 We have a song to sing. But first, I have a story to tell. Back in 2020 I learned the song Jingle Bells had ties to minstrel performances and blackface. I felt as if I was immediately faced with only two choices:
A year later, November 2021, I took my 8 week old newborn with me and got in a recording studio and recorded “Everybody Sing: Jingle Jangle”. I shared the song on YouTube and received positive feedback from family, friends, teachers, and students alike. As Everybody Sing gained popularity in my classroom, I thought what else can I do to bring more to this song? It needed a dance, and maybe more instruments? So I continued to brainstorm and add to "Everybody Sing: Jingle Jangle". This brings us to now. With the encouragement of my teacher friends and students, as well as with the help of my partner, I had recorded, edited and produced a music video to Everybody sing: Jingle Jangle". I uploaded the new created video with excitement. I was so exited to hear what everyone would think of the dance and play along. I wondered if students would make up their own variations to the dance or if teachers would incorporate other instruments than the ones suggested in the video. I was looking forward to the variety of videos I might receive from family, friends, and colleagues of their kids singing and dancing along to "Everybody Sing", That's when it happened.Just below my song on YouTube was a “song suggestion” for a video of Judy Garland in blackface- an easy click away from my song. My heart sank, I felt nauseous, and completely defeated all at once. How could this be? Why would YouTube have this song near mine? Was it because of my research on the topic? Why was this happening? In complete frustration and at a loss for what to do, I went to google and typed the title of my song “everybody sing” only to be more taken aback than before. I had come full circle.Here I was, creating new music to cut ties with a song that was performed in blackface only to discover the title of my new song was also the title of a 1938 Movie “Everybody Sing”. A movie where Garland performs a song in blackface. I had come full circle, I was angry. I was mad at myself for not “checking” the title before I wrote it. I’m sad that a simple and musical phrase like “everybody sing” is tainted by white supremacy and blackface. But that is America. That’s who we were. That is Americas musical truth. I now know I can't ever entirely escape the hurtful and harmful musical past of our nation. Behind the songs, behind the "simple phrases, racism will always be here. I am on a perpetual path of combating racism.But I also know what I can do. I can continue to do better when I know better. And I can say with a heart full of hope, my song “Everybody Sing: Jingle Jangle”, was intended to avoid mockery, spread joy, all while playing jingle bells and teaching musical form to my students. I did not plan that in writing this song I would be on a perpetual path of combating racism. But through this experience I was reminded that antiracist work is continuous and often overwhelming, requiring a growth mindset. ALL human beings should feel safe to share their voices, and be seen for who they are.My hope is that my song “Everybody Sing: Jingle Jangle” allows everyone an opportunity to feel included and safe. I hope the 1938 movie, is a reminder why we strive to do just that. I want to reclaim the meaning of the phrase "everybody sing". To me it means: ALL human beings should feel safe to share their voices, and seen in who they are. What does it mean to you? I appreciate everyone who has supported me in this journey of teaching music and being my best self. From the bottom of my heart I wish you all a joyful and tuneful holiday season. Mrs. Dunc *YouTube Teaching TIP*To avoid a Youtube "suggestion" that is unwanted:
When sharing videos with my students from YouTube I ALWAYS insert them as a link into google slides for my lessons. This way no suggestions show up and I can avoid unwanted materials from my students view. This may be crucial to do knowing what I now know about phrase "Everybody Sing" and its ties to the 1938 Judy Garland movie. I am also selling the video for you to download and own if you want to avoid YouTube entirely. Click here or go to my store to purchase the video.
