ELIZABETH PLEMMONS

During my time co-teaching in the Kenosha, WI school district, I came across a variety of students and cultures.  There were students of all ages from all walks of life.  They were all (mostly) eager to sing and make music together, but there was a caveat: most of the music we were learning was predominantly from the Western European tradition.  There was some representation for students of different cultures but for the most part, the majority of the music we learned was derived from the Common Practice Period (1650-1900) in Western European music.

 

Even more troubling are the kinds of songs students were learning in their general music classes.  Students were learning songs like, “Jump Jim Joe,” “Turkey in the Straw,” and, “Jimmy Crack Corn,” not always understanding that the origin of many well-known children’s songs are derived from the traveling minstrel shows of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  In other words, many of these songs were composed specifically to ridicule Black people (as was the fashion back then). 

           

I knew of a few of these songs, some more familiar than others, some more obvious than others.  I wasn’t sure how prevalent the teaching of these songs was until I took “Music in Childhood” as part of my cohort of music education classes.  Our professor, Dr. Donna Hewitt was well informed on the subject and introduced us to Decolonizing the Music Room, a movement started by a few music educators that were fed up with the status quo not meeting the needs of all students.

           

Through our class discussions about this movement, we learned to look at well-known, widely taught songs through a different lens.  We learned to ask ourselves if the literature we wanted to teach was actually worth teaching.  Would it hurt or help?  What are its origins?  When was it composed and why?  These songs are so ubiquitous that it can be hard to peel away the layers of time to determine the true meanings.  We were also taught to look at ourselves through the lens of our privilege.  What we take for granted could very likely be at the expense of another group of people. 

 

To effect change, we must embrace sensitivity and empathy to bring about discovery and inclusion.  Music educator and co-founder of Decolonizing the Music Room, Martin Urbach writes: 

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"One way to be(come) an agent of decolonization in our spaces is challenging the idea that we must do things the way they have always been done, just because 'that is how everyone does it.' In our music teaching spaces, this requires we analyze all curriculum, best practice, assessment, and language through an anti-oppressive lens, and that we actively do the work of undoing such practices on a daily basis. Decolonizing in the USA means actively unpacking, addressing, undoing, and disrupting the racist, sexist, ableist, xenophobic, homo/transphobic, imperialistic, and any other -isms that are baked into the foundations of music ed wherever we see them, including and especially, in ourselves first." 

 

This statement, in particular, has resonated with me.  Inclusion and sensitivity must start with empathy and discovery.  I feel (well really, I hope) that I’m on the path of discovery.  There is no way that I could go back to teaching anything without questioning its origins first.  Not anymore.  I am so grateful to Dr. Hewitt and the founders of Decolonizing the Music Room for helping me to open up my awareness on this issue, as well as give me the tools to do something about it.  I look forward to continuous discovery over the course of my teaching career and I hope that with this knowledge, I can help to effect the changes that need to happen within our schools and, ultimately, within our world.

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