Last week, when we were studying the rap song “Intergalactic” with my 5th graders, we watched the music video. It had a reference to Kaiju films like Godzilla. This was an opportunity to talk about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, the controversy around this decision, and humanize the Japanese that died in these attacks.
I’m working on putting together a unit on Encanto looking at the song “What Else Can I Do?” I’m working on going deep into the lyrics. I plan to talk about the change from making roses, which are not native to South America, to making flowers like jacarandas speaking to how people use European standards to define beauty.
The singer of this song Diane Guerrero is an immigrant rights activist. Her parents and brothers are undocumented and were deported when she was a teenager. She became aware of this when she came home from school and was surprised by an empty apartment. This trauma led to mental health issues. I’m not sure how I will cover this with my students. They are fourth-graders, but I plan to address her background as a daughter of Columbian immigrants and her activist work.
When I teach a Brandi Carlile song, I show the students a picture of her family visiting the Ellen show. I let the students share the observations of this photo, and we always get into the fact that Brandi is married to a woman, has two wonderful daughters, and was inspired by Ellen’s Gay rights advocacy.
This has to do with the curricular materials that I seek. If there aren’t some diversity, equity, and inclusion themes in my curriculum, I don’t include them. On the other hand, it’s not hard to find songs and artists to teach about, especially when corporations like Disney see a financial benefit to diversity in their media and musicians.
If all I taught were students was singing songs, playing instruments, and dancing to music, I would have quit teaching. The need to teach about diversity, equity, and inclusion was always inside of me but came to the fore when trump was elected president. I needed to do something in my life that countered his racism, sexism, misogyny, and fascism. Teaching became that work for me in a way that has always been but now had more purpose and urgency.
Teachers who focus on teaching just music also positively impact students. I know that for a fact because some of those teachers had a profound effect on me, but I need more than that as an educator. I also feel that many of our students need more as well.
As the pandemic continues, this urge has only become stronger. This week I taught about Joni Mitchell's “Big Yellow Taxi” and discussed the history of environmentalism and pesticides, which has led me rethink my own view on enviromentalism. I am looking forward to lessons during Black history month about oppression and Black joy. Later in the year, I will teach about Dolly Parton and talk about poverty, sexism, and literacy.
There’s a lot of work to do, but it’s good work. Some of the most satisfaction and joy I get out of teaching is diving into these more difficult, and very important issues. It's really hard to be a teacher right now, and teachers have to figure out a way to stay in the game. As tired as I am right now, and as discouraged I am about the state of eductaion in America, I'm excited about what I got in store for my students.
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