MUSIC ADVOCACY: Caring Enough to Put the Student First
February 16, 2005
Educational Reform
Reform
means change...it does not guarantee improvement!
Over the past several decades in
my experience as an educator and consultant I have watched an array of
educational reforms come and go, and in some cases come again.These may relate to change in a specific area
of the curriculum, such as the now ancient "modern math" movement, or
propose changes in the entire structure of the educational institution.
While student achievement is
usually stated as the primary motivation for such educational reforms, there
are usually secondary motivations relate to specific adult issues.(See Adult vs. Student-centered Issues
and Decision-Makers: Who's Really Calling the Shots?)Among those adult-centered motivations are
two typical examples.
Example 1:There is an apparent need for school
administrators, particularly those new to a district or position, to
demonstrate their leadership as an "agent of change."For example, in every school district that
has contacted me with concerns about block scheduling there was
a new administrator proposing the change.
Example 2:In each school district that has contacted me
about concerns related to changing from a junior high (grades 7-9) grade
organization to a middle school (grades 6-8) concept, there was a coincident
major issue related to overcrowded elementary classrooms (i.e., facility
usage).
It is not my purpose here to detail the adult or
student issues of each, or to demonstrate the music related issues.Rather, it is to identify various reform
movements that may negatively affect the music curriculum.Each of these will be detailed in future
entries.
Site-based
Management:The trend to move
more decision-making powers to the local school, including financial
management.It includes the intention to
base site administrator (principal) decisions on committee input.Usually that involves
membership/participation from teachers and the community.It is important that the committee include
music representation.
Middle
School Movement:A philosophy
that changes the education of middle school students (usually grades 6-8) in a
variety of ways. These may include teaching teams, adoption of a wide variety
of exploratory courses, and/or greater definition of core requirements.Music may be negatively affected by reducing
electives hours, eliminating grade 4-5 instrumental feeder programs, or
eliminating large group rehearsals.
Alternative
Scheduling:This may include a
variety of scheduling alternatives, including block scheduling, trimesters,
"skinny" class periods.Daily
contact time for music students may be reduced or changed to alternate
days.Potential scheduling conflicts for
music courses may be greatly increased.
Tax
Vouchers:A movement that
supports tax vouchers or tax credits for students to attend (private, home, or
other) schools of their choice.The
district from which the student transfers will lose all funding related to that
student's enrollment in the district.This can have long-term negative impact on the budget leading to
potential cuts in music.
Charter
Schools: A movement that provides for the development of special
schools that may emphasize specific curricular emphases or learning
environments.Tax support is diverted
from the local school district, and that may have long term negative affects on
the budget, leading to potential cuts in music.
School-to-Work:This movement suggests that certain students
should be "forced" to make career decisions (as early as grade 8)
that place them in a learning (or vocational) track for the rest of their
public education.Music is relegated to
a special track reserved for the "talented" students.
After-School
Programs:This movement supports
the concept of educational funding for programs that are (or should) be outside
the school day.The intent, in part, is
to keep children off the streets.Music
is often one of the curricular areas suggested for placement outside the
regular curricular day.
Magnet
Schools:These are specialized
schools designed for emphasis on a particular area of the budget, such as
foreign language, mathematics or science.Music is often eliminated from these schools.On occasion, a "music magnet school"
is proposed by a school district in which music programs in all schools are cancelled
except for those in the magnet school.This is usually a guise for attempting to solve school budget
problems.Music is philosophically
perceived appropriate for the elite or "gifted" student.
It is not my intent here to imply
that any, or all, educational reforms are bad.Rather it is to make all of us aware that any environment of change
provides us with the opportunity to investigate how we may use that time for
improving our program; and to become aware of potential dangers to the music
curriculum.
