Why Teach Popular Music in the Classroom?

Rationale to principal for teaching popular music in my classroom

Why teach popular music and culture in our classrooms? In our rapidly changing world, we as educators need to change how we approach teaching the “basic skills” of our curriculum. With our changing students, we as educators need to strive to connect with our teens and provide them these “basics” using their language.

The “basic skills” that teachers strive to provide their students with each year haven’t changed, but the way we deliver these skills has to continue to change as we move through the 21st century. Using popular music in the classroom creates an opportunity for teachers to connect with students while fostering their learning. Popular music and culture should not be taught as a stand-alone subject, but rather should be incorporated to enhance the curriculum.

As a language arts teacher, there are several opportunities to incorporate popular music into the classroom. For example, students can analyze popular music looking for figurative language or other literary devices. They can then compare the similarities they find between traditional poetry and their popular music. Another opportunity is to use popular music to look at historical trends. My classroom just completed a unit on To Kill a Mockingbird, which looks at the issues of race, gender, and other prejudices taking place in the South at that time. To be able to compare that with the fact that MTV didn’t air a video by an African American until the mid 80’s allows students to understand that some of these prejudices weren’t just a thing of the past.

Popular music can also enhance the study of social studies. Throughout history, music was written to portray a specific time in society. Many lyrics reflect wartime struggles or economic trends. Using popular music throughout the eras to connect these trends to the study of history gives students a deeper understanding of our history. Many pieces of literature that are in our curriculum are grounded in a specific period of history. The use of popular music from that time will allow student to have a deeper understanding of their history.

Lastly, popular music could be used as the basis of a persuasive argument. According to Graff, the author of “Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind”, students should be well-versed in “framing an argument or taking someone else’s argument apart…” Having students argue whether or not popular music teaches immoral values would allow them to explore and defend something that is important to them. They could find examples of music that are popular and provide a positive message for youth.

It is important to have these creative ideas in mind, but it is more important to understand the value in incorporating popular music into the classroom. As educators, we have a curriculum that the state of Minnesota expects us to cover; however, it is not mandated how we go about the specific instruction of this curriculum. This gives us the opportunity to take advantage of our changing world.

Graff states that, “On the one hand, the content of the academic disciplines has gone through revolutionary changes…on the other hand, the average level of student cluelessness and apathy remains roughly what it was in 1910.” He goes on to say that, “High-achieving high-school and college students become insiders to the most exciting academic conversations, but the majority remain on the outside looking in.” As an educator, I constantly strive to figure out how to engage all students involved in the academic conversations. Students need to be able to connect and engage in their learning in order to overcome the apathy trend that they currently possess.

I would imagine that the majority of students in an average middle school have or have access to an ipod. In fact, I remember students talking about ipods and having to ask them what they were referencing. It is my job as a teacher to stay current in the teenage trends and utilize their interests as my teaching tools. They are always connected to music. Therefore, using music as a teaching tool allows students to make the connection to the curriculum. Additionally, as our technology advances it is important to utilize the skills that the students of today possess and allow them to foster their learning in non-traditional ways.

Popular music and culture need to be imbedded into the classrooms of the 21st century, so that we as educators are constantly challenging our students to be engaged. They will engage if they are interested and passionate about what they are learning. They can learn so much from music. However, we as educators need to spend the time to research and investigate music that is appropriate for the classroom and will influence student learning positively. It is our responsibility to continue to change our teaching approach to connect with the students of our future.