How to kick tokenism in music education to the curb (for good!)

It was February of 2009 (Black History Month), and I was incredibly excited about kicking off my fourth consecutive year of a well-loved tradition that I had established in the small school where I taught K-8 general music: A living wax museum project where all 6th grade students would research and present about prominent black musical artists from the Jazz era. My students loved this project. Costumes were carefully chosen, connections between artists were made (“Hey, my guy played in a band with your guy! Cool!”) and the energy and excitement in the 6th grade was sky-high. Students were engaged, they learned a lot and they had agency and autonomy over pretty much everything. They were proud of their work to make this a showcase that folks would not forget. To this day, when the occasional (now fully grown) former student reaches out to me on Facebook to connect, they remember their experience with the wax museum with fond memories.

Surely, I must have been doing something right. Well—yes and no. Student engagement? Check. Students making connections between music and other content areas? You betcha. Students learning about music composed and performed by marginalized communities? Absolutely! 

So what was wrong with this picture? Two immediate things come to mind (perhaps you can find more). First, I did this type of inclusionary teaching once a year. I treated Black History Month as the perfect (and only) time to branch out beyond all the other musicians and music that I normally taught about throughout the year. You know—those musicians that many of us, while growing up, were taught were simply the “Greats”. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, just to name a few. Second, not once did I consult appropriate culture bearers or experts who knew about jazz music more than I did. I failed to ensure that the learning experiences were authentic and I missed a wonderful opportunity to honor the historical roots where jazz was born.

To be clear, this is in no way a dig on Western music. And I wasn’t completely without knowledge about jazz. I knew enough. But this approach to teaching was problematic. In my quest to meaningfully integrate another genre of music, I had tokenized the music and musicians who helped shape the very fabric of music in the United States. I had treated jazz music and its rich heritage as a box that needed to be checked off on my to-do list.

I know that many of us have been in the same boat at one time or another. The good thing is that when we recognize it, we have the power to change it. Here are some recommendations on how you might want to tackle tokenism in your classroom. Try one, try them all. And, as I always say—enjoy the ride.  :-)

Deepen Your Understanding of Diverse Musical Cultures

To move beyond tokenism, we can invest time in learning about the cultural, historical, and social contexts of the music we introduce in the classroom. This means going beyond surface-level knowledge or quick online searches. We can explore scholarly articles, books, documentaries, and recordings by authentic artists to gain a deeper understanding. This knowledge allows us to convey music in its complexity and richness, avoiding oversimplification.

Practical Tip: Attend workshops, lectures, or performances by musicians from different cultural backgrounds to gain firsthand experience. Connecting with community members who have lived within these traditions can also provide valuable insights.

Integrate Music Authentically into the Curriculum

Rather than including music from various cultures only during specific cultural holidays or months (e.g., Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month), integrate it as an ongoing part of the music curriculum. By embedding diverse musical traditions throughout the year, students understand that these forms of music are not novelties but integral to the world’s musical landscape. They also learn that the definition of what it means to be a musician can be broadened and more inclusive. There really is no one way to be a musician. Let’s open those flood gates!

Practical Tip: Create thematic units where various musical styles from different cultures are explored within a broader musical concept, such as rhythm, improvisation, or storytelling. For example, a unit on rhythm could include drumming traditions from West Africa, the tabla from India, and jazz rhythms from New Orleans. A deep dive to compare these traditions, their roots, and how they might inform each other is also really cool as well!

Shine a Spotlight on Authentic Voices

Invite guest musicians, scholars, and cultural experts who are part of the musical traditions being studied into the classroom. This approach brings authenticity into the PreK-12 setting and ensures students learn directly from individuals who have deep cultural and experiential knowledge. Highlighting authentic voices allows students to engage with music in a way that honors its origins and the people who keep it alive.

