Inclusion of World Music

Of the several reasons to include world music in any curriculum, I feel that the most compelling reason to do so would be the "world-mindedness" argument. It is said that the world is getting smaller and, thanks to the internet and other new communications technology, this is absolutely true. I have stated in class that I feel that music is something intrinsic to the human experience and that a people can be better understood through their music. With the world getting "smaller", children having a greater understanding of the world community is, I feel, a very key component to any education.

I feel that the "world-mindedness" argument also supports another in my philosophy of music education: all music is equal it value. Is there any aspect of a Mozart symphony that makes it any more valuable that an African drumming song? I would argue not and that they are both equally valuable and meaningful to the cultures that they came from. This also ties in nicely with the idea of a "human-culture" that the "world-mindedness" argument supports: we are all human and, therefore, no musical work should be valued above any other musical work. There is much that American students can learn from world music and that knowledge can help them to make better assessments about Western Music.

I would say that the weakest argument that was presented in class, in my opinion, would be the "social rationale", in that world music would help us better understand our mixed society. While this is a key aspect of inclusion, I feel that this could be used to include so much world music that American music would be overlooked (one of the challenges I will list). Finally, I just don't feel that it is as strong of an argument as the "world-mindedness" argument.

One of the greatest joys of including world music in the classroom would be knowing that your students will have a greater understanding of the world and the people around them. I feel that this is one of the main goals of education--to prepare your students for lives as productive and understanding members of society.

Lastly, I would have to say that the greatest challenge (as mentioned above) would be to include the massive amounts of world music that could (and should) be included in a course without sacrificing education time for American music. I feel, though, that with careful planning, this would certainly not be a problem.

In summation, I feel that there are many fantastic arguments to include world music in a curriculum and I welcome the opportunity to do so.