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CAN MUSIC HELP STOP THE COVID SLIDE? Joyce Whitby
IF MUSIC HAS CHARMS TO SOOTHE THE SAVAGE BEAST* ... CAN IT STOP THE COVID SLIDE?
BY JOYCE WHITBY “COVID SLIDE — YEAH, IT’S A THING!”
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In the spring of 2020 the world, as we knew it, changed drastically. The global pandemic, caused by the “Covid-19” virus, forced millions of people to quarantine at home, and abruptly closed businesses and schools. Students in the United States, privileged to receive daily education, were suddenly thrust into independent learning models. Thousands of educators worked tirelessly to disseminate instructional materials, and conduct virtual lessons using technology and the Internet. Parents became instant tutors, while juggling newly imposed work from home schedules. Inequities abounded for students without the economic means to access technology-based learning resources.
As we look at the challenges for reopening schools this fall, projections about “COVID Slide” are grim. According to EdWeek magazine, “Depending on the grade, students were projected to lose anywhere from half to all of their academic growth from the last year, compared to normal student growth.” Sadly, some models project little loss or even mild gains for students from more affluent families. The widespread impact of the pandemic has clearly wreaked havoc on the economy, the public health system, and our education system. One thing is for sure, more than ever, educators need instructional materials with high impact.
WHERE DOES ONE EVEN START?
Educators need to focus on high quality content which engages students who have fast become critical connoisseurs of cloud-based instruction. Experts agree that reading instruction lends itself to independent learning models, which point to libraries of books at all levels. Whereas, mathematics is more difficult to teach remotely, as core curriculum standards are sequential,
scaffolded, and abstract. Mathematics also helps build learners with the strong “mental muscles” for problem solving and abstract reasoning. Success in mathematics courses, especially Pre-Algebra, is also an acute pain point in K12 education as a foundational subject linked to high school graduation rates, national competitiveness, and all STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers. So, how does one effectively engage students in mathematics in a remote or hybrid learning environment? One solution that is doing this right is Muzology (www.muzology.com). Developed by a team of hit songwriters, learning experts, and PhDs, Muzology blends core math content into engaging songs and music videos. Across a series of studies, the Muzology system has been proven to increase test scores, boost retention, and enhance student confidence.
MATH + MUSIC = (SUCCESS + ENGAGEMENT) 2 ?
Since the beginning of time, musicians have counted beats per second, transposed notes or chords from one key to another, and created geometric rhythms, which reveal the deep roots and genealogy of musical genres. These underlying concepts relating music to its mathematical roots are undisputed. Another maxim, which is widely accepted, is that music can calm, excite, or inspire all sorts of living creatures. This includes humans, plants, and even animals, hence the popular quote “Music has charms to soothe the savage beast”*. The logical conclusion is that music is a force that can motivate, and engage, and offers a platform for embracing mathematical concepts, even if that is only subliminal.
* FUN FACT: The phrase 'music has charms to soothe a savage breast' sounds Shakespearian, but in fact comes to us from The Mourning Bride, a play by William Congreve, 1697, is often misquoted and more commonly known as “savage beast” vs “savage breast.” Researchers have posed important questions: “What if we intentionally tap into the power of Music as a platform for direct instruction? What if we use music to engage students while we introduce new concepts? How will students embrace this level of instruction? Will they have better assimilation of new material, better retention, and recall? Will this lead to a love of learning?”
The limbic system supports a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, motivation, and long-term memory. Music resonates with the limbic system, and thus targets memory at a deep and lasting level. This is no surprise to early childhood educators, who have always used creative rhymes and songs to teach almost everything. Think about how you learned the alphabet - technically a series of nonsensical symbols delivered in a specific order. More than likely you can recall the little jingle and probably tap into that recall if you need to alphabetize something quickly.
Research by neuroscientists indicates that music goes well beyond the limbic system, lighting up brain regions responsible for memory, attention, emotion, and motivation. In fact, music activates almost every neural system and subsystem. Consider that we now also know
that neural networks are capable of modifying their connections or rewiring themselves, a process more commonly known as “brain plasticity”. This means that we can literally use music to both engage learners and concurrently stimulate multiple neural networks, while building capacity for retention of facts and processes.
