A Music Pedagogy for Our Time

School education in all disciplines is changing. School teachers—including music educators—now need to be aware of a wide range of issues, including social justice, cultural responsiveness, integrating technology, composition and improvisation, critical thinking, social and emotional learning, and how to foster a community of practice. How do music educators best understand the hot-button issues of today—culture wars, critical race theory, and much more—and at the same time create positive and proactive musical experiences for their students? In A Music Pedagogy for Our Time, Frank Abrahams and his colleagues offer solutions. The authors provide a framework so music teachers can both be aware of these issues and create supportive opportunities for students to learn—without compromising the goals that have been and will continue to be the foundation of school music programs. Each chapter in this book focuses on a topic that defines a problem and then poses potential solutions. This ambitious book advocates for critical pedagogy, reciprocal teaching, and popular music pedagogy, and provides templates to develop lessons and rehearsals that are meaningful and significant to students in the twenty-first century.