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This is Halloween! I thought I would join the trend and welcome Halloween the best way I know how. See some of my halloween/spooky book recommendations below:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-Music-Book-Recommendations-Lesson-Plans-8660829
NEW NAMES LESSON... Many children struggle with correcting adults/peers on how to say their names. We know there is much importance in learning students names correctly and some of the pro's for taking the time to learn your students name include:
 Lesson Objectives |
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Who was Avon Gillespie?
 | Avon Gillespie was a leader in Orff Schulwerk nationally, and taught for years at the Santa Catalina School in Monderey, CA. He was a founder of the current San Francisco International Orff Course. He passed away in 1989.” https://aosa.org/professional-development/2017-distinguished-award-recipient-avon-gillespie/ Why am I sharing this? As a Black music educator, it is rare to see myself represented in my profession. When I first saw photos of Mr. Avon Gillespie I knew I needed to know more about him. Many of my mentors have learned from him and use many of his lessons to this day. I am so inspired by Mr. Gillespie and am passionate to continue to learn about him and his legacy of teaching music. #representationmatters #blackeducators #orffschulwerk #avongillespie #orff |
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My thoughts on birthing a baby as the new school year begins...
This post is more reflective than informative. If you are not interested in pregnancy journeys- this blog post probably is not for you. However, I will do my best to update and share my teaching and lesson ideas in the future as I explore my new role as a "teacher mom".
So here I go... Somehow the teacher (ME) who is obsessed with planning and control, was unable to plan the timing of my pregnancy... go figure...!
I am coming to terms with this, for several reasons, but mostly because my partner and I struggled with fertility for over two years prior to this pregnancy. I know I am not alone in this journey and I am so thankful to those of you who shared your stories with me and reminded me that I am not alone in this.
Back to the pregnancy. I found out I was expecting on Christmas eve day 2020, and was skeptical to believe I was truly pregnant for months... After loosing a child in utero, I began to believe many lies and bad thoughts about my future and body. But then at my 20 week ultrasound I saw the face of my baby, and my fears and lies about this not really happening faded. Fast forward to now... Summer 2021 where my due date is Aug 31. 2021. For me, School PD Begins around the 25th and well, students return on September 7th, 2021. In my early first few years teacher mind; this would be the WORST POSSIBLE TIMING for a baby.
"HOW CAN I HAVE A BABY AND BE THERE FOR MY STUDENTS TO START A NEW YEAR?"
Short answer: umm, Charissa, you can't.
Long answer: If I have learned anything during this time of pandemic teaching, it's that I have to LET GO of the things I can not control. Something that helped me with this mindset was writing down a physical list of things I can vs things I can not. Same goes for planning and preparing for my students and sub plans. I can't control what my sub does or doesn't do. I am currently working on a "let go list" for my time off preparing for this baby, and letting go of the "what if's" within my classroom.
So here we are 38.2 weeks pregnant due in 12 days, living day by day, and accepting the beautiful and not so beautiful realities of this new year. I am going to continue to try to be kind to myself and my mind as I cross into year 8 of teaching and first time motherhood, regardless of how different this new year looks and feels from my previous years.
Thanks for listening,
Short answer: YES. The song Jingle Bells has a racist history that has been recently brought to my attention. I am responsible for speaking truths, and my students deserve a music teacher who teaches with integrity & who will also advocate for and with them.
Long answer: YES. Jingle bells has a racist history that I am now learning about thanks to many other music teachers and advocates of anit-racist curriculums/ music.
The composer of Jingle Bells, James Pierpont was a supporter of the Confederacy even though his father was an abolitionist pastor. James Peirpont wrote songs for the confederacy during the civil war. (check out the history channel website)
The song was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” and was first printed in September 1857. It was dedicated to John Ordway, a Boston doctor, composer and organizer of a troupe of white men performing in blackface called “Ordway’s Aeolians.” John Ordway and his fellow minstrel musicians performed Jingle bells along with many other songs in black face.
Woof… so ya, it’s cancelled in my book.
Before you jump down my throat I ask you to reflect on three things:
1. This song wasn’t intended to be a “Christmas Song” when it was written. It has no mention of Christmas… Why do we insist on keeping it?
2. Many teachers use this song to teach AB form (myself included). BUT -I honestly can think of TONS of others to teach this concept…
3.Is it even a question about removing this song from your classroom/music repertoire when it was originally written by a racist and it’s first performances were in blackface?