Practical Tip: Organize virtual or in-person visits with musicians from various cultural backgrounds. Encourage students to ask questions and interact with the guests, giving them a more personal understanding of the music's cultural significance. Try searching within the local community. I’ve always been amazed by the expertise and rich experiences of various community members wherever I teach. 

Emphasize the Context of Music

Music is deeply connected to the cultural, historical, social, and political contexts in which it is created. Rather than presenting music as isolated sound bites, provide students with a comprehensive understanding of its roots and meanings. This can include discussing the traditional instruments, lyrics, dance, rituals, and customs associated with a musical genre, as well as the role of music in different cultural events and life stages.

Practical Tip: When introducing a new musical genre, “level-up” your lessons to include activities such as exploring traditional clothing, food, instruments, or stories and beliefs related to that culture. Contextualizing music in this way helps students see it as part of a living, evolving culture.

Avoid Stereotyping or Overgeneralizing

Tokenism often arises from the oversimplification of complex musical traditions. Avoid presenting any culture's music as monolithic; within any culture, there exists a range of genres, styles, and historical evolutions. Representing a single song, instrument, or genre as the "essence" of an entire culture can perpetuate stereotypes and ignore the diversity within that tradition.

Practical Tip: When teaching music from a particular culture, include a variety of styles and periods. For instance, when exploring Latin American music, present genres like salsa, tango, mariachi, etc., highlighting the diversity within this broad category.

Empower Students to Explore Their Own Musical Heritage

Encourage students to share music from their own cultural backgrounds. This approach allows for a more student-centered classroom where diverse musical traditions are celebrated naturally and respectfully. It also gives students a sense of ownership and pride in their cultural heritage.

Practical Tip: Allow students to research and present a musical tradition from their own cultural background or a culture they are interested in. Support students in reaching out to family members or community figures to gain a deeper understanding of the music they choose to present. I’ve seen this play-out two ways. Students often learn more about their own heritage than they previously were aware of, while other students who are already familiar with their heritage rise up to meet the challenge of becoming a sharer-of-knowledge with others. Either way, students grow and celebrate themselves for who they are and the history they come from.

Kailash Ranganathan at age 12. Inspired to learn to play sitar after watching Ravi Shankar.

Use Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Culturally responsive teaching involves understanding students' cultural backgrounds and using that knowledge to inform teaching practices. In music education, this might mean incorporating students' musical preferences and lived experiences into lessons, using culturally relevant examples, and adapting teaching methods to meet diverse learning styles. It acknowledges that students come to us with so much knowledge already, and that their knowledge is funded by their lived experiences outside of our classrooms. That’s pretty neat.

Practical Tip: Conduct a classroom survey to learn about students' musical interests, backgrounds, and experiences. Use this information to shape your curriculum and find ways to connect students' lived experiences to the musical concepts being taught. Not an expert on in all-things relevant to your students? No worries. Invite them to the table to get their input. Many will be glad you did.

Reflect and Adapt

Avoiding tokenism is an ongoing process. Reflect on your teaching practices regularly to identify areas for improvement. Seek feedback from students, colleagues, and community members, and be willing to make changes. Understanding that no educator has "arrived" at perfect cultural competence can foster a learning mindset that benefits both teachers and students.

Practical Tip: Ask students to reflect on their experiences in your classroom and ensemble. What did they learn that surprised them? What would they like to explore further? What have you taught that they feel personally connected to? What do they wish they could have connected to more? What would they like you to make more space for? Use their feedback to guide future lessons and deepen your approach to culturally responsive music education.

Final Thoughts

Avoiding tokenism in the music classroom is about moving beyond a checklist approach to cultural inclusion and striving for authenticity and respect. By committing to continuous learning, contextualizing music within its cultural roots, and emphasizing student-centered exploration, we can create an environment that celebrates diversity and fosters a deeper appreciation of the world's rich musical traditions.

In doing so, the music classroom becomes not only a place to learn about different music but also a space where students develop a nuanced understanding and respect for the people and cultures behind it. We can go beyond inclusion and develop a true community of belonging. Now that’s something to celebrate!

