Music education as/for artistic citizenship (original) (raw)

2012, Music educators journal

If music education is going to meet its full potential in the twenty-first century, then people may need to rethink their assumptions about the central values of school music. The author fully supports all effective, educative, and ethical ways of teaching and learning music, as well as students' critically reflective and democratic engagement with a reasonable diversity of musical styles and pieces. In this article, he suggests that educators may have unrealized opportunities and responsibilities to integrate traditional means and ends--to integrate musical processes, products, experiences, and outcomes--in the service of additional or alternative aims. He points out that anything in the world, including worthy endeavors like music education, can be seen and interpreted in many ways. Regardless of the ways educators choose to interpret the what and how of music education, the logically prior question they must always keep asking themselves is "why" are they doing the things they do? There is a wide range of options. Some teachers may answer by saying that they teach music to motivate students' love of creative music-making and listening, or deepen students' musical-affective experiences, or win state festivals, or raise students' math scores and future salary prospects, or prepare students for lifelong musical learning. The author suggests another answer, which teachers may or may not wish to consider when they envision the aims and values of music and education. The term he uses to label his answer and to indicate where he is heading is "music education as/for artistic citizenship."