Music Education And Social Emotional Learning The Heart Of Teaching Music In Your Classroom
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t’s Monday morning, and your students come into your room—some excited, some tired, some anxious, some relieved. Their faces tell the stories of everything that has happened to them before they see you. There is Tom who is worried about where the next meal will come from; Sara, who is worried about the fight her parents had last night; Alex who is struggling with body image; and, Kara, who is concerned about how she will get into the college her parents expect. These challenges are real, and for your students are all they can think about as we try to teach them music. We, as music educators, can help provide skills for students to confront these challenges. Challenges exist in ALL socioeconomic settings, at all ages, and for all people, they may be different (i.e., finding that next meal vs. getting into Juilliard), but they are all detrimental for students’ success. We have been frequently asked whether the challenges facing this generation are worse than previous ones. There are certain elements that I believe may lead to this assumption; however, it really does not matter. The challenges facing today’s students are real and derailing them—THEY NEED OUR HELP!
Scott N. Edgar and Robert Morrison Quadrant Research bob@artsedresearch.org So, What Do You Want ME to Do About It? I’m Just Their Music Teacher! These situations are a reality and will resonate with many teachers. Addressing these situations sounds like it belongs on the desk of the school counselor or mental health professional. The truth is your students rarely trust them—they trust YOU because you are their music teacher. You have likely taught them for multiple years in their favorite subject. While we should never go beyond the role of teacher into a counselor or therapist, THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO TO HELP! We do not teach music; we teach children music. Because they trust us, we are in the perfect position to help them not only encounter the accidentals in music but to confront the accidentals in their lives with strength and skill. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) SEL is a construct being implemented across the globe intended to provide students with the SKILLS to confront their challenges by being self-aware, socially-aware, and to make responsible decisions. Broad instruction often takes the form of reflection, discussion, and lecture. Students can view this as
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forced, formulaic, and scripted. For SEL to be most effective, it needs to be embedded in the curriculum. For us, the music teacher can do this in a much more authentic way—through music. SEL should not feel like one more thing; it is THE thing. We teach music; we teach self-discipline; we teach collaboration. SEL is in our classrooms already; our job is to make it explicit, consistent, and structured.
Making Intentional Connections In New Jersey, a task force of arts educators and SEL experts have gathered to develop resources to help you in your process to embed SEL into your instruction. Formed in partnership between Arts Ed NJ and SEL4NJ this task force is combining the soon to be released New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) in the Visual and Performing Arts and the Social and Emotional Learning Competencies adopted by the New Jersey Department of Education in 2017. The new NJSLS in the arts are based on the National Core Arts Standards, that is organized around the Artistic Processes, which are the cognitive and physical actions by which arts learning and making are JANUARY 2020
