The
National Standards for Music Education have shaped the way music education is
viewed in the U.S. in terms of what students may be doing. There has been a
rather large deficit of many of these standards in the middle and high school
levels though.
The
9 national standards for music education are as follows:
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of
music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a
varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified
guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other
arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Anyone
whom has had any music training of any kind can agree that these standards are
sound musically. They reach an incredibly comprehensive band of skills and experiences
that would enrich any student musically if implemented.
It
is my feeling that these standards were born out of necessity. By being
presented as vital to students’ musical experiences, they also show how
curriculum should be organized. These 9 items should be crucial to properly
orient students to the vast options music can behold in their life. By being
presented in this way, the standards are advocacy incarnate. Students need to
be enriched- or at least exposed- by these standards in some environment to
gain a rich education experience.
If
these standards are meant for more than just advocacy, then they must be
available for students to pursue and go after their facets in all levels of
their education! Currently, the most comprehensive amount of incorporation of
the standards can be found in general music in the elementary levels. As a middle school band and strings
director, I can tell you that we participate in the “singing and playing”
standard every day. That is not all that is available at our school however.
Speaking
philosophically, Bennett Reimer talks about the importance of meeting the needs
of more than amateur and professional musicians in the form electives. Reimer
states, for example, that students could potentially take middle or high school
compositions classes, major in composition in college, then go on to teach
composition or compose on their own.
While
this could be said for any of the standards, it has only been realized in the
performance aspect. We in the Unites States provide an unprecedentedly
elaborate music performance opportunity for almost anyone in any school
anywhere in the United States. This is not the same everywhere in the world.
While on our honeymoon, my wife and I went to Ireland. There was a wonderful adult
choir from Greenland that said they did not receive much musical training in
school. In fact, most of the people we talked with said it was not a very
prevalent part of their education. This both scared and interested me. If it
was not that important for Irish education, and they still have a rich musical
culture, then is it really necessary in America?
Despite
how amazing the support music teachers receive and how much parents want it for
their children, only around 10-15% of students are even involved with music in
the middle and high school levels. It’s amazing that we are even still around
with such a limited student resource.
Many
of the students who are not aspiring amateur musicians or professionals would
benefit from specific listening, evaluating, composing, world music, or any of
the other standards specific to music implemented in a course/curriculum that
would provide that comprehensive experience and skill base. I believe that by
simply providing these experiences to students they will show up in droves to
take advantage of these opportunities to expand their interests and tune in to
their own knowledge. Students bring so much to the table that we should limit
them to performance or nothing at the middle and high school level.
At
my current school, the choices for students in the grades 5-8 are band,
strings, choir, or general music. While the general music class attempts to
meet the other standards, it’s basically a dumping ground. So another way of
putting it would be, band performance, strings performance, choir performance,
or everything else. I think it would be a wonderful idea to have more elective
courses that are geared to the other standards! Say for instance we offered a
composition course utilizing a computer lab, or an improvisation course. I know
students would love to seek these other standards and explore. It is definitely
an issue for those in “general music” that don’t see how all of those standards
apply to their life. They seek something much more specific.
It’s
refreshing to think of the standards in this light of curriculum. I enjoyed
myself and will continue to do so as I think about curriculum for this
following school year. I can take my class at face value instead of trying to
make it do too much! This reflection definitely makes me lean toward
recognizing my classes as performance-based classes and not, for instance,
composition. I need to rely on my students to offer insight as to the direction
they feel they should take with their education.
