Application Paper Creating Paradigm Shifts in Music Education In this application paper, I will identify major challenges that

t music education currently faces, which are expressed by Estelle Jorgensen in her book, In Search of Music Education. I will then outline a series of proposed solutions to the challenges; a series of paradigm shifts that I suggest occur systemically in the field of music education. The main challenges of music education espoused by Jorgensen stem from 1) how music education has historically been defined, and 2) how the traditional role of the music educator has operated. Ever since the mid 1900s, when music education was integrated into the American public school systems, music education remained, formally, in the classroom. Moreover, from within the classroom, the educators roles can be described as such: providing a limited range of knowledge and skills; thinking in terms of more limited objectives; committed to, or comfortable with, the status quo; and teaching pedagogies that are excessively narrow in focus. (Jorgensen, pp. 30, 66, 68) The author also identifies many dialectical views that currently exist in music education that are creating challenges regarding curricula development. The dialectic nature of Philosophy & Practice causes many diverse practices to outflow from one particular philosophical principle, causing music educators to adopt limited sets of theoretical principles and practices. The dialectic, Continuity & Interaction, involves the design of curricula regarding its scope and sequence, notably how broad the curricula should be, and the progression of educational experiences for the learner. The challenge for music educators is knowing exactly what content and experiences to prescribe to their students that will produce desired outcomes. Making & Receiving is another dialectical view that includes all roles in the artistic process: composer, performer, listener, and observer. Jorgensen stresses the importance that music educators and policymakers need to acquire a broader perspective that places equal importance on the whole artistic process, rather than either the making or receiving of music. The last dialectical view, Understanding & Pleasure, describes two aspects of the aesthetic process when experiencing music. Understanding entails using reason, invoking discipline, and representing serious effort that may not be pleasurable; pleasure entails using imaginative thought and activity, celebrating freedom, and embracing present gratification. Applying this dialectical view to the field of music education raises another

critical issue regarding the development of curricula. The challenge for music educators and policymakers will be to search for balanced curricula that promote both understanding and pleasure. (Jorgensen, pp. 81 90) In searching for music educations true nature in todays society, Jorgensen illuminates in her book many important points that suggest a much broader, richer, all-encompassing approach to music education that provide optimistic yet challenging solutions. Agreeing with the authors perspective, I will now describe a set of prescriptive approaches that will address the aforementioned challenges of music education and stimulating the needed paradigm shifts mentioned previously. Before doing so, it is important for me to provide some background knowledge of my own musical experiences that will add clarity and understanding to my discourse regarding the proposed prescriptions. After receiving my BM in Jazz Studies for saxophone from Indiana University in 1997, I worked as a professional musician, mostly performing in a variety of musical settings: cruise ships, entertainment bands, and small combos for various occasions. In 2000, I made a decision to pursue a dual Masters program in Social Work and Jewish Communal Service, which I completed and received in 2002 from the University of Southern California and Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. My specialized concentration of the social work degree was macro practice: community organizing, planning, and administration. After moving to the Metro Detroit area in 2002, I established my own music business, Appelman Productions LLC, whose mission is to build and bridge communities through music and the arts. The service areas included entertainment, music lessons, composing and arranging, and community development. Due to proximity, the majority of my work occurred within the Jewish Community, offering a variety of the businesss services. In addition to establishing my own jazz trio for entertainment purposes, I gained a broad client base for composing/arranging projects, and also had many instructional projects with a variety of Jewish instrumental and vocal ensembles throughout the community. Lastly, between 2004 and 2010, my private lesson studio increased in size to 27 students, primarily taking beginning piano, and a few students on sax, flute, and clarinet. Utilizing venues such as private homes, libraries, and acting theatres, I developed and held annual student recitals for the students to display their talents for their friends and family members.

Using Jorgensens discourse about potential solutions to the challenges confronting music education, I have created a diagram that illustrates the Intersections of Music Education & Its Stakeholders (see appendix) that will be used when describing the proposed prescriptions. Given Jorgensens reoccurring emphasis encouraging music educators and policymakers to broaden their approach regarding the roles and definitions of music education, I first suggest that a task force comprised of invested stakeholders be established to address the identified areas of challenge. In addition to leading music educators in the field, stakeholders representing the public, private, and non-profit sectors should be included on the task force, such as: policymakers, local and national government officials, leaders of colleges and universities, business/corporation owners, professional musicians, sponsors/philanthropists, religious leaders, and leaders of music advocacy groups. This comprised task forces objectives will be to:
1. Re-examine and clarify the scope and definition of music education and the role of the music educator. 2. Re-evaluate the goals and objectives of the current National Standards based on the outcomes of objective 1. 3. Gain feedback from a variety of additional stakeholders (including students and families) from each societal sector, which can be administered and obtained from questionnaires, surveys, and interviews. 4. Develop an ongoing series of professional development services for music educators that focus on supplementing their knowledge and skills, preparing them for a more global approach to music education. 5. Organize, implement, and monitor Experimental Model Programs based on the task forces proposed changes. 6. Discover and design a financial model that will meet the fiscal needs of music educators newly defined roles in the broader society.

This does not represent a fully comprehensive list of suggested solutions, but rather a preview of what and how the current challenges facing music education could be addressed; the first steps in the process of change. To reiterate what Jorgensen stresses in her book, the nature and field of music education does not only exist in classrooms, but extends beyond those walls. Having personally experienced my role as a musician primarily in the private and non-profit sectors, I agree with Jorgensen and am confident that with the right focus and effort applied, music education will grow, adapt, and effectively meet the needs of society.