DON TAYLOR
Don Taylor teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education at the University of North Texas. Currently serving as the Coordinator of PhD Studies, his primary area of instruction is elementary general music, and his research interests focus on social justice issues in music education. Prior to receiving a PhD in Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin, he taught elementary music for nine years in San Antonio, Texas. He has published articles in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Research in Music Education theBulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, Contributions to Music Education, General Music Today, and Music Educators Journal.
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Sordid Professors: Southern Adventures in Critical Pedagogy
In the introduction to the 50th Anniversary edition of Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970, 2018), Donaldo Macedo defined critical pedagogy as an “emancipatory pedagogical process” (p. 1) in which students reflect on the oppressive structures operating in society and then engage in liberating action. Scholars in music education have posited that engaging with music offers a variety of rich opportunities for students to reflect on the political and social structures inherent in artistic production (e.g., Abrahams & Schmidt, 2006; Karvelis, 2018; Perkins, 2019; Salvadore & Kelly-McHale, 2017; Talbot & Williams, 2019). Although some music teachers dismiss the need to contemplate oppression in a music setting (Salvadore & Kelly-McHale, 2017), music teacher educators (Karvelis, 2018; Perkins, 2019; Talbot & Williams, 2019) have suggested that critical pedagogy should serve to enhance, rather than replace, existing curricula. Instead of presenting a binary approach to cultural understanding,
Hess (2017) offered that teachers should facilitate an atmosphere in which music of all cultures can “coexist on the same plane” (p. 177). She also observed that White teachers who challenge systemic inequities are frequently viewed as neutral facilitators, whereas those with marginalized status “receive criticism, resistance, or even violence for similar work” (p. 180). Thus, she called for more research examining the experiences of music teachers with marginalized status who strive to implement critical pedagogy.
In line with Hess’s (2017) call as well as the conference call to address issues of bias, discrimination, and oppression, the purpose of this presentation is to report our experiences as two gay music teacher educators implementing critical pedagogy in undergraduate courses. As music teacher educators in two politically conservative states, respectively, asking our students to consider systemic inequalities within music education might be considered self-serving or viewed as pushing an agenda. Furthermore, given the vast amount of material music teacher educators need to cover in courses, it would be easy to avoid addressing systemic biases. However, to ignore these inequalities only serves to perpetuate them through our silence. Therefore, I have made a commitment to implement critical pedagogy into our spring 2020 curricula.
I have derived the title of our presentation from the LGBTQ cult film, Sordid Lives (Shores, 2000). In this dark comedy, a psychiatrist attempts to change her patient’s sexual orientation and gender identity. In the apex of the movie, the patient finally realizes that the problem lies not within himself, but within the system that discredits his dignity and worth. In a moment of clarity, he declares that he will no longer attempt to follow his psychiatrist’s instructions. She screams, “You will if I say you will!”, to which he responds, “No I won’t . . . and you . . . can’t make me.” In these brief pauses, the patient recognizes his own agency—essentially defining the system as sordid, rather than himself. Similarly, I am challenging ourselves not only to address issues of systemic inequalities but also to help students recognize their own agency as they move forward. I will present data collected from recorded Skype meetings, journal entries, a private blog, and reflective statements.
References
Abrahams, F., & Schmidt, P. (2006). A new sound for urban schools: Rethinking how we plan.
In C. Frierson-Campbell (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom (pp. 153–163). Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Freire, P. (2018, 1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. B. Ramos, Trans.; 50th anniversary ed.). Bloomsbury.
Hess, J. (2017). Critiquing the critical: The casualties and paradoxes of critical pedagogy in music education. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 25, 171–191. https://doi.org/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.25.2.05
Karvelis, N. (2018). Race, class, gender, and rhymes: Hip-Hop as critical pedagogy. Music Educators Journal, 105(1), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432118788138
Palmer, E. S. (2018). Literature review of social justice in music education: Acknowledging oppression and privilege. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 36(2), 22–31. doi: 10.1177/8755123317711091
Perkins, J. (2019). Student Perceptions of a Choral-Dialoguing Social Justice Course. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 221, 72–86. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.221.0072
Salvador, K., & Kelly-McHale, J. (2017). Music teacher educator perspectives on social justice. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65, 6–24. doi: 10.1177/0022429417690340
Shores, D. (2000). Sordid lives [Film]. Daly-Harris Productions.
Talbot, B. C., & Williams, H. M. A. (2019). Critically assessing forms of resistance in music education. In D. Elliott, M. Silverman, & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education (pp. 83–100). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Hess (2017) offered that teachers should facilitate an atmosphere in which music of all cultures can “coexist on the same plane” (p. 177). She also observed that White teachers who challenge systemic inequities are frequently viewed as neutral facilitators, whereas those with marginalized status “receive criticism, resistance, or even violence for similar work” (p. 180). Thus, she called for more research examining the experiences of music teachers with marginalized status who strive to implement critical pedagogy.
In line with Hess’s (2017) call as well as the conference call to address issues of bias, discrimination, and oppression, the purpose of this presentation is to report our experiences as two gay music teacher educators implementing critical pedagogy in undergraduate courses. As music teacher educators in two politically conservative states, respectively, asking our students to consider systemic inequalities within music education might be considered self-serving or viewed as pushing an agenda. Furthermore, given the vast amount of material music teacher educators need to cover in courses, it would be easy to avoid addressing systemic biases. However, to ignore these inequalities only serves to perpetuate them through our silence. Therefore, I have made a commitment to implement critical pedagogy into our spring 2020 curricula.
I have derived the title of our presentation from the LGBTQ cult film, Sordid Lives (Shores, 2000). In this dark comedy, a psychiatrist attempts to change her patient’s sexual orientation and gender identity. In the apex of the movie, the patient finally realizes that the problem lies not within himself, but within the system that discredits his dignity and worth. In a moment of clarity, he declares that he will no longer attempt to follow his psychiatrist’s instructions. She screams, “You will if I say you will!”, to which he responds, “No I won’t . . . and you . . . can’t make me.” In these brief pauses, the patient recognizes his own agency—essentially defining the system as sordid, rather than himself. Similarly, I am challenging ourselves not only to address issues of systemic inequalities but also to help students recognize their own agency as they move forward. I will present data collected from recorded Skype meetings, journal entries, a private blog, and reflective statements.
References
Abrahams, F., & Schmidt, P. (2006). A new sound for urban schools: Rethinking how we plan.
In C. Frierson-Campbell (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom (pp. 153–163). Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Freire, P. (2018, 1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. B. Ramos, Trans.; 50th anniversary ed.). Bloomsbury.
Hess, J. (2017). Critiquing the critical: The casualties and paradoxes of critical pedagogy in music education. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 25, 171–191. https://doi.org/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.25.2.05
Karvelis, N. (2018). Race, class, gender, and rhymes: Hip-Hop as critical pedagogy. Music Educators Journal, 105(1), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432118788138
Palmer, E. S. (2018). Literature review of social justice in music education: Acknowledging oppression and privilege. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 36(2), 22–31. doi: 10.1177/8755123317711091
Perkins, J. (2019). Student Perceptions of a Choral-Dialoguing Social Justice Course. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 221, 72–86. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.221.0072
Salvador, K., & Kelly-McHale, J. (2017). Music teacher educator perspectives on social justice. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65, 6–24. doi: 10.1177/0022429417690340
Shores, D. (2000). Sordid lives [Film]. Daly-Harris Productions.
Talbot, B. C., & Williams, H. M. A. (2019). Critically assessing forms of resistance in music education. In D. Elliott, M. Silverman, & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education (pp. 83–100). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.