Over the course of the past year, I had the opportunity to observe and interact with many
different types of music classes in LAUSD and SMMUSD. Although the various different
teaching approaches and classroom environments that I encountered gave me just a small look
into diverse world of music education, however the experiences I had have opened my eyes to
I could talk about the obvious parts of music education, such as motivating students (see
research paper), classroom management, or other teacher focused factors, but the thing I have
learned the most about, which I did not expect to learn about at all, is the role of money.
The biggest thing that shapes a music program, after the teacher, is the financial resources
allocated to said program. When observing classes in Mira Costa and Santa Monica, it was easy
to tell that the schools had strong financial resources. The facilities were quite modern and had a
plethora of technology, such as high tech projectors, SmartMusic, and smart boards. In contrast,
the schools I have encountered in LAUSD are more low tech. They would often contain a
projector and speakers, but not really any technology for the students to use themselves. This can
be viewed as a hurdle as the various types of technology did make it seem like those who were
better off financially had more ways of teaching with the tech, however the lack of advanced
technological devices did not seem to hinder the “less well off” schools.
Aside from the technology, another thing that monetary resources seemed to affect was
classroom assistants. This was most evident in the choral programs that I observed. At the high
school level in both Mira Costa and Santa Monica, the directors had an accompanist, which I at
first thought was something that was commonplace for the schools due to the fact that they were
both high schools. However, at the middle school level, it became apparent that the accompanists
were not provided for the schools based on the competency of the students, but rather
accompanists were only present in schools that were more wealthy. The middle school in
SMMUSD (Lincoln) had an accompanist, which allowed the teacher to be free to focus more on
the students in their class and give them more individualised attention. However, at the LAUSD
middle school (Emerson), there was no accompanist at all, and the students performed with pre
recorded audio. This is consistent with my upbringing in LAUSD schools, where the choral
director or a student would have to play the piano for choir at both the middle and high school
levels while my friends in more wealthy districts had multiple coaches and accompanists at every
age.
The obvious factor that seems to determine the school’s resources is, sadly, the wealth of
the families that send their children to those schools. Even within LAUSD, from my own
experience, schools in “better off” neighborhoods had the funding - whether through fundraising,
parent donations, or other means - to do more with their music programs, such as getting new
instruments, having technology in the classroom, or hiring coaches. The schools from areas
considered economically disadvantaged did not have those things. This has become much more
a well placed teacher can overcome this disadvantage and create a program that still manages to
teach students everything that they need. Palms Middle School is located in LAUSD, and with
that came the usual LAUSD funding. The classes seemed to be “normal” until the teacher
reminded her students that if they are using a school instrument that they can't check it out that
night as other classes need them for their concert. This shocked me, because although I am many
years removed from my days attending LAUSD schools, I had never had to share a school
instrument with anyone else. However, what the school lacked in instruments, it made up for
with the enthusiasm and attentive nature of the teacher. This teacher, despite the odds, seemed to
have created a rich and fulfilling program for her students, relying less on technology and more
on other activities to enhance musicianship (like teaching some conducting) that do not require
Seeing the various music programs with different levels of funding has given me a
glimpse of many possible routes a future music program I could be teaching in could follow
financially. I hope that by learning about the less advantaged/more publicly funded schools, I can
become more like the teacher at Palms and still inspire future students. If I teach in a more
financially stable school, I want to know that my program is successful not because I have access