Hourigan, R. M. (2009). The Invisible Student: Understanding social identity construction within performing ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 95(4), 34-38.
This article relies heavily on the idea that our place in society (in this case specifically, how students fit into an ensemble) defines who we are. How we feel within a certain group affects our individual feeling of self worth and self identity. The article addresses the idea of "invisible" children. The children who do not quite "fit in" with the rest of their peers, such as new students, students with disabilities, shy students, etc. Personally, this article spoke to me a lot because there was a point in my life where I was the invisible child. When I was younger, I often felt ostracized from my peers because I went to a school of mainly white students, and was painfully shy. There was a long period of my life where I felt like I didn't truly belong somewhere. It wasn't until I really became engrossed with the music program at my high school that I started to feel part of something. I always credit music for being incredibly important to shaping the person I am. It gave me the courage to be loud and bold, to have confidence, and to make friends. This article unsettled me because it's possible that this isn't the case for lots of other "invisible" children. I can't imagine what it would be like to be doing something I love (like music) and still feeling so far away and disconnected from everyone else, especially in an ensemble, where it's possible to become so close, we feel like family. Most of all, I think that I assumed music was what brought people together. But according to this article, there are so many other factors. Just because a child is involved in their school music program doesn't mean that they get an instant ticket to friends and a booming social life. Looking back on it now, it's so naive of me to think that way. What I thought was really insightful were the ways that teachers can try to help push those invisible children to find a place in their ensemble. I remember dealing with very similar issues to those they discussed, such as who to hang out with on trips, who to sit beside on the bus, and the list goes on. I think it's an excellent idea to use peers, specifically older kids, to help bring in the invisible children. Teachers are not able to have the same relationship with children that other children have with each other because of the dynamic of a teacher/student relationship. However, an older student, a peer, is someone a child can look up to and admire, but also someone who can be their friend. I think it's important for older students to be involved in making younger students feel included. Not only because younger students definitely need to feel security in an ensemble, but also because older students will eventually have to leave an ensemble, and I think it helps engage both younger and older students when the older students feel as though they have a responsibility to help guide the new kids into the ensemble, as they one day will leave the ensemble in the charge of these new students. All in all, I believe that this article has been eye opening in showing me just how much a teacher can affect their students. Not only do they teach students what's laid out in the curriculum but also social skills. It was nice that the article acknowledged how important teachers are to a student's overall development. It really opened my eyes to how much I need to be aware of myself. As the article said, students learn from example, especially from the teacher. However, I also really appreciated how they acknowledged that it was a team effort. This article really helped me see how much of an affect I can have on shaping kids' lives, and how much there is to think about.
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Carole PalattaoI'm an 18 year old studying classical voice at Western University. I'm also a hardcore mental health advocate, and I do creative writing on the side for fun!
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