So what am I doing about it? I am not singing it. I am omitting it from my school sing along. I am giving suggestions for other songs like Silver Bells, or Jingle Bell Rock, or The Square Root of Possible from Jingle Jangle!
What can you do? Well, in my opinion, when you know better, you do better. I can’t tell you what to do but I am 100% willing to support other teachers, caregivers, and leaders on this journey of being antiracist.
‘Tis the season to be anti-racist.
Resources:
The History Channel: 8 things you didn’t know about Jingle Bells
List of songs by Lauren McDougle of AKI that catalogues songs that should no longer be used in an elementary classroom Songs with a Questionable Past.
*EDIT* a dear friend and colleague, Zach Schlaug, brought another article on this topic to my attention. For more reading on the history of Jingle Bells and Minstrel Repertoire "The Story I Must Tell: “Jingle Bells” in the Minstrel Repertoir"
*EDIT 2* I have written a song to use instead of JB called "Jingle Jangle" Please feel free to learn, sing, share or create your own.
Another option is to use the song "Jingle Bells" By Ms. Niki's Music Class. See below:
Well I feel like I blinked and boom November is done. Before I jump into what's happening in my virtual music classroom this month I want to share a Podcast interview I was featured on this fall. Click here to find the Racism in Education Series hosted by The Simply Organized Teacher.
This podcast is a five part series on how racism plays out in the education system and what we, as educators, can do.
You can hear my interview on episode 2 of the series where I share how to build your inclusive classroom library. As a singer, I am working on my speaking/interviewing skills, I am excited to practice these hard conversations with others in the future.
For this month I am working on a school wide virtual sing a-long that will include some pre-recorded student lead videos, movement activities, and of course singing as a whole school via Microsoft Teams.
Hope you are feeling productive and positive this week and hanging in there, Remember, We have less than 2.5 weeks til our holiday break!
-Mrs. Dunc
This podcast is a five part series on how racism plays out in the education system and what we, as educators, can do.
You can hear my interview on episode 2 of the series where I share how to build your inclusive classroom library. As a singer, I am working on my speaking/interviewing skills, I am excited to practice these hard conversations with others in the future.
For this month I am working on a school wide virtual sing a-long that will include some pre-recorded student lead videos, movement activities, and of course singing as a whole school via Microsoft Teams.
Hope you are feeling productive and positive this week and hanging in there, Remember, We have less than 2.5 weeks til our holiday break!
-Mrs. Dunc
So this last month has FLOWN by... I will try and give a quick re-cap of weeks 5-8 aka the month of October.
Week 5 & 6:
My lower el students read many books including "There was an old lady who wasn't afraid of anything" , we sang and broke down the rhythm of "Pass the Pumpkin" and did lots of movement with Koo Koo Kangaroo's Monster Movements
For my 3rd-5th graders, and Indigenous Peoples Day- I wanted show respect to and teach about Indigenous People and traditions with authenticity. I Read the book "We Are Water Protectors" and incorporated movement and song. If you are interested in my lesson, email me and I will gladly share what we did.
Also, for additional resources on this book, you can head over to https://read.macmillan.com/mcpg/wearewaterprotectors/ to find free additional lesson ideas. For movement we have been into "Just Dance" videos and moved to This is Halloween.
My 6th-8th grade students have been exploring Schoology and submitting assignments/classwork within. I include links within each week for students to complete on their own. For example I give students a singing activity, movement activity, and creating activity to do during class and then they complete the lesson by answering a short "assessment" in Schoology.
Weeks 7 & 8:
Lower el students were reading "Mama Mummy" and continued to practice our five little pumpkins poem. We also worked on quarter note and eight note rhythms using iconic images of pumpkins and bats. I found this video, Pumpkin Walk on Youtube to help practice two sounds (eighth notes) vs one sound (quarter notes). Movement was a lot of "Dem Bones".
