Reduce Inequality Within and Among Countries
Sustainable Development Goal #10
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"Sustainable Development Goal 10 aims at reducing inequality within and among countries. This SDG calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status within a country. The goal also addresses inequalities among countries, including those related to representation, migration and development assistance." source : https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space4sdgs/sdg10.html
The What!
SDG Goal #10, entitled Reduce Inequality Within and Among Countries, is not an easy goal to accomplish. There are hundreds of issues across our planet that pose inequality among its people. There are hundreds more just within our own country of the United States. And hundreds in our own town and even school. But break it down even further and you will find inequality right in your own classroom.
I want to bring you resources to break down the inequality with the musicians of your school and the music itself that you play.
The Why!
Many students cannot afford to travel the world at their age to be able to experience the vast cultures of the people it possesses. To me, the arts are the the easiest way to connect with a culture without experiencing it first hand. They tell a story and hold history of those who belong to that culture.
But, when using popular and most easily accessible music websites to find music for high school and middle school concert bands, it was a challenge to find music that was written by authentic composers of the culture the music portrays. For example, there is a beginning band piece entitled "Chips and Salsa" in the Latin style but by a white American. So while there may be samplings of Latin Rhythms it is not infused with authentic Latin culture.
We should be able to share the works of various types of music and composers with our students at same ease we are able to find music written by the majority. That not only means search engines should be more accessible but that we are giving our diverse students the path to become that diversity in the classroom and have a voice. The "editor's choice," "most popular," and "contest approved songs" sections should not all reflect the same type of person and culture.
Let's take a look at the stats of composers and musicians across the United States :
Composers by Race
Composers by Race
White - 74.7%
Hispanic/Latino - 9.5%
Black/African American - 5.6%
Asian - 5.3%
Unknown - 4.7%
Native American/Native Alaskan - 0.2%
Professional Musicians Stats
Professional Musicians Stats
9,276 professional musicians employed in the United States
82.2% are Men
17.8% are Women
Average age : 44
White : 66.5%
Hispanic/Latino : 12.9%
Black/African American : 9.9%
Asian : 5.5%
source : https://www.zippia.com/professional-musician-jobs/demographics/
Composer Wage Gap by Race
Composer Wage Gap by Race
White - $53,925
Hispanic/Latino - $56,412
Black/African American - $52,247
Asian - $54,186
Unknown - $53,994
Native American/Native Alaskan - no stats
Student Musician Stats (2013)
Student Musician Stats (2013)
24% of class enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra for at least 1 year
60% are female
40% are male
White : 58%
Black/African American : 13%
Hispanic/Latino : 17%
Asain/Pacific Islander : 4%
Two or more races : 8%
Native America/Native Alaskan : <1%
Source : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022429419862837
The How!
In my school's music program we are:
Playing music by diverse composers (composers that are NOT cis, white males) Although finding these compositions was difficult, particularly in the beginning band music, it is an important topic of conversation for us to know who our music is written by.
Playing music from diverse cultures and learning about those cultures we play music from.
Taking a look at the diversity in our own extra curricular activities - including band and choir. While we have a great diversity in our school for the area we live in, those groups aren't represented in our activities outside of school.
Making a plan to recruit our diverse students into beginning band next year. Identifying the barriers of why they don't join (financial, transportation, religion, language barriers, etc.).
Let's look into how you can apply #1 to YOUR classroom :
Materials: see each lesson plan for items needed
Time: Discussions on the cultural variety you program should be ongoing every class period and throughout the year. For these lessons you can make them as long or short as you want - from 2 class periods to an entire quarter project - they can be expanded as much as you desire or left as is. As an educator, extra time will be spent when programing because finding diverse composers and music is not as widely accessible but once you start gathering resources the time commitment to this will decrease over time.
Planning Considerations: When first discussing these topics assume students don't know any of the information you are sharing. Each student's life experience will be different so starting from the basics of explaining is vital to lay a foundation for their knowledge. For example, explain exactly what a culture is. I had students choose a cis white American man that now lives in Canada and thought that showed diversity because they didn't live in the United States. They don't know what they don't know and we must provide all the building blocks to help them grow.
Assignment Ideas:
I had students log on to JWPepper.com (my most commonly used website to purchase music from) and search through to find 3 songs that were at their level from a diverse composer. I classified that as females, from the LGBTQ+ community, or race other than white. And they found that the "popular" or "most frequently played" sections contained little that met these standards. In the end we gathered a list of composers from a variety of concert band genres of music to search for in the future. And while it is nowhere near an exhaustive list, it is a start. This activity brought to light many composers I had never heard of before and have since programmed at our concerts.
lesson plan - diverse composers.pdfAnother assignment I used as a "make-up" assignment for students who missed a contest or a concert for various reasons was a "make your own program" project. The students had to pick a cultural theme and find music for beginning band, HS band, and jazz band to fill a concert program and then write program notes as to why they chose this music. I got 3 very unique programs of music. 2 centered around Pacific Islander music as that is their own personal culture. They were able to dig deeper into authentic pieces and share history on what Pacific Islander music is to them. In the end I already have an entire line up for next year's May concert for "Pacific Islander Month" that I am really excited to work with these students on throughout next year. And my 3rd program shared an "Around the World" theme that gave me music from Romania, East Asia, Siberia, and the Middle East. Again, each of these pieces were completely new to me and shared the same educational pieces I want in each grade while also being culturally diverse.
