by Andrew Ellingsen, DCSD Music Teacher and Instructional Coach One of the biggest issues currently being discussed in the field of music education is about the repertoire that we’re teaching. Choosing what songs and pieces to teach is no small task for a music teacher. The initial repertoire choices we make, both what to include and what to leave out, impact so much of what happens in our classrooms. As music teachers, we strive to choose music that communicates emotion and artistry, music that stretches our students to expand their skill level and understanding of musical concepts, music that inspires our students to be creative, music that reflects our personal values as well as the values of the school and community, and music that provides our students with the ability to understand their own and other cultures more deeply. In an era where more and more information is available to us online, the possibilities available to me feel nearly endless. I can use Google Earth to show students where on our planet a song comes from. I can play them video and/or audio recordings of musicians young and old, from our community and from far away, who look like me or who look different from me. And I can do intentional research to know more about the songs I’m choosing to teach. It is now easier than ever for me to find out the history of the songs that I teach in my classroom. A simple Google search is often all it takes to find out who wrote a song, where they lived, and what the song has been used for as it has been passed down through the generations. Often, the information I find when I do the research enhances my teaching by expanding my list of repertoire. For example, when Google made a Google Doodle for B. B. King’s birthday this year, we watched it in class and talked about who he was and how he impacted American music. Several students came back to class the next week and shared that they had asked Alexa to play music by B. B. King while they were at home! Sometimes, though, the information I find online enhances my teaching by exposing me to knowledge about a song that means I need to remove it from my classroom and curriculum. This has happened several times in the last few years, and I have tried to be up front with students when I’ve taught them music that has a problematic history that I hadn’t known. (For an example of how I’ve addressed this with students, you can read a blog post I wrote for a national blog last year after learning more about the song “Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me.”)
While the version of the song I have taught to children doesn’t include racist language, the song’s history carries weight and meaning. The original lyrics mock the stereotypical speech patterns of enslaved and recently freed black Americans in the 1800s, and to teach the song in my classroom gives a tacit endorsement of the song’s origins and historical uses.
And so I want to say here what I have long believed. I believe that all of my students, regardless of skin color, have a place in my community and my classroom. I believe that the songs I teach should honor and celebrate the humans I get to teach. I believe that Maya Angelou was right when she said “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I know more today than I knew last month. And because of that, I will make a change in my classroom. I will stop teaching “The Cat Came Back” and begin looking for other song-tales that I can teach instead. And you know what? I’m kind of excited to learn and teach some new songs! I’m grateful to the music educator who raised the question on Facebook. (I can’t imagine how I would have felt if one of my former students who loved the song “The Cat Came Back” had chosen to research its history and been the one to pass the information on to me. Or the horror I would have felt if a parent had approached me to share the song’s racist past.) And I’m grateful to be teaching in a time when I have easy access to information. I will continue to make mistakes, but I will also continue to push myself to know more about the songs I teach. The children I’m trusted to teach every day matter so much more than any song, and I will do everything in my power to make each one of them feel loved and safe and celebrated in my classroom...even when that means owning the mistakes I’ve made.
7 Comments
Jenn DeLaRosa
12/5/2019 12:55:04 pm
Noooo!!! That's too bad. That song has been in my head three times a year for several days as my own children have gone through your class. Andrew, I appreciate your post and being honest about your findings. I love the Angelou quote; as we can only know what we know!!! We are learning in third grade, that songs were imperative for slaves escaping to freedom. It's amazing how many songs we sing at Church and school, that derive for serious reasons.
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Nicole
12/5/2019 01:26:00 pm
Thanks for this post, Andrew and for your continual search for the best of what we can offer kids. One quote that runs in my head when I choose music is: "Every choice made is a belief applied". I don't know where I first heard it, but it helps keep me honest I'm choosing music and making sure I'm doing my best.
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Jackie Panos
12/5/2019 10:46:56 pm
Wow! What a great post, Andrew! I love the Angelou quote! As teachers, we all do what we believe is best, but it’s important to be lifelong learners, so that we can continually improve our practices and “do better.” Thanks for being so open and honest in your post, Andrew!
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Sarah Zbornik
12/6/2019 06:21:04 am
Thank you, Andrew, for striving to do the right work. This is just one reason why life-long learning is so critical.
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Denise Lee
12/6/2019 12:35:53 pm
Wow, I am thinking that I need to look at the history of the songs that I still have stuck in my head and sing with my little nieces and nephews. Thank you for sharing your learning experience.
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Greg Murphy
4/21/2020 04:45:51 pm
"When you know better, do better." What a great simple guide to life and the challenges we face as we journey through this life. You have to have a heart for finding truth though to do this -- stop what you may have been believing and change to something new. Thanks Andrew for this blog. Very important to keep searching for truth especially if you are a teacher and have influence over young people.
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Beth
4/30/2020 08:26:40 am
Thank you for this post, Andrew. You are a role model for me of Angelou's quote, "do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I appreciate so much how your empathy, fairness and curiosity allow you to continuously improve your teaching and yourself.
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