My 3rd-5th graders worked on reading "Shake Dem Halloween Bones" while playing a youtube rap beat. I used these "freestyle beats" videos and had students pick whichever one they wanted/liked best. We moved to Michael Jackson's Thriller Just Dance Video.
My 6th-8th grade students were working on their Music Map Projects.
Students are creating their own powerpoint slides. Here are the instructions I gave them.
My lower el students read many books including "There was an old lady who wasn't afraid of anything" , we sang and broke down the rhythm of "Pass the Pumpkin" and did lots of movement with Koo Koo Kangaroo's Monster Movements
For my 3rd-5th graders, and Indigenous Peoples Day- I wanted show respect to and teach about Indigenous People and traditions with authenticity. I Read the book "We Are Water Protectors" and incorporated movement and song. If you are interested in my lesson, email me and I will gladly share what we did.
Also, for additional resources on this book, you can head over to https://read.macmillan.com/mcpg/wearewaterprotectors/ to find free additional lesson ideas. For movement we have been into "Just Dance" videos and moved to This is Halloween.
My 6th-8th grade students have been exploring Schoology and submitting assignments/classwork within. I include links within each week for students to complete on their own. For example I give students a singing activity, movement activity, and creating activity to do during class and then they complete the lesson by answering a short "assessment" in Schoology.
Weeks 7 & 8:
Lower el students were reading "Mama Mummy" and continued to practice our five little pumpkins poem. We also worked on quarter note and eight note rhythms using iconic images of pumpkins and bats. I found this video, Pumpkin Walk on Youtube to help practice two sounds (eighth notes) vs one sound (quarter notes). Movement was a lot of "Dem Bones".
My 3rd-5th graders worked on reading "Shake Dem Halloween Bones" while playing a youtube rap beat. I used these "freestyle beats" videos and had students pick whichever one they wanted/liked best. We moved to Michael Jackson's Thriller Just Dance Video.
My 6th-8th grade students were working on their Music Map Projects.
Students are creating their own powerpoint slides. Here are the instructions I gave them.
- ADD YOUR NAME TO THE TOP.
- Add pictures of the musicians or bands of your choice to each category: CHILDHOOD, CURRENTLY EXPLORING, WANT TO EXPLORE.
- Add video links to your pictures.
- Change the font, background colors, and personalize your slide however best suits you.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Hopefully I can been on top of my blog in this new month of November!
-Mrs. Dunc
-Mrs. Dunc
The first month of school is already completed, and if you are feeling anything like me, it was a BLUR.
For Week 4, I really tried to continue to incorporate SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) as much as possible. I also read a post from a dear friend of mine, Kayla Collier (@dontforgettocolliermama) who spoke on the importance of ability. She had mentioned that many people in education are pushing "Cameras ON" for participation, and how this idea is unfair and ableist. Kayla said
"When you say, “I don’t know how to make meaningful connections/assess learning/monitor engagement if I can’t see my students,” I understand. I do. Sight is a beautiful gift that provides valuable information. As someone who went from being visually able to visually impaired in a matter of weeks, I do not underestimate the value of sight. However, it is not the only means of getting information. Please take the time to think about how you can get the information you need without requiring cameras on."
Kayla's words made me think about new ways to reach my students who are unable or simply choosing to keep their cameras off. So I searched for new ways to engage my students and I stumbled upon Peardeck. Pear Deck is an educational technology company that offers interactive opportunities for teachers and students.
Using Pear Deck, I can:
- give quick assessments to my already made presentations
- check in on student understanding.
- ask how students are feeling without using words.
- allow students to be engaged 100% and see the engagement.
| I was so excited by the student interactions with peardeck that I am planning to give a mini webinar next week to share a few ways I engage my students. If you are interested, be sure to subscribe to my blog for more info! |  |
So, are any of you using Pear deck? What have your interactions with this application been? Let me know in the comments below!
Hope you have a restful weekend!
-Mrs. Dunc 💜
Hope you have a restful weekend!
-Mrs. Dunc 💜
Charissa Duncanson
@musicwithmrsdunc
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