In the landscape of education, I believe teaching is an ethically charged profession focused on equitable opportunities and elevating students over personal goals. I believe banking education conflicts with this idea, because it resists societal change, viewing it as fixed. Embracing problem-posing education, and allowing students to be teachers breaks this teacher-student dynamic, which fosters the emergence of consciousness, rather than its submersion. A non-ageist approach empowers students to realize their own potential, and gives them the opportunity to participate in music in a communal way. By musicking in this way, our classrooms center on the students, rather than just the content. That said, I believe there's value in experiencing music aesthetically, and giving students the chance to fully immerse themselves in the music. I also believe that we need to break the barriers of the ‘master apprenticeship’ model that indoctrinates students into the accepted tradition of music education, rather, we should lead education with our students’ personal voices in the classroom, which will deepen their learning experience and will empower them. This, along with exposing them to a collection of diverse ideas, will both validate their perspectives, and challenge them. I believe this to be necessary in order to break free from the shackles of strong ideologies, especially those of collectivism, which limit individual agency and bind us to pre-defined narratives. Furthermore, if we can liberate ourselves from this oppressive student-teacher dialectical relationship, we can foster the co-creation of knowledge to drive authentic change in the classroom, together.
