Technology has produced new objects,
ideas, and social patterns, as well as new ways of thinking
about them. We are reminded that Max Weber traced roots of social
change to the world of ideas.5
Social change happens everywhere. The rate of change, however,
varies from place to place. What is social change? Sociologists
define it as the transformation of culture and social institutions
over time. Social changes are sometimes intentional but are
often unplanned. As we observe the effects of technological
advances, cultural changes have dynamics that continually show
gains and losses. For example, diffusion of information has
created change in trade, migration, and mass communication that
has spread cultural elements from one society to another. Technology
is accelerating social change worldwide so fast that it has
become difficult to identify the change in definitive ways.
Time is an important factor in that recognition.
Since the Industrial Revolution
more than two centuries ago, the latter half of this century
has witnessed the unfolding of another technological transformation—the
Information Revolution. Just as industrialization increased
society's capacity to produce "things," this new information
technology is vastly expanding our ability to create ideas and
new forms of communication. The Information Revolution is changing
virtually every dimension of our lives altering the workplace
by recasting the meaning and location of work, revising the
curricular content and teaching methods of all disciplines in
education including music instruction, and even altering the
nature of human relationships.
The computer has become central
to our way of life. The development of the Internet places more
than one hundred million people in 90 percent of the world countries
in instant communication with one another.6
As stated in the opening paragraph, because society comprises
countless interdependent elements, the development of new information
technology is likely to cause changes in all aspects of our
lives by rewriting the rules for those living in the next century.
People will probably work either at home or often at some place
far from the "central office." As people pay less
attention to their neighbors and spend more time communicating
with others "on line," human communities will be reshaped
as a result. Personal isolation may also be a significant byproduct
in music teaching as well. That same ability to participate
online with other students will allow for team projects, group-oriented
research, interchange of musical ideas in composition and arranging,
and countless other creative endeavors for the musical development
of students, some of whom may live on another continent and
be of another culture; hence "the classroom without walls."
Education is likely to be the
common denominator that will separate and stratify our society,
causing greater inequality. As we know, there is a high correlation
between education and affluence; i.e., between education and
the use of technology and ideas. Indeed, it is noted that more
affluent people are acquiring new information technology while
poor people are not. The Information Age is literally dividing
our society into two distinct groups: those with sophisticated
symbolic skills (who are likely to prosper) and others without
these abilities (destined for low-income jobs), thus producing
another dimension of the "haves and have nots." This
circumstance will present a formidable obstacle to educators
regardless of their subject or specialty. With more than 97
percent of schools reporting the use of computers for instruction,
making sure that computer use is equally shared by ad students
must be the rule. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) as a technology
advance continues to support the teaching and learning of music.
More sophisticated CAI software will enhance the development
of aural skills, theoretical and historical understanding, and
actual performance, as well as programs that seek to stimulate
music experiences associated with composition and improvisation.7
One of the most significant technological
changes on the horizon within the next ten years, according
to Christine
Hermanson, is the development and commercialization of interactive
TV as the next wave of technology that will affect the way
music is taught in the schools and in the home/studio.8
Another trend on the horizon is
that more and more of the cultural symbols that frame our lives
will be created via animation. A continuous flow of Disney characters
(Pocahontas, Tarzan, Mulan), as well as Power Rangers, Ninja
Turtles, and Ronald McDonald, are cultural icons that help shape
our values. Today, young children are becoming preoccupied with
virtual culture, elements that spring from the minds of contemporary
culture makers for commercial gains. New technology is virtually
changing reality and will compete with traditional cultural
symbols, values, historical events, and even music makers (composers
and performers).
Technology has grown and will
continue to grow in its power, complexity, and prevalence. The
fantastic depth and breadth of music today creates a sense that
music surrounds us and is simply a part of life. Music education
will need to instill the realization that such diversity and
quantity of music has various levels of sophistication. Quantity
is not synonymous with high quality. Having the computer resources
to make it possible to create original music does not mean the
user will become an expert composer. Furthermore, an intelligent
consumer of this musical information requires a high level of
music literacy and maturity. Technology has spawned numerous
institutional changes. The following are examples:
1. Technology is affecting our economy and
changing the way our commerce is conducted. Individuals can
purchase CDs, tapes, music scores, and new manuscripts directly
from composers and performers, thus eliminating the middleman
. . . the music distributor.
2. Technology is defining the skills needed
to find employment. Working with one's head has replaced the
need to work with one's hands. Musicians with computer skills
are able to search out available positions more expeditiously
and cover a wider geographic area within less time. International
job searches are more common.
3. By digital imagery, photographers can combine
and manipulate pictures and combine animation with people
and animals. Although few music teachers have such skills,
for those who do, teaching aids can create a delightful learning
environment with untold possibilities.
