Series, D. Think Everything’s “Normal?” Then It’s Time To Reconsider And Promote A New Narrative Of Disability. Retrieved from http://organizingchange.org/think-everythings-normal-then-its-time-to-reconsider-and-promote-a-new-narrative-of-disability/
The above article discussed the problems with this idea of "normalcy" present in today's society. The issue with this idea is that is is idolizing a quality of life which all individuals should try to maintain. With this "normalcy" individuals with disabilities are seen as unfortunate, unable, or to have a lessened ability to fulfill a happy, healthy, "normal" life. The main point this reading brings forward is the notion that individuals with disabilities are in every way just as capable of living a successful life despite facing different daily challenges. This idea of normalcy has acted as a fence used to divide and differentiate the happy and the healthy from the ones with disabilities, when in fact both party's are just as likely to find an enjoyable quality of life. the artifice purposes that as a society we need to change our dialect to avoid ableism and create a language that promotes equality across all individuals. Such things which promote ableism in the education system include the labeling and symbolizing handicaps as well as the adjustments made to the curriculum which simplify content to ensure ones ability to complete the task/ this article poses, in a sense, that individuals with disabilities need not academic accommodation nor physical accommodations for this suggest an inability to do something which implies that a disability is an inhibitor, which is false and that a disability acts merely as an additional challenge to any task. I too agree that it is time we stop viewing individuals with disabilities as lesser, or inferior members of society. Today, we have pedestal the individuals with the most athletic and intellectual abilities as the prime human and any and all who cannot be alike are simply inferior. a view of equality among all is the only mindset we should have.
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Hourigan, R. M. (2009). The invisible student: Understanding social identity construction within performing ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 34-38.
The above article tackled the problems music educators face when presented with an 'invisible' student. In the article, such a student was name Jason, who suffered from brain injury and had difficulty connecting with his peers inside of school. Jason played the trumpet in the school band and enjoyed the music enough to stick with the program despite feeling isolated. Hourigan brings forward strategies that a band conductor can use to hep ensure the ensemble setting is a welcoming environment with a sense of community and comfort between all members. I found the article to be very interesting and informative, having played trumpet in the school band myself as well as feeling somewhat isolated (though not to the extent Jason felt) throughout my years in ensemble, I am able to say that I personally feel that most of the suggested methods would have been extremely successful in allowing all ensemble members to feel comfortable and included among one another. for instance, having a buddy system on feel trips and in a sense forcing students to engage in a healthy and polite way is a great for students to learn how to look past first impressions and over see social awkwardness as well as allowing the awkward students to learn how to create conversation, realize social ques and adapt to humor and social dynamic previously foreign to them. I worry that focusing to much on ensuring a specific or in this case an invisible student could, as the article suggests, further ostracize or embarrass the student. instead, I would create group activities within my class or ensemble and assign the groups, making sure to separate and preexisting social cliques in order to seamlessly place the awkward students with more social students to allow the kind of learning I mentioned before. It is important to keep in mind that many 'invisble' students suffer from mental illness, and thus trying to force them upon a social dynamic can be very scary and potentially traumatizing if the student truly is not comfortable engaging socially with their peers. It is equally as important to promote that students try to engage with students they do not often engage with on a daily basis, to allow all students to become comfortable with approaching one another, for even the most seemingly social students can be battling their own awkwardness and disdain towards foreign social situations. I enjoyed reading this article very much, and found it very useful to an upcoming educator, or even a student, knowing more about 'invisible' students to give myself the chance to try and locate, approach and assist an 'invisible' student in hopes to ease their discomfort and promote a social output within them. Dawe, Lesley. 2016. Fumbling towards vulnerability: Moving out of the familiar for music education's sake. The Canadian Music Educator 57, (2) (Winter): 22-24, https://www.lib.uwo.ca/cgi-bin/ezpauthn.cgi?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1766258212?accountid=15115 (accessed January 24, 2017).
