Issues of social justice in music education is one of my many research interests.  Social justice has been quite helpful for me during weekly music composition classes I teach to incarcerated youth at juvenile detention center in Chicago.  I write narratives at the end of my weekly teaching episodes to unpack the lesson and provide for me a place to think about the intersections for teaching and learning that occur in this particular setting.  Writing about these teaching moments also helps me to better understand the contextual influences that occur in this teaching setting and how they impact learning.  

Quinn, Ayers, and Stovall (2009) suggest that the principles of social justice are equity, activism, and social literacy.  This recorded narrative on SoundCloud is about activism, the principle of agency, the full participation of preparing youngsters to see and understand and, when necessary, to change all that is before them. This is a move away from passivity, cynicism and despair.  

This short clip uncovers the thin line between what is considered culturally legitimate in Hip Hop and activism through education and music composition. 

Narrative on Activisim

Issues of social justice in music education is one of my many research interests.  Social justice has been quite helpful for me during weekly music composition classes I teach to incarcerated youth at juvenile detention center in Chicago.  I write narratives at the end of my weekly teaching episodes to unpack the lesson and provide for me a place to think about the intersections for teaching and learning that occur in this particular setting.  Writing about these teaching moments also helps me to better understand the contextual influences that occur in this teaching setting and how they impact learning.  

Quinn, Ayers, and Stovall (2009) suggest that the principles of social justice are equity, activism, and social literacy.  This narrative is about equity, the principle of fairness, equal access to the most challenging and nourishing educational experiences, the demand that what the most privileged and enlightened are able to provide their children must be the standard for what is made available to all children. This must also account for equitable outcomes, and somehow for redressing and repairing historical and embedded injustices.

I had only been working with incarcerated youth for a couple of weeks when the sentiments of this narrative were penned.  I wrote the narrative attempting to make sense of my own conflicting thoughts about the differences between theory and practice for music instruction with these youth people.  In theory, this work just seemed right.  In actual practice, however, constructs of social justice such as equity required for this work seemed too complex and sometimes superficial to be a credible effort within the profession. 

Narrative on Equity

Issues of social justice in music education is one of my many research interests.  Social justice has been quite helpful for me during weekly music composition classes I teach to incarcerated youth at juvenile detention center in Chicago.  I write narratives at the end of my weekly teaching episodes to unpack the lesson and provide for me a place to think about the intersections for teaching and learning that occur in this particular setting.  Writing about these teaching moments also helps me to better understand the contextual influences that occur in this teaching setting and how they impact learning.  

Quinn, Ayers, and Stovall (2009) suggest that the principles of social justice are equity, activism, and social literacy.  This narrative is about social literacy, the principle of relevance, which these authors define as resisting the flattering effects of materialism and consumerism and the power of abiding social evils white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia--nourishing awareness of our own identities and our connection with others, reminding us of the powerful commitment, persistence, bravery, and triumphs of our justice-seeking forebears, reminding us as well of the link between ideas and the concentric circles of context--economic condition, historical flow, cultural surround--within which our lives are negotiated.  (pg.xiv)

This narrative highlights a lesson on sampling techniques and how students come to better understand the connections that exists along lines of race and culture. 

Narrative on Social Literacy

"Are You Ready?" (Trinity All Nations Choir) as recorded by the Appalachian State University Gospel Choir, Boone, NC in 2008. 

08 Are You Ready

Psalm 23 (AL Jinwright Mass Choir) as recorded by the ASU Gospel Choir in 2007 in Boone, NC. 

Artssavant