Each of the four philosophical models that Estelle Jorgensen has put forth contests, adheres to, or adjusts the hierarchical relationships between dualities, specifically the theory and practice of musical learning. Moreover, models of polarity, according to Jorgensen, accommodate dualities by buffering edges, emphasizing the interconnectedness of…

Elvira Panaiotidi has delivered a very useful and appealing paper on the topic of how the music education community decides it is time to change the way it thinks and acts. Her primary focus is whether the concept of "paradigms" proposed by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions reasonably explains how change occurs in music…

In her response to Elvira Panaiotidi, Janice Waldron says that Panaiotidi makes a strong case that MEAE and praxialism represent, respectively, the poesis and praxis strands of the Aristotelian conception of art and that, consequently, one cannot conclude that the two accounts are ontologically incompatible. In this article, Janice Waldron, wishes…

In her paper, Panaiotidi discusses the debate over the approaches in music education by Reimer and Elliott in the context of paradigm shifts. The term, "paradigm shift," was introduced by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 in his highly influential book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." In this article, the author believes that what music education…

In this article, the author responds to the paper by Kertz-Wezel entitled "The Magic of Music." Here, she discusses an approach to music experience she had developed that depends on collaborative music-making, as opposed to the approach by Kertz-Wezel. She describes how her approach, contrary to the individualistic approach espoused by…

Seldom has it been argued that philosophical issues should be addressed in all programs of music education intended to produce people who are, in any convincing sense, musically educated. In this article, the author argues that philosophical reflection relating to music and to the teaching and learning of music should be foundational in school…

A reply to Bennett Reimer on the teaching of philosophy to K-12 students is presented. The author of this article poses two problems linked to pedagogy and philosophy in undergraduate teacher preparation. First, philosophy in undergraduate teacher preparation tends to be decontextualized. They have both practical and research based evidence to…

A close reading of Gradgrind's opening monologue of Hard Times by Charles Dickens will provide the starting off point for an examination of the role and place of philosophy in the music curriculum. The Gradgrind philosophy finds easy parallel to current thinking in American education. In the fundamentalist imagination, sources of ambiguity must be…

A reply to Bennett Reimer's "The Doing of Philosophy in the Music Class: Some Practical Considerations" is presented. How the author of this article responds to Reimer's challenge depends in part on how they define philosophy in this context. Their thinking about music occurs in at least two different ways. She suggests that music possesses both…

Music education occupations in the U.S. have been segregated by gender and race for decades. While women are most likely to teach young students in classroom settings, men are most likely to teach older students in all settings, but most particularly in wind/percussion ensembles. Despite gender-affirmative employment practices, men constitute a…

In this response to Gould, the author has two goals: first, to forward another, not necessarily competing, postmodern understanding of feminism and power; and second, to expand Gould's project of examining professional climate. Koza defines feminism as a constellation of dynamic political positions that address and attempt to change the unequal…

In this response to Gould, the author, a music education professor, acknowledges both the significant challenges that need to be overcome for future women university band directors, and the need to continue to encourage instrumental music education students (both male and female) to pursue their professional dreams and goals. He thanks Gould for…

One of the most critical limitations in music education is that we have classroom teachers who rarely, if ever, sing with their students. The gap between those in education who sing and offer musical activities to their students and those who do not is greater than ever. The "non-singer" mentality persists in educational communities and is not…

In this response to Pascale, the author agrees that the conventional Western view of music in the schools is rooted in classical traditions that value performance, perfection, and virtuosity and that these views may lead to the assumptions regarding singing. She questions, however, whether this conventional view permeates the beliefs of those…

In her paper, Louise Pascale encouraged a redefinition of the word "singer" and suggested ways to make it apply to a broader spectrum of people. The problem with the current definition, she believes, is that it is outdated and needs to be changed in order to better embrace the ideals of current society. Maya Hoover, responds by saying that in…