Educational Philosophy

The Challenges of Music Education in the Urban Classroom Kristen Cobb Westminster Choir College Critical Pedagogy II

Educational Philosophy Intro

I come from an urban school district where the music program was not cared about. What makes it even worse is when the school you attended is centered on the arts. I was not fortunate enough to receive the same caliber of education as a lot of the other students that I attended school with had. In todays urban classroom, there are many problems that need to be fixed so that students can have a better learning experience and become well-rounded educated members of society. The main problems that I feel in the urban classroom are funding, students that live on or below the poverty line and culturally relevant pedagogy. My teaching philosophy is simple; using different techniques to solve some of the problems that are in music education will help to make it more productive for students. Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music. Jimi Hendrix

Funding There are many problems with funding for todays schools. That main problem is that it becomes a vicious cycle that seems to repeat itself. The cycle runs like this. There is no money in budgets to get materials for students because there is no product showing that student are using the knowledge that they have learned; because there are no materials to use to show a product because there were no funds. With this cycle running its course, which it just keeps going because its a circle, it just keeps spinning and building momentum and eventually it gets off

Educational Philosophy track and spins out of control. There is no doubt that the world economy represents a financial crisis.

Thanks to the federal stimulus package, signed by President Obama, the State of New Jersey has been able to avoid catastrophic budget cuts to public education. However, due to increased contractual and operating costs, most municipalities and school districts are facing significant reductions in personnel, programs, and services. -Dennis J. Clancy, Ed.D. Interim State District Superintendent Report March 2009 Paterson Public School This stands to help no one. It hurts not only the students because they lose out or experiences that could help them in life; it hurts the teachers as well. Teachers are less likely to want to do their jobs and try to learn what they could do to become a better educator when they are against the odds. If districts took the time and effort to see the value in music in the urban classroom, they would be more likely to increase the budget to help further students. Students On or Below Poverty Line Funding in the home of also a big factor that a lot of music educators in urban classrooms need to pay attention to. Many students that are in urban districts come from low income families. These kids are usually the kids on the Free and Reduced meal program in their schools. In a census that the Federal Education Budget Project did in 2010, in Patersons school district, 85.7% of students enrolled were in the free and reduced lunch program. Compare that to Wayne Township that is only 10 minutes away, their percentage was 6.7% of their enrolled students. It is amazing to see that two town so close to each other could have such a difference in

Educational Philosophy percentage. Although Wayne Township students population is roughly a third of Patersons, if your where to do the math and calculate it accordingly, it still wouldnt even add up to half of Patersons percentage. Thankfully, state funding have made it possible for these students to be able to afford of receive a meal while at school, but what about the other two meals of the day? Have you ever had to do something really important that involved a lot of energy and you forgot to eat that morning and all you can think about if how hungry you are and you lose your focus? I have, and it sucks. Think about the student who goes through that every day. Those are usually that quiet kids in class that dont really like to complain because they have learned complaining about their problems dont seem to help them any.

So why should we except students to be able to want to come to class and listen to us talk about Bach and augmented six chords when they are sitting in the class hungry with no attention span? How do you feed that hungry child? They must realize that they are fighting not merely for freedom from hunger, but for ... freedom to create and to construct, to wonder and to venture. Such freedom requires that the individual be active and responsible, not a slave or a well-fed cog in the machine. ... It is not enough that men are not slaves; if social conditions further the existence of automatons, the result will not be love of life, but love of death. Freire, 2000

Im not going to come up with an elaborate way to tell you how you feed that child, because frankly, I dont know yet. But thats what I want to find out. At that point, you cant really help their stomach, but you can help their mind.

Educational Philosophy Culturally Relevant Pedagogy This takes is back to the hungry student sitting in your class. How do you encourage that student to want to learn? Why should that student learn about music that they dont care about? By relating what the students deem as important and partner that with the information that you

want to teach, you make it relevant to them; you honor their world. Gloria Ladson- Billings came up with term that we now know as culturally relevant pedagogy. Culturally relevant pedagogy rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order. Gloria Ladson- Billings

Ladson- Billings basically describes this as a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (Ladson-Billings, 2000) This is a way of teaching that show the student that what they already know is important and empowers them to make connection to thing that they are learning based on their prior knowledge of their respective cultures. Culturally relevant teaching utilizes the backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences of the students to inform the teachers lessons and methodology to make the learning experience personal to the student as well as the teacher. Academic success is a key skill that students need to be able to compete with the field that they choose to work in. Cultural competence is required in culturally relevant teaching so that students can keep their cultural integrity as well as academic excellence. Critical consciousness helps the student understand that the world is broader than what they see in front

Educational Philosophy of them. Different people come from different cultures and you have to be able to analyze the worlds society. This is meant to empower the student because that have (a) learned all the necessary knowledge and have a hold on it; (b) have the background of their culture and their knowledge that they have brought to the table and learning; and (c) can bring their ideas into the world and challenge ideas that they dont agree with in a manner that people respect. Conclusion Taking all those problems in to consideration; funding, students on or below the poverty line, and culturally relevant pedagogy; an urban music education teacher could have their hands full, not to mention all the other things that could occur. But I wont scare you with that. I will leave you with that though. The reason I want to become a music teacher in an urban school district is because I want to help those student that feel as if they are trapped just because they have been told that they will amount to nothing because of where they come from. If I had listened to all the people that said those things to me, I would not be where I am today,

nonetheless the person I am and am becoming. Many students from low income families that are in the urban district are told that they would amount to nothing and would never be able to escape the life that they live. They would become products of their surroundings and would never be productive to themselves or to others. If people took more time to encourage those students sitting in those classrooms, so many good things would come from it. It takes a village to raise a child. In urban school districts, there are a lot of students. If it takes a village for one, then I think if at least a populated town cared that would be a good start. That would motivate those kids to want to further themselves and hopefully inspire them to do the same.

Educational Philosophy

Work Cited Page

Culturally relevant teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4474 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy | Education.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/culturally-relevant-pedagogy/ "Ed Money Watch." A Closer Look at Title I Funding in Urban versus Rural Districts. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013. "PreK-12." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013. Clancy, Dennis J., Ed.D. Superintendent's Report. Rep. 2009 ed. Vol. March. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Mar. 2009. Web. 1 May 2013. Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Retrieved from http://www.tolerance.org/tdsi/sites/tolerance.org.tdsi/files/assets/general/Lad son-Billings_PDF.pdf