Allsup, Randall Everett.

Remixing the Classroom: toward an Open Philosophy of Music

Education. Indiana University Press, 2016.
John Dewey. "The School and the Life of the Child," Chapter 2 in The School and
Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (1907): 47-73.

1. Allsup opens the chapter with an anecdote, and subsequently questions the notion of
prioritizing efficiency in music instruction. Reflect on ways in which you have seen
efficiency prioritized, and ways in which you have seen efficiency not prioritized, in your
own K-12 and university music education. Please describe at least one specific example
of each scenario, and reflect on affordances and constraints of prioritizing (or not
prioritizing) efficiency in music instruction.
Efficiency in any career is not only helpful, but absolutely necessary to succeed,
and in music education specifically, help your students to reach their full
potentials. In High School my teacher, Mr. Mack, prioritized efficiency, specifically
learning all the set aside music in a given time and to sing it at a college level. He
set our choir’s goals at the beginning of the school year and made sure we
reached them no matter what else arises within the year. Mr. Mack’ s approach
was organized, goal directed, and specific. This helped in many ways, because
our choir was competitive, completed complex works, and overall highly
respected within the local music community. This high level of efficiency,
however, was sometimes overwhelming for both the teacher and us as students.
In order to reach these goals, there was little to no room for interpreting the
music, discovering music in a unique way, and enjoyment of the overall
experience. Although this was a difficult environment to enjoy and learn from, I
prefer it in comparison to a classroom in which the teacher, or professor, does
not devise a plan for their students, and do not care enough to strive for
efficiency in the classroom.
2. Allsup writes, “Rather than the Master-apprentice as Master-performer, the music
teacher of the future will be an expert guide, a Jack- or Jill-of-many-trades, a facilitator-
educator who uses the multiple traditions at his or her disposal (including traditions that
students bring with them and are experts in) to fund learners with the greatest capacity
to make the widest range of decisions to benefit their long-term growth” (p. 85). To what
extent does this conception of a music teacher align with your professional vision? What
are specific points of resonance and dissonance between your thinking and Allsup’s?
This conception of a successful music teacher aligns nearly directly with my
beliefs of what a music teacher should aspire to be. Many people believe that in
order to be a good teacher, they should be very skilled in their instrument
specifically, and generally have some skills, such as leadership, and the ability to
utilize multiple traditions, including those of their students. Personally, I believe
the leadership aspect of teaching music is as important, if not more important,
than one’s abilities on their instrument. It is also important, in my opinion, to be a
 well rounded musician. This includes not only being fluent, or well-versed in one
instrument, but to be able to teach multiple instruments. Furthermore, teachers
should have a wide knowledge of theory, but more importantly, be able to
describe different theory techniques to a diverse population of students. Also,
Allsup’s idea of teachers funding students with the knowledge to make a wide
range of decisions resonates with my own beliefs of an extraordinary teacher. A
mediocre teacher gives their students the basic knowledge of the subject of the
class, however I believe the best teachers are the ones who extend their
teaching to help students to make overall better decisions in all aspects of life.
3. Allsup writes about, and shares a sketch of, John Dewey’s ideal school. How are you
reacting to these ideas? Please identify specific passages (and cite them in APA format)
from Allsup’s text in your response.
John Dewey’s ideal school breaks the boundaries we have become so
accustomed to in the field of education. Dewey explains the problematic
educational process when saying, “A lady told me yesterday that she had been
visiting different schools trying to find one where activity on the part of the
children preceded the giving of information on the part of the teacher, or where
the children had some motive for demanding the information.” He goes on to
discuss that the woman had to visit twenty-four different schools before
discovering one instance where the students had a reason to want the
information given to them. As a student, I can fully believe and relate to this
statement. Many teachers I have encountered saw their job as giving information,
and hoping their students cared enough, and had the internal resources, to
understand it and remember it. Dewey would argue that the teachers job is to
help their students to understand, and design the classroom environment in a
way that their students will genuinely want to know the information. He also
discusses the uniformity of method and curriculum, describing that everything is
on a “listening” basis. As a primarily kinesthetic and visual learner, I can attest to
the concentration on aural learners within the classroom. I believe this may not
be on purpose, but due to its convenience, most classrooms revolve around a
lecture. Dewey says, “There is next to no opportunity for adjustment to varying
capacities and demands. There is a certain amount -- a fixed quantity -- of ready-
made results and accomplishments to be acquired by all children alike in a given
time.”
4. Choose an excerpt from Allsup’s text that elicited a strong response from you and
respond to it. This response could be one of agreement, surprise, disagreement,
confusion, or something else (e.g., you are not required to choose something you agree
with). Please cite the specific passage you choose using APA format (please see below
for additional information on APA format).
One thing that surprised me, and intrigued me, was the idea of the museum
classroom and the laboratory classroom. I initially agreed with this idea, because
it involves the idea that music uses both sides of the brain, and unlike other
subjects, it combines all subjects at once, and in order to be considered well
trained, one must know the history, as well as be able to compose. “A popular
music laboratory would be centered on composing as much as on learning
repertoire and following rules” (Allsup, 2016, p.77). One aspect of this belief that I
disagree with is that he never discuss the laboratory without the idea of
composing. I think the concept of the laboratory classroom can extend to be not
only writing music in the typical way, but exploring new instruments, learning how
to improvise, and playing existing songs, in an original way that the student can
design and connect to. Allsup then explains that music educators have been
expected to simply teach the basics of an instrument, and what sounds “good”
and what does not. He believes that true learning, and a stronger education
begins when teachers extend past what is expected of them, and turn their
classrooms into a laboratory that operates with what is learned in the museum
aspect of the classroom.