Cori patterson folk music and increasing diversity in american music
1.
2. Little research had been completed on
multicultural music education
Recorded instances of multicultural music
education
Statis Coleman developed a “Creative Music” program
that included world musical instruments in Washington
D.C (1916) and New York (1918)
Folk dancing movement and folk music presentations
were in music appreciation classes at turn of century
3.
4. Early multicultural music education was not the same
as it is today
The researcher believes, “that the increasing diversity
of musics used in American schools (even by
predominantly Caucasian teachers of largely Anglo-
Saxon decent) was an important antecedent for later
multicultural developments.”
Music education at the time was Eurocentric and
focused on Western classical music, especially German
music
5. America was segregated into white and “colored”
populations
The Supreme Court ruling Plessy V. Fergusson
validated segregation
Restrictions placed on Asian Americans
African Americans segregated
Native Americans were ignored
Southern and European Immigrants continued to
move to America
6. Social Darwinism became one of the major
philosophies
English philosopher Herbert Spencer made this popular
Used by people to justify keeping America pure and
putting restrictions on immigrants
America became known as the “Melting Pot”
This term coined after Israel Zanwill’s 1909 play The
Melting Pot
7. Progressive reformers and Harvard philosopher
William James valued uniqueness, individuality, and
diversity
African American W.E.B. DuBois founded the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) in 1910
Horace Kallen promoted “unity from diversity” in his
book Culture and Democracy in the United States in
1924
8. Social worker Jane Addams worked at the Hull House
in Chicago and believed in the importance of sharing
immigrants’ “arts, crafts, sons, dances, and festivals”
Henry Street Settlement in New York City encouraged
immigrant celebrations and folk dancing
Addams and John Dewey advocated teaching foreign
languages and about students’ cultures in school
9. Initially, immigrants were expected to assimilate into
American culture.
It was found immigrant students performed better at
bilingual schools
In a 1908 speech before the National Education
Association, Addams recommended that “ethnic-
cultural elements” should be included in the
curriculum.
10. In 1905, a Folk Dance Committee was formed as part of
the Playground and Recreation Association of America
Folk dancing became part of the physical education
curriculum in the New York City schools by 1908
Physical education teachers believed students
benefitted from folk dancing
Students began to respect their own and other cultures
Could be performed inside and outside
Great form of exercise
11. Music education in the early 1900s did not include
multicultural elements
Folk music was thought of as “primitive”
The book Folk Songs of Many Nations by Louis
Elson, the cofounder of the Music Teacher’s National
Association, included songs from around world.
However, few schools used it as part of the curriculum.
English and French folk songs began to appear in
school music series around 1916
12. Music teachers started to become aware of
folk songs, folk dancing and multicultural
teaching as they attended conferences
Music teachers were slow to incorporate
their music from other cultures into their
curriculum
13. “We, the melting-pot nation, can amalgamate all these
divers peoples more quickly through music than in any
other ways.”
Educators started using folk music in their classrooms
Immigrants felt at home when singing their folk songs
This helped students assimilate into American culture
Folk festivals and pageants included folk music
14. Folk dances were recorded on the Victrola. This allowed
authentic music to be played in the classroom setting.
Music classes started teaching folk dancing
Teachers used the folk dances to for rhythm
exercises, movement exercises, cultural studies
1911-1916 – The National Summer School gave classes on
teaching folk songs, dances, and games
Anne Faulkner’s What We Hear in Music Victrola
recording was used in music appreciation classes
Included music from around the world
Included information the cultures represented by the music
15. Little Native American and African music was used in
schools
Native American music was often misrepresented and
called “primitive”
African music was labeled as “slave” or “old Southern”
16. Multicultural education entered the education system
initially with the study of folk dancing in physical
education classes
Folk music was used initially to “Americanize”
immigrants
Music educators were slow to incorporate ethnic music
into the curriculum, but it was eventually used in the
form of folk dancing and singing folk songs
17. “Multicultural music education is far more than folk
music and dance. Yet the increasing diversity of
school music resulting from profound social and
cultural changes in the American population during
1900 to 1916 may be one of the beginnings of
multicultural music education.”
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18. Volk, Terese M. 1994.“Folk Musics and Increasing
Diversity in American Music Education: 1900-1916.”
Journal of Research in Music Education 42 (4): 285-305.
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