Allsup,

Randall Everett (2016). Remixing the Classroom Toward an Open Philosophy of Music

Education. Bloomington: Indiana Press

Throughout this book, Allsup talks about the difference between induction and

education. One of the biggest criticisms of the education system today is that it is leaning

towards induction, and not education like one might think. Induction is the process of learning

information of the past, as the end of learning. This is opposed to education, which gives the

learner the skills in which to be successful in life. This is achieved through learning information

of the past as a means to teach the learner how to adapt for the future. Education is always

(hopefully) the end goal of the current school systems, but often times it comes through as

induction. This is not so much the fault of the teachers, but more of the system that teachers

can be restricted by. One of the clearest ways I have seen this in my education experience is

through standardized testing. In almost every single one of my high school classes, the teachers

had been forced to teach a very strict curriculum, enforced by state issued tests that are

designed to asses the progress of the students. The problem that occurs is that teachers end up

teaching only the given curriculum, and nothing else. This leads to a disengagement of students

in the classroom, which turns the system away from education, and towards induction.

Towards the end of the first chapter, Allsup poses the question of in traditional

teaching, when is it empowering, and when is it not. I think this is a great question, especially

when it comes to music education. On one hand, there is always the want to train students to

be great musicians in the western classical sense, it needs to be understood that not all
students have that capability or the want to do so. The traditional method can be used for

some students but not all. The key to finding out what students want to accomplish, and what

they are capable of accomplishing. As a music educator, one of the harder things to admit is

that there will be times that what the student wants, is not what we want as educators, and

thats ok. Every student will want something different out of their education, and in order to

keep it as education, and away from induction, we need to support their goals, even though

they may be different than ours. An education is all about setting students up for the future,

and if we dont support their personal music education, then we arent giving them a proper

education. So overall, its about finding out the personal goals of each student, and giving them

the proper resources to make sure that their goals are met.

Here at James Madison University, we have our 8 Key Questions, that are considered by

students and faculty alike. While they are of course not mentioned in Allsups book, some of

the common themes of our 8 Key Questions are prevalent throughout this text. Two of the Key

Questions, the ones dealing with Fairness and Liberty, are rolled around fairly early in the text.

Allsup talks about a parable in which a man seeks to be admitted to the Law (Allsup, 2016, p.7).

The man tries repeatedly to enter into the Law, and is turned away time and time again. The

law in this scenario is not acting with fairness. It is not treating all people equally, only turning

away the man. At the same time, the gatekeeper is not giving the man his liberty, the autonomy

he needs. This is targeting our traditional system, a system in which students are expected to

be able to progress at a certain rate and if they are not able to do so, they are barred from

going any further in the system. He also touches on authority. He talks about how the system of
education has been shifted from education to induction, which means that the authorities, in

this case the school board, expect different things than if it was a system of education.