A Kinder World Through Music

Music is often described as the universal language. I have seen this firsthand in my nearly 35 years of teaching music at Dr. Daniel Bright public school in Cottonwood, Arizona. New students may come in my classroom feeling alienated, especially if English is their second language. But if they see the other students engaged in a song or music activity which is easy enough to catch onto, they inevitably smile and participate.

Isn’t it a crying shame that adults seem to find it more difficult to get along? Why? Can’t music act as a common ground, bringing us together? Discrimination and entitlement are taught, not inherent, which means children should be learning kindness and tolerance instead the alternatives. Some parents - having never learned these life skills themselves - fall short in passing on positive behavior. This is where my 2022 resolution comes in.

I have two goals for foster caring and inclusivity in my students this year.

1. To sing and play more multicultural music with my students in the hope of getting them to appreciate the diversity of as many cultures as I can feature.

Being in rural Arizona, my school has a significant number of Spanish-speaking students as well as Native American students.

As I was choosing music for the first and second grade ocean performance, “Under the Sea,” in February, I found a tune from Puerto Rico called, "La Mar Estaba Serena." The lyrics included for the English verse are, "The sea is peaceful and calm now, the sea is quiet and still." Not only is the tune lovely and the message appropriate for the show, but my young students all enjoy singing it in both Spanish and English. I also have each class reciting an ocean-related poem, so I found one by a Native American, Ofelia Zepeda, from the Tohone O'odham people of the Sonoran Desert. Here are her words:

We travel carrying our words.

We arrive at the ocean.

With our words we are able to speak

Of the sounds of thunderous waves.

My school also has two Vietnamese students. I am ashamed to say that I have never before now featured any music from the country of their birth. This resolution is a chance to rectify this oversight. Here's a lovely option:

I especially like that the singing has the kind of nuanced vocal gymnastics indicative of the lovely, unique style of the Vietnamese.

I plan on taking this whole multicultural trip farther than only including cultures of my own students. I'm going to also play music from countries my students may have never heard of and from which they most likely would not otherwise hear music. Here is a fun video which shares some different vocal styles around the world:

And here's a fun one I found with African students showing where hip hop got its roots:

My search continues to find more unique - and often unexpected - multicultural music experiences for my students.

2. To teach my students more songs about caring, kindness, and peace.

My fourth graders will soon be attending a symphony concert. One of the featured pieces is by Finnish composer Jean Sebelius, called Finlandia. The melody has been used for the hymn, Be Still My Soul, but there are alternate lyrics to which I have introduced my students. Here's an excerpt:

This is my song, a song for all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is,

here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating

with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

What a great opportunity to share a message of inclusivity and understanding with my students!

I also own a songbook and CD called, "Teaching Peace," by Red Grammer. It includes songs such as "I Think You're Wonderful,” "Hooray for the World" (and everyone in it) and "See Me Beautiful." These are all important messages for our children to hear and practice. What better way than singing them?

On the website songsforteaching.com, I found a huge list of songs for teaching diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. So far, my favorite for my younger students is, "We're Just Like Crayons," by Stephen Fite. For my older students, I like, "Some Rights in this World," from Jan Nigro's CD, Sing for Dr. King!

If all music teachers adopted these goals, just imagine the positive impact!

It is my dream that we, as humans, abandon racism and prejudice during our lifetimes. If this is to happen, I believe music can play an important role. If this dream comes true, I’m confident Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud, may he rest in peace.