Universal Design for Learning 3.0—Bring on the Happy Dance!

While most of us were sipping on a cocktail on a beach somewhere this summer (I hope!), CAST unveiled the 3.0 version of the ever-popular UDL Guidelines at the end of July. For those who have never heard of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), it’s a teaching and learning framework that centers students so that they can become “expert learners” on how they learn best. It advocates that students can (and should) have the power to take a front seat in their own education by varying how we teach and present information, how learners engage with that information, and how they are allowed to show that they have learned what you’re teaching. If you’ve attended any of my professional development workshops, this is where all the scarves, feathers, bean bags, stretchy bands, movement and visual reinforcement comes into play (yes, even for high school music teachers). I’m oversimplifying it and there’s more to it, but that’s the general gist.

First, I want to acknowledge that my love for UDL runs deep. It truly influences my work and how I think about teaching and learning in music and the arts and how I help other teachers work with their own students. Other than explicitly equity-centered approaches that center culturally responsive teaching, it has always been the framework that aligns most with my philosophies of teaching and learning.

What’s new in UDL 3.0

As much as I’ve loved UDL, I’ve always felt the need to tweak it a bit. Perhaps re-framing some of its guidelines more purposefully through an equity-based lens is a more accurate way to state it. Regardless, I constantly felt the urge (which I acted upon freely) to make it connect even more explicitly to my own conception of what access, equity and inclusion should look like in the music and arts classroom. When I work with teachers and my own students, I often find myself talking about the need to empower preK-12 students by giving them voice and choice. By empowering them, we promote agency, something that many students are not used to having in schools. Enter in the new UDL 3.0 guidelines and it’s as if I revised these guidelines myself (yay!).

A more purposeful shift towards “learner agency”

While some updates are subtle, the big “win”, in my opinion, is the emphasis on not only continuing to embrace and accommodate the needs of students in the classroom, but the outright call for teachers to do everything in their power to create a learning environment that promotes student agency through authentic, action-oriented and reflective means. In short, the new guidelines call teachers to empower students by fostering, within each student, learner agency. I love this so much, it makes me want to do a happy dance.

On top of that, there is a noticeable shift away from the term “expert learner” to acknowledge that the term “expert” could allude to a definitive end to the learning process.

Less teacher-centered, more student-centered

Of particular note is the removal of the word “provide” from each of the three overarching principles and the supporting guidelines. I love that this term is no longer present because it signifies that UDL is much more about students than it is about teachers. When we say things like, “teacher will….,” or “teacher provides….” it’s putting too much of the burden of teaching and learning on the teachers. As teachers, we do too much for our students. We need to teach our students, rather, empower our students, to carry more of the responsibility. With “provide” in the mix, our classes inherently become teacher-centered, rather than student-centered.

So long, “provide”! As my favorite boy band from my college days would sing—second only to the ultimate boy group, Boyz II Men (obviously!)—“Bye, Bye Bye!”

In addition to the removal of that term that shall no longer be named, UDL 3.0 explicitly addresses how to acknowledge our own bias and inherently exclusive practices, and “levels-up” the role that executive functioning development can play in the student experience. Each of these things just further supports student agency. All of this to say, that UDL 3.0 clearly takes a stand on things that truly promote a classroom culture of inclusion while fostering student autonomy and agency. Isn’t that what it’s all about? It’s so wonderful to see all of this, officially, in writing.

The verdict

Love, love, love. I’ve loved UDL for so long, and these new changes make me love it even more. There are more changes as well (all great things!), but rather than writing a book in one blog post, I’ll piece it together as time goes on for you. So, I’m sure I’ll have more on this in the near future (including even more specific recommendations on how to use UDL 3.0 as a springboard for equity in the music classroom). But for now, if you find yourself with some time on your hands, check those guidelines out. I’ll get to work on revising my own workshops and teacher training to make space, officially, for these new guidelines. Can’t wait to dig in!