Philosophical Perspectives in Music Education

Randal Everett Allsup

Michelle Handy

Simple Commonplace Assertions

Popular music is simple and not complex enough to teach.

The boys in my choir are too shy to sing. The music of Vaughn Williams is beautiful

What is wrong with these statements? What questions can we ask to

Questions Can or should we teach popular music? Why don’t the boys in my school join chorus

in the same number as girls? How can I get my students to love what I

love?

Inquiry Inquiry is the very heart of education!

A&C page 40

Inquiry is said to be the heart of education. A teacher must “go forth” into a classroom.

Philosophy and Education

Philosophy has been around for a long time. But what is it?

Merriam Webster describes philosophy in a few different ways, and here are the most relevant one to our cause: the most basic beliefs, concepts, and

attitudes of an individual or group pursuit of wisdom

Socrates Socrates started the “Art of Dialogue”

The Art of Dialogue is a process of deduction where ideas or beliefs are challenged through dialogue

Socrates “coined” the term “Devil’s Advocate,” which is a person who plays both sides of an argument or feigning ignorance to incite debate

Socratic Method and Thoughts

A philosophical debate would begin at the intersection of perplexity and doubt.

Why should children have an education in music?

Old Education vs New Education

The biggest advantage of the Socratic method is the development of a critical habit of mind.

Virtue is knowledge, only when the student learns to think for himself. Do you think that this is true? Why or why not?

Why is philosophy needed?

On page 43 of Critical Issues in Music Education, the question is asked : What is the lesson here and what does it have

to do with music education? The most obvious point is that there is a

conflict of the Old and the New. The old being rote teaching and the new being child-center teaching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08DdpipnJ0U

Questions Do you agree with the Old or the New? Why is philosophy so important in our classroom? Are teachers “Devil’s Advocates”? Is the teacher a midwife? Is learning painful?

Should it be? Is education a problem? How can we use philosophy that’s been around

for a long time, in a present day classroom? In education, are we pursuing wisdom?