The following article was a good read. Lesley Dawe did a wonderful job at tackling the problems within modern day music education. To start, I found it quite interesting for Lesley to state “I recognized that the way my students experienced music in school was out of touch with the way they were experiencing and interacting with it outside of school” (Dawe 23) for this is a realization which I feel very few music educators make when delivering curriculum in the "traditional" style. It is very important for adults to recognize that as times change, music changes and so does the style of music held most popular. With this, it can be very difficult for students to engage or invest their time into music they are out of touch with and music that doesn't appeal to the generation. That being said, it is equally as important for a music educator to teach the brilliant works of composers throughout the ages. This can become increasingly hard, and I feel Lesley did an excellent job when she said "“The idea here is not to completely abandon what we are currently doing in our classes, but to re-think the framework in which we are working” (Dawe 24). With this in mind, it is possible for the world of music education to receive a new look and a new system capable of releasing built up potential that is going completely unnoticed in the students. Lesley states that “Creativity seemed to be something that was fit in at the end of the school year when all the festivals and concerts had finished, and we had seemingly stopped learning new repertoire.” (Dawe 22) This is something I have felt very strongly about through my high school and elementary experience as I noticed the same feeling. It frustrates me to read in her article that “Generally, I was able to get by and be successful as long as I did exactly what I was told to do. There was little to no room for interpretation or creativity in my own in my music making.” (Dawe 22) for I feel this is the same situation many music educators experienced and unintentionally bestowed upon their students. If I could say anything to the author, it would be to continue doing what you are doing, for i see nothing but promise in the field of music education while we have young, educated and talented music educators working to make music more beneficial to students. Citation:
Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J. (2013). Repositioning 'The Elements': How Students Talk about Music. Action, Criticism & Theory For Music Education, 12(3), 45-64. Repositioning 'The Elements': How Students Talk about Music The article itself is very interesting. The idea of the elements and its negative implications in the curriculum of music education is an idea which i had not given any though to prior to my reading; having this insight has given me a new look into the world of music education and the similar pedagogy which may be detrimental to the progression of music education. One thing I found especially interesting was based around the quote “As opposed to an atomistic, detached approach to listening, adolescents relish music’s holistic nature and its sensual base” (Stewart Rose 55) in which the students had undertaken a deeper, more personal analysis of the music when they were not constrained to categorizing what they heard with the elements. I found this interesting for it suggests an innate knowledge of musical forms that is subconscious yet present in listeners. Thus I was very surprised and rather saddened when I read that “Ontario secondary schools King (2004) reports that 5.7% of students enrol in Grade 12 music.” (Stewart Rose 49) It was that underwhelming number of only 5.7% which told me that it is clear the educational system does not know the true benefit behind music, not to mention the benefits when given an appropriate knowledge to understand and breakdown musical aspects in order to create music that is more relevant to the individual. This, however, is not all that frustrated me. With the passage stating “[W]ith a focus on the elements in the curriculum, it is easy to forget to explore our relationships with music” (Stewart Rose 50) I found myself to disagree with this. I feel as though it is not at the fault of the elements that students forget to explore their relationships with the music, but rather it is at the fault of a lack of encouragement to do so. I'm sure that very seldom does a teacher as a student how they were changed by a piece of music, or if there were any past experiences that were brought into focus while listening to a piece of music. further more, I found myself with similar disdain when reading the quote “[W]here the elements seek to simplify, to discriminate and categorize, our students seek to relate, create, play, and celebrate.” (Stewart Rose 55) I find myself disagreeing with this for just about the same reason. The elements do not prevent or hinder a students ability to relate, create, play and celebrate and rather it is in the incompetence of an educator where this problem ensues. I find that many teachers are too ignorant towards the spiritual and metaphysical properties of music that they refuse to indulge in the potential enlightenment that music has to offer. If more teachers explore these properties they will find that the elements are simply species of music and they should not be ignored, rather, they should be used to bring closer focus the aspects of music which affect us so deeply. It is not the elements that need to change, its the teachers. More importantly, it's what they're teaching. If I could say anything to the author, it would be to use her talents to produce writings on pedagogy that is fruitful with embracing an inner connection with music while looking at the elements of music as a means of discussion and fine focus on the effects of music on the listener. |
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