When we look at the bigger picture, the learning loss attributed to Covid-19 is not just a result of the disruption in the continuity of learning, but it is also attributable to mental trauma caused by a combination of anxiety about Covid-19 itself, lack of consistent daily structures, food insecurities, and even homelessness.
Essentially, students who have been thrust into ‘survival mode’ are using all their mental capacities just to survive. Because music does indeed impact the limbic system (responsible for emotions and long term memory) it can provide emotional support via a sense of community and belonging, as well an outlet for release of pent-up stress. Thus, when educators utilize music as an instructional tool, they help build a common language for students to relate to each other socially and emotionally, as well as providing a fertile platform for growing learners, synapse by synapse.
Joyce Whitby is a lifelong educator who started off as an elementary educator, and then spent the bulk of her time teaching educational technology at Long Island University during the mid-80’s. Since then, Joyce has been in the business of educational technology with key roles in professional development, marketing and sales leadership.
In 2017, Joyce and her husband (aka @tomwhitby, co-founder of #edchat) launched their own consulting business working with small to medium sized innovation companies seeking growth in revenue and market share Innovations4Education.com.
As the 2019-2020 school year wound down and It should also be noted to take care of how survey district administrators across the nation data is collected. Is it a publicly-accessible were faced with the looming decisions survey or are participants provided their about the return to school in the fall, own unique invitations? What can be community stakeholders came off the sidelines to participate in shared decision making. Parental SUPPORTING PARTNER done beyond sending out the survey to ensure marginalized voices contribute to the shared decision making? Those involvement has been a long-sought goal for public school systems. In the age of COVID-19, the question of who AMERICAN CONSORTIUM FOR EQUITY IN EDUCATION focused on making equity-minded decisions should also ask as the data is reviewed: whose voice is missing? decides and how raises more questions than answers. The vocal minority can obscure community sentiment when a plurality Early in the summer of 2020, school and of stakeholders stay on the sidelines. But district leaders issued surveys or polls to when the stakes are as high as they are gather input from parents on their desires for now, it’s important to develop a strategy that the 2020-2021 school year. Parents weighed in. goes beyond vote counting in a poll and helps the Perhaps, the issue wasn’t the poll itself; but rather it was community understand how it provides collective the undefined purpose of it. expertise to solve problems.
Time and time again, districts and schools touted their surveys on back-to-school plans as a way to seek stakeholder engagement. However, somewhere in the process, the surveys themselves become a referendum on leadership in local communities. In some cases, the results showed the community wanted one resolution, but in the end, leadership took a different route.
What started as good intentions become untenable situations for those managing the social media channels of schools and districts as parents sought to organize their efforts to call for the reverse of decision making.
Whatever decision your district made, you have likely faced many sleepless nights over the decision itself and the blowback. Navigating the current of public opinion amid a global pandemic in the era of social media is not for the faint of heart.
But this being 2020 is a reminder that hindsight offers 20/20 vision to reflect on how best to seek community engagement in a politically-charged climate. In this case, social media can impact your ability to equitably gather the input of stakeholders. The power of leveraging social networks can actually hinder leaders’ ability to understand the sentiment of the community. This new-aged ballot stuffing can result in myopic views. Surveys and polls are great tools; however, we must be transparent with stakeholders regarding how the results will be used--especially in the age of social media. Likely, leaders used multiple sources of information to arrive at a difficult decision. However, if stakeholders were unaware that the survey results would be but one factor in the decision, could that mitigate the reaction? Perhaps. In the current climate, some parents may feel they were led to believe that the top vote-getter ruled.
As leaders during these trying times, we must be committed to the principles of not only being transparent with what we learn through stakeholder feedback, but also clearly articulating how decisions will be made. It’s a subtle distinction that makes a huge difference--an important lesson to prevent being swept away in the current of public opinion.
Lesley Bruinton is President Elect of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), as well as the Public Relations Coordinator for Tuscaloosa City Schools. A two-time past president of ALSPRA, the Alabama School Public Relations Association, and a two-time Gold Medallion winner from NSPRA, Bruinton holds a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in Strategic Communication from Troy University.
