year’s curriculum.
Over the past few months, the pandemic has led to many changes across the world. What used to be a part of our daily routines (e.g., strolling in the park) suddenly becomes risky and dangerous. Social distancing rules are enforced in many states and face-to-face interaction is discouraged. Our children are confined at home and inhibited to interact with anyone other than family members. Things or people that are foreign are kept in distance. Once again, we withdraw from exposing ourselves to uncertainty, unfamiliarity and the unknown, as these terms signify potential risk to the life of our loved ones and ourselves.
As many states issued stay-at-home orders to avoid unnecessary travel and potential spread of infection caused by close contact, many schools have closed and migrated lessons to online platforms. This unexpected surge of digitalization has not only made the technology gap between the rich and the poor even more pronounced but also posed novel challenges for teachers. The technology gap is manifested in several ways, including the lack of access to high-speed Internet and electronic devises (e.g., personal computer, smartphone). In a recent study published by Pew Research Center (2019), it was found that “in 2015, 35% of lower-income households with school-age children did not have broadband Internet connection at home.” While this lack of access has caused “homework gap,” as indicated in the same study, between haves and have-nots; in a time of pandemic, this disparity has magnified digital (in)equity and achievement gap. Meanwhile, the digitalization of instruction has also pressed teachers to explore remote teaching strategies in order to create engaging learning experiences. School teachers’ stress of migrating and navigating digital instructional platform is often exacerbated as many also have to simultaneously manage their own and their families’ needs.
Being a mother of a 13-month-old toddler, I am sympathetic to the challenges that many fellow teachers encounter during this difficult time. As I juggle between family and work, I keep thinking about students whose families might have been affected by this pandemic and how I could be supportive to their needs and situations. During this process, I started to view this impasse—slowing down/stretch of time and movement—as an opportunity to rethink my own relationship with the students and the teaching profession. 1 If I were in their shoes, what kind of learning experiences would be most desirable? What role do I play in their life in this difficult time? What do I value most as a teacher and why? For students who do not have access to high-speed Internet and electronic devices, what alternative options could I provide to ensure that these students are not left behind?
I would like to propose that this impasse may be an opportunity for us to rethink what matters in music learning. For the past few decades, there has been a great emphasis on standardized testing and teaching to the tests. Although existing research studies continue to caution against the use of high-stakes testing (Berliner, 2011, 2013; Fine et al., 2007), high-stakes testing remains the norm as a part of students’ academic life. David Berliner (2011) articulated the detrimental effects of stressing high-stakes testing and warned that this overemphasis has created “apartheid system of schooling” and marginalized nontested subject areas, such as music, visual art, theatre and dance (p. 292). Perhaps the recent joint statement by New York Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa and Interim State Education Commissioner Shannon Tahoe can be interpreted as such a wake-up call for us to reconsider the aim and means of school education: “It is most important that during the time of closure, schools are able to continue to focus their efforts toward local school and community needs, as they have been doing, and not be concerned about State assessments” (New York State Education Department, 2020). Although music is not a part of the tested subjects, it is equally worth considering what values and beliefs we bring into our classroom through curricula design and pedagogical approaches.
What follows is food for thought as you plan for the next year’s curriculum:
For some states, it remains unclear whether we will be back to school physically in the next academic year. Regardless of whether we return to classroom physically, it is critical that we as educators recognize students’ different needs and living realities and build some flexibility in assignment submissions and forms of participation. For example, recognizing that not all students have consistent access to Internet or electronic devices, teachers may send physical copies of essential materials to students’ residence directly. Or, for performance aspect of students’ work, students may use their (or a family member’s) smartphone to video record, save it in a portal hard drive (e.g., USB) and submit the portal hard drive through mail.
Create opportunities for students to share their experiences. Students and their families all have been through a very intense and stressful period. Some of them may even have lost a family member or friend. Across the United States, Chinese and Asian Americans have been subject to verbal or physical attack since the coronavirus outbreak. 2 While it is important to share facts about the pandemic with our students, it is also critical that we create space for our students to reflect and share their stories. Teachers may also learn about students’ experiences and adopt a trauma-informed approach when necessary. 3 One curricular idea may be to incorporate song writing or music-video making to reflect or explore how a specific group of people are affected by COVID-19. This can also be in the form of music autobiography. Through reflecting and listening to each other’s stories, students may share their insights and build empathy toward others.
Going back to the previous discussion on what matters in music education, I propose the following activity for all fellow teachers: Recall your most memorable music learning experience. Write down all the different elements that come into mind. What did you do? Who was there? What happened? How did you feel? Why did you feel that way? Where did this event take place? How would you describe this music experience? What did you learn from this experience (positive and negative)? You may be surprised to notice how many “trivial” things play into our description of a learning episode. This is not to say that subject-content does not matter but to note how numerous elements come into make a learning episode. Take these ideas with you as you prepare for the next academic year.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
