Listening is a key part of the music classroom from kindergarten up to grade 12. Students can participate in listening and reflecting on the music of other cultures without actively participating in singing or playing the music. This applies for many Indigenous songs especially those that are sacred. It is important to make sure that the resources that you are using in your classroom have been properly created or gifted in order to include them authentically. The resources on this website are currently accurate and will be undated regularly to offer the most researched and accurate information.
You can engage students in a conversation about appropriation vs. appreciation. These are two concepts that are often used together and can become confusing for students if they are not directly taught the meaning of the words. I believe that by engaging students in this conversations that students will feel more comfortable exploring different cultures including, but not limited to, FNMI perspectives.
Appreciation:
An ability to understand the worth, quality, or importance of something.
Appropriation:
The act of taking or using something especially in a way that is illegal, unfair, etc.
OR
The action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission.
To extend this lesson you can create a listening bulletin board of the songs and artist that you have listened to. This would remind students of the different cultures and songs that they have heard. It would also show you, and an educator, what students are listening to in your music classroom. It might surprise you to see how lacking in diversity the repertoire in the music room is.
Definitions retrieved from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
You can engage students in a conversation about appropriation vs. appreciation. These are two concepts that are often used together and can become confusing for students if they are not directly taught the meaning of the words. I believe that by engaging students in this conversations that students will feel more comfortable exploring different cultures including, but not limited to, FNMI perspectives.
Appreciation:
An ability to understand the worth, quality, or importance of something.
Appropriation:
The act of taking or using something especially in a way that is illegal, unfair, etc.
OR
The action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission.
To extend this lesson you can create a listening bulletin board of the songs and artist that you have listened to. This would remind students of the different cultures and songs that they have heard. It would also show you, and an educator, what students are listening to in your music classroom. It might surprise you to see how lacking in diversity the repertoire in the music room is.
Definitions retrieved from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.