Embrace Social Consciousness in the Music Classroom

A crucial aspect of adopting socially conscious methods in music education is to actively listen to and connect with students. At Orchard Hills Elementary School in Novi, Michigan, I strive to understand my students’ interests — humor, pop culture, style and more — and incorporate those elements into our daily classes and concerts.

1) Start With Your Students

Honoring Student Interests: I make an effort to honor and emphasize student needs within the classroom rules — and I consider the impact of the rules. For example, I avoid strict regulations about sitting arrangements, recognizing that each student has different needs regarding comfort and attention span. Often, I allow my students to lie down during class (depending on the activity), but I engage with them individually about necessary accommodations if issues arise.

When I see a student who appears disengaged, I encourage them to sit up or even use a chair because this can help ground them, especially when they are typically on the circle carpet. When we play instruments or engage in activities that demand specific postures, we discuss the reasoning behind these requirements. This approach fosters students’ ability to understand and anticipate the rules and expectations before activities, and allows them to manage them collectively, which instills a sense of ownership over their environment. The books we read, the songs we sing and the historical (and current) figures we highlight in class all incorporate their interests and identities so each student can see themselves in the content and find a sense of belonging.

Fostering Collaboration and Trust: I frequently allow students to choose or vote on concert repertoire, and I carefully consider their preferences when making selections. My relationships with students are built on listening to their opinions, valuing their ideas and supporting their choices. This foundation of trust leads to a positive atmosphere in my classes.

During auditions, most of my students choose to participate because they find the experience enjoyable and low-pressure. They support one another, and there are rarely hard feelings when decisions are made. I attribute this collaborative spirit to transparency and the open, honest and age-appropriate communication that I have with my students.

2) Education Through Collaboration

Learning Through Literature: One initiative we focus on is learning about the impact of landfills on communities and oceans through several books, including “Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay” by Susan Hood, “Building an Orchestra for Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash” by Carmen Oliver, and “The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island” by Marni Fogelson and Mahani Teave. These books illustrate how landfills affect communities and the ocean, showcasing individuals from Paraguay and Rapa Nui who creatively use trash to make instruments or establish a music school. These narratives provide a platform for discussing an issue that students may be unaware of, while also exploring what happens to our waste.

After reading these books, students are tasked with creating their own instruments at home using items they can find (with permission) and bringing them to class for sharing. The idea of inventing instruments was inspired by another music teacher in our district, but connecting the project to these stories has proven to be impactful and a creative method for teaching about sound and instrument function as well as the environmental impact of waste and pollution.

Learning Through Performing: At Orchard Hills Elementary, we organize a choir club every year and have a concert in the spring. In 2023, and we decided to choose an annual theme that resonates with global issues or significant causes. Our first theme revolved around water, featuring songs from different parts of the world that focus on the importance of water in different ways. Between each song, students shared poems and personal reflections on the importance of water for our planet.

3) Giving Back to Our Local Community

Through music, I strive to connect with my students so we can grow together. In November 2024, we had the opportunity to perform at the Volunteers of America Holidays of Hope Gala, which helped raise funds for Operation Backpack® in partnership with Oakland Schools. Operation Backpack addresses the needs of children facing homelessness, poverty and other underprivileged circumstances, and it promotes the basic principle that every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, starting with the right tools on their first day of school. In 2025, Volunteers of America distributed over 55,000 backpacks to children in need.

After our performance, the event coordinator shared, “This gala not only had the largest attendance, but it also raised the most funds since 2017! I believe this was due to the direct impact of your students and the engagement of our donors with our youth programs.”

Contributing to an organization through music was incredibly meaningful for my students and me, and it sparked conversations about how to support community members and the true essence of giving back. Thanks to our partnership with M1 Concourse, the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers and Oakland Schools, Volunteers of America provided shoes to us in recognition of our performance at the gala. We to distributed them to students in need at our school, our district’s upper elementary and a neighboring high school. This was personally meaningful to me because I received school supplies from this same organization when I was in 5th to 12th grade.

Our choir club continued this mission with a concert themed “Home,” where we engaged in discussions about the concept of home, its significance and candid conversations about homelessness and ways to give back to our local communities. Following this, I reached out to Oakland Schools’ McKinney-Vento program, which provides vital support to students experiencing homelessness, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, across all public school districts and academies in Oakland County. Under this law, the term “homeless children and youth” means individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.

Instead of fundraising for our program or selling tickets, we collected donations from concert attendees like snacks, underwear, socks and gift cards. When we donated the snacks and clothing, we included personal notes from my students, sharing details about themselves and their interests to help the recipients feel a connection and understand the reasons behind our donations.

Making a Difference

I strive to instill in my students the importance of balancing professionalism, personal confidence and resilience in the face of challenges. Art and the environment we cultivate for our creative pursuits are sacred and hold great significance. As artists, we possess immense potential, and we must not waste it. I want my students to achieve greatness because I believe and know that they can. I push them because they are good, and I support and adjust when needed because I am their guide, mentor and thinking partner as they learn how to manage themselves, consider others and become thoughtful leaders and lifelong learners. I know that all my students will not become professional musicians, but I know that they all will make a difference in the world. This makes me so proud.