Below you will find the assignment and an example of one of my student's work at the bottom. This lesson, in it's entirety, was originally written by Adam Mailman and purchased from his website, Teachers Pay Teachers. Please purchase from him if you are considering using this exact resource in its entirety in your classroom, this is just an adaptation I took from my purchase to fit my classroom and students : https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Assignment-Build-a-Concert-Program-for-your-Band-5615582
lesson plan - build a program.pdfResources for Repertoire by Underrepresented Composers
Resources for Repertoire by Underrepresented Composers
Institute for Composer Diversity gives you a chance to search composers and music by ethnicity. It is an ever evolving database and the composer diversity database is wonderful.
North American Indigenous Music Resources gives you an ever-growing list of music written by North American Indigenous people.
https://renatayazzie.com/north-american-indigenous-music-resources/
BIPOC Voices is an ever-growing data base that is made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The mission of the site is for people to have easier access to hearing music by BIPOC artists
https://morebipocvoices.com/database/
JW Pepper is my favorite website to find music in general. They have a tab where multicultural music hangs out. I hope these pieces can get more integrated in the future. But this is a good starting point
https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/multicultural-concert-band-music.list
National Music Standards
The 2014 Music Standards are all about Music Literacy. The standards emphasize conceptual understanding in areas that reflect the actual processes in which musicians engage. The standards cultivate a student’s ability to carry out the three Artistic Processes of
Creating
Performing
Responding
Some 2014 National Music Standards that apply when working towards SDG 10:
MU:Pr4.1.E.IIIa Develop and apply criteria to select varied programs to study and perform based on an understanding of theoretical and structural characteristics and expressive challenges in the music, the technical skill of the individual or ensemble, and the purpose and context of the performance.
MU:Pr4.3.E.IIIa Demonstrate how understanding the style, genre, and context of a varied repertoire of music informs prepared and improvised performances as well as performers’ technical skill to connect with the audience.
MU:Pr5.3.E.IIIa Develop, apply, and refine appropriate rehearsal strategies to address individual and ensemble challenges in a varied repertoire of music.
MU:Cr6.1.E.IIIa Demonstrate an understanding and mastery of the technical demands and expressive qualities of the music through prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire representing diverse cultures, styles, genres, and historical periods in multiple types of ensembles.
MU:Re7.1.E.IIa Apply criteria to select music for a variety of purposes, justifying choices citing knowledge of the music and the specified purpose and context.
MU:Re8.1.E.IIa Support interpretations of the expressive intent and meaning of musical works citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when appropriate) the setting of the text, and varied researched sources
MU:Re9.1.E.IIa Evaluate works and performances based on research as well as personally- and collaboratively developed criteria, including analysis and interpretation of the structure and context.
MU:Cn10.0.H.IIa Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.
MU:Cn11.0.T.IIa Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
United Nations SDG Alignments:
These lessons and strategies help students of diverse backgrounds find themselves and their culture in the music we play in our classrooms. This will encourage our minority population to join and continue with their music education. In addition, by purchasing and choosing music by diverse composers helps support their careers and encourage other minority groups to choose this profession.
SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Why Now? Why You?
If not now, when?
If not you, who?
We all have a responsibility to give students a well rounded education and prepare them for their future. If they only know what they experience in their home then we are setting them up for failure. To be a successful member of our world students need to know about other cultures and learn from their experiences. The best place to be exposed to our world is in their very own classroom. YOU can help make them positive contributors to our society. YOU can make an impact in their life and the lives they will in turn impact.
"And Justice for ELs" by Ayanna Cooper talks about the urgency of creating welcoming and accommodating environments for English Language Learners and I think it bridges over to students of differing cultures. A quote from her book:
"The National Center for Educational Statistics reports 4.8 million ELs in US public schools. From a data perspective, national statistics about EL populations are alarming. They have been for a long time and remain so. Take, for example, the national graduation rates for ELs. In 2015-2016, the US Department of Education reported graduation rates for ELs as 66.9%, nearly 20 percentage points lower than the 84.1% reported for all students. ELs were approximately 1% higher than only one subgroup - students with disabilities. The same year, only 2.8% of HS ELs participated in the SAT or ACT exams compared to 97.2% of non-ELs. These gaps exist across a number of content areas, yet we can get a false sense of security by believing that we are 'doing the best we can with what we have.' I encourage you to examine the issues from a wide lens first, and then more granularly, as a way to be practice and informed decision makers."
Just like us "doing what we can" for ELs negatively impacts them the same mindset for bringing cultural experiences and conversations into classrooms will affect all students in the long term. And we often don't see the real effects of or provide a multitude of cultural experiences for our students until they are no longer in our classroom - so let's do it NOW, let's do it for ALL students, and let's help each other be the best cultural educators we can be FOR our students!
Reflection
This project has been really impactful to me as a band director. When we think of playing "the standards" in band, the music all students "should" play before graduating they are glaringly written by white males. It opened by eyes to all the problematic music out there as well ("Latin" music written by a white man entitled "Chips and Salsa"??), and that we should get our cultural music from authentic sources. I am so much more thoughtful when programing our concerts so that I can open the conversation up about what we are playing to my students.
I have felt the closer integration of our minority players in our band as I talk about cultural inclusion and the importance of learning about one another. While they can't see themselves in me I hope they feel as though I care about who they are and their impact on our band. I have seen students in the majority learn things about other cultures and be curious to know more. This shows that students want to learn about our world and that it is our duty to teach them and help them find authentic sources to learn more!
Any extra time spent searching for music or researching about its origins is worth it if students are able to take our classroom experiences and apply them to themselves and the world. Educators make a difference every single day and I am so lucky to be able to be one of them!
This page written by Nyssa Jimenez, 5-12 band director at Lac qui Parle Valley School District in Madison, MN.
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