“Anything Essential is Invisible to the Eyes”: A Meditation on Love, Loss, and the Deeper Hearted Case for Music Education

Abstract

Music teachers in the United States are grappling with educational policy changes that include Common Core implementation, standardized testing, and new teacher evaluation and certification models. The focus on assessment and measurement in education is set against a global backdrop of violence, xenophobia, political strife, and profound human suffering. These overwhelming and complex dynamics can leave music educators questioning their local, national, and global significance. In an effort to reconnect with the essence of our profession, this multimedia paper/presentation addresses two existential questions for music education. What is at the heart of music teaching? In the end, what is significant about what we do? Using a range of literature and media including Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, RadioLab’s SPACE broadcast, Parker Palmer’s The Courage to Teach, Elizabeth Alexander’s poem Praise Song for the Day, audio and video recordings from the soundtrack of a sibling relationship, and my own music teaching experiences, this multi-media work examines these existential questions about music education through the lenses of love and loss; challenging future music educators to think about what is significant, big, and lasting in music education at a time when it is easy to feel small, helpless, and overwhelmed. By pondering our role as educators on the largest possible scale, we gain perspective that brings into focus the profound impact that music education can have on our most intimate and cherished relationships.