Discovering the power of protest through Smithsonian Folkways learning pathways

• In Event: Protest, Pedagogy and Politics

Proposal

Despite the important role music plays in the lives of most young people, it is an underutilized resource in most education institutions and classrooms. Music is a primary source—an artifact of history—that captures students’ attention in a way that other sources (government documents, speeches, narratives, research data) do not (Pellegrino & Lee, 2012). Song lyrics provide important historical context and can serve as a gateway into meaningful discussions about difficult social issues (e.g., power, protest, poverty, racism, hunger, disease, immigration, war). Music has unique power to humanize curricular content (Rosenbloom, 2004)—making it relevant to students’ lives and promoting empathy, intercultural sensitivity, and global citizenship identifications that reach across cultural boundaries (Mellizo, 2023). Music can also function as an important form of civic engagement (White & McCormick, 2006). It exposes societal injustices, promotes unity around important causes, inspires people to act in accordance with their values, and can even serve as a catalyst for positive change (Elliott et al., 2017).

Within this paper, I explore how a new curriculum initiative, Smithsonian Folkways Learning Pathways (SFLPs), can help educators in a variety of different subject areas enable the development of capacities to act. First, I describe the overarching structure of this resource and examine its purpose and usefulness in a general sense. Next, I delve into one lesson specifically, which highlights the power of protest music within the context of the Chicano Movement and provides practical strategies for using protest music as an education resource. Finally, I examine preliminary qualitative data from teachers who have already piloted SFLPs in their classrooms.

What Are Smithsonian Folkways Learning Pathways?

The vision for the SFLP project is to provide teachers and learners across the United States (and beyond) with access to free, high quality, inclusive, and user-friendly educational materials that directly confront common Eurocentric curricular tendencies—providing a glimpse into histories rarely heard within the confines of the school walls. These pathways are intended to reflect the changing demographics of classrooms and represent an important step towards ensuring that ALL students see themselves reflected in curriculum materials used in schools.

In a nutshell, SFLPs are interdisciplinary journeys of discovery that place music at the heart of educational experiences. Each SFLP is based on an overarching theme and is comprised of 10–12 individual lessons. The first set of SFLPs explores the evolution of music genres in the United States (Women in the Blues; Cajun and Zydeco Music), music associated with social movements (Music of the Chicano Movement; Sounds of Civil Rights), cultural preservation/adaptation (Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and their Music), and music traditions from around the world (Music of the Asian Royal Courts; Music of Puerto Rico).

Each SFLP is delivered through an interactive online slideshow, accompanied by a detailed teacher’s guide. Audio tracks and video recordings are streamed directly through the slideshows, making the lessons easy to facilitate in a wide variety of learning environments (in-person, hybrid, and online).The SFLP project draws upon Smithsonian Folkways’ fully digitalized and well-contextualized archive of primary sources (over 60,000 recordings of music, sound, and spoken word) and integrates artifacts, images, artwork, documents, and educational resources from a variety of other Smithsonian units (e.g., Latino Center, Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center).

Music of the Chicano Movement, Lesson 7: “The Power of Protest: Songs of Struggle and Hope”

The essential question for this lesson (intended for students in 5th–8th grade) is: What is the role of protest music in social movements? Students explore this question through active engagement with recordings of protest songs that were translated into Spanish and adapted to match events that were happening during the Chicano Movement. First, they interpret musical and contextual meaning while attentively listening to three different recordings of the song "We Shall Overcome" (Nosotros venceremos). Next, they listen to and sing along with recordings of the song "We Shall Not Be Moved" (No nos moverán), while considering the essential qualities of an effective protest song. They also have an opportunity to create (and perform) their own verses to this song, based on current social issues. Finally, they are prompted to connect this learning to their own lives by creating an annotated playlist of protest songs and analyzing their chosen songs’ effectiveness. Throughout the lesson, students have opportunities to consider how protest songs were used during the Chicano Movement (e.g., rallies, meetings, marches, picket lines) and why they were useful (e.g., expressing struggles, inspiring action, uniting people around a common goal).

What Does the Data Say?
Before release, each SFLP is written by a team comprised of musicians, ethnomusicologists, educators, and cultural practitioners, and reviewed by members of the Society of Ethnomusicology and the National Association for Music Education to ensure adequate contextualization, accuracy, pedagogical rigor, and appropriateness. The lessons are then piloted by K–12 educators, who provide valuable feedback about their usefulness, relevance, and practicality in the classroom. Presently, the first batch of SFLPs are available in beta mode and are set to be officially released on the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings website in the fall of 2023.

To this point, over 100 teachers have piloted SFLPs in their classrooms. Responses to the resource in general and the “Power of Protest” lesson specifically have been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers have referred to the content as reliable, informative, well-researched, in-depth, respectful, and other laudatory terms. Teachers have described the lesson topics as “high interest,” and noted their students were engaged and curious about both the music and underlying topic. Teachers have also provided suggestions for small changes and improvements to make the lessons more impactful. For example, they have suggested more active learning opportunities–especially for younger students (e.g., movement and performance activities). Teachers have also recommended more contemporary audio and video examples, to ensure students understand the music cultures represented in the lessons are “living”–“not just something from the past”. The full paper will include more analysis and visual representations of this data.

Author

• Jennifer Mellizo, Smithsonian Institution