4. In colleges, universities, and the public
schools, students now have a proliferation of images on tape,
film, and computer disk. Texts are available on CD-ROM and
can be downloaded directly from across the Internet. Exploring
the use of the computer and technology in the many aspects
of the music experience in undergraduate and graduate courses
of study is perhaps one of the most beneficial avenues for
the future of music teacher education. While the technology
exists to deliver practically any musical concept, the question
of curricular integrity and instructional efficiency still
needs to be addressed. Music education must be able to continue
its traditions of the music academy and conservatory, while
at the same time provide "cutting edge" curricula
and instructional strategies that will facilitate distance
education opportunities.
5. Interactive computer-based instruction is
fast eliminating the need to travel to classrooms to learn,
receive, and complete assignments. Students can be graded
through the same process. Distance learning will present an
alternative to attending college in person. A growing collaboration
between college campuses and the Internet—called "on
line education" or "distance
learning"— lets one take courses and earn entire
degrees via computer without ever setting foot on a campus.
A distance-learning course might incorporate one or more of
these techniques: videotaped courses, e-mail, interactive
video, computer conferencing, and courses where information
is distributed on the Web. Advanced systems provide embedded
video film, whereby a student can see and hear lectures, and
on-line chat, which lets a "virtual" classroom of
students interact "in real time" at home. Matriculation
costs are expensive for these programs. Yet in some cases
travel and hotel expenses for face-to-face meetings are included
in the program costs. Cyber-degrees should improve as traditional
universities offer more of their curricula on-line.9
6. Performance classes, ensemble rehearsals,
recitals and concerts, and private lessons will still require
the physical presence of students and audiences, but practice
formats will be altered by CAI software that can provide instrumental
accompaniments.
7. E-mail, fax, on-line discussion groups,
"chat rooms," and the ability to search out libraries
around the world are merely a sampling of cyberspace capabilities
for communication and dissemination of information.
8. Technological developments are affecting
gender stratification. They promise to propel the trend toward
gender equality by centering on manipulating ideas that are
gender neutral. The elimination of face-to-face communication
will also eliminate the need to know a person's sex, race,
or age.
9. Cyber-work fits easily into flexible schedules
and does not hinge on punching a time clock. One can care
for a loved one or "baby-sit" for example, and still
work and/or complete homework assignments.
These trends in technology are
exciting and thought provoking. However, computers cannot supplant
or substitute for the imagination or the motivation of a human
teacher; nor can a machine solve many of the social and academic
problems we live with on a daily basis. The problems in our
public schools are rooted in the larger society.10
As we approach the next century, we should understand that the
schools alone cannot raise the quality of education but will
improve only to the extent that teachers, parents, communities
at large, and students themselves are committed to the pursuit
of educational excellence. Social problems have no "quick
fixes." If we are to even approach the effective implementation
of our National Standards and the goal of "music for every
person and every person for music" we must first seek a
broad plan for social change and educational equality that reaffirms
our country's early ambition to embrace quality universal schooling.
Excellent music teachers who care about their subject and are
committed to the students they teach are even more critical
to those goals as we move into the next millennium.
For several years, music educators,
scholars, and researchers have been using the phrase "in
the next millennium" in their discourses. At this writing,
it is disquieting to suddenly realize that that historic event
is now only a few months away. Indeed, "ready or not, we
shall be caught."
Given the demographics discussed
herein, one does not have to stretch the imagination toofar
or be too perceptive to realize that music educators in America
have a tremendous responsibility to develop a wider pool of
culturally diverse students, including minorities, who will
be both talented in music performance and exhibit music literacy,
understanding, skills, and knowledge that qualify them to enter
college and university programs as music majors for the purpose
of joining the music profession as teachers and administrators.
Unfortunately, our track record in this area has been abysmal.
The music teaching profession in the United States is in dire
need of well-trained individuals who will serve the diverse
multicultural school-age students they will confront in our
nation's public school classrooms for years to come.
Why should the ethnic and cultural
demographics of the music teaching force reflect the diversity
of the students it serves? Why recruit minority music teachers?
First we should consider the issue of the importance to minority
children of having various models among their teachers. For
example, a cadre of all-white music teaching staff will not
give African-American, Latino, or Asian-American students the
perspective that they might become professional music educators.
James Fraser suggests that in schools where the majority of
students are from disempowered groups, having a teaching force
that includes few representatives of the community creates power
relationships that reinforce disempowerment. 11
Willis Hawley has argued: "The
most effective way to combat racism is to undermine the assumptions
upon which it rests and to arm persons with the skills to overcome
its consequences. These objectives can be achieved by placing
persons of different races or ethnic backgrounds in situations
where they have the opportunity for recurrent interaction involving
cooperative and rewarding activities.''12
This statement suggests that it is only after teachers of different
races have the experience of working together that they will
learn to treat each other as equals. A more diverse teaching
force would provide the experiences that many music teachers
may need to relate well to parents, community leaders, and their
own students.
A second and important reason
for recruiting minority music teachers is the role teachers
play in defining the music curriculum. It continues to be important
for the United States to build a culture that represents the
diversity of its population. Having representatives of different
cultures and races on the music teaching staff in a community
is an important step toward building that more diverse culture
and developing a representative music curriculum.
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