Erinne Phillips

10/5/19

Introduction to Technological Applications in Music

Response to Chapter 1 of Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs

Public education should function in society as a “crucial pillar to upholding democracy”

(Hammel & Hourigan, 2017). Public education is to be inclusive to all students, meaning that

every student should have the same opportunities as each other.

Within the public school system, there are many inequities regarding those who qualify

for special education. Some students have more opportunites than others depending on whether

or not they have some form of disability. The ability for students to access arts classes, such as

music, is very difficult for students who have special needs. Many of the inequities in our current

public school system involves students who are grouped into categories such as racial and ethnic

groups, poverty, and students with disabilities.

Special education refers to students with disabilities, and the ways they are included into

the classroom. Students with disabilities used to attend separate schools from the other students,

but have now since been placed back into their home schools and receive the accommodations

they need to help them succeed from that school/

There are also a few challenges to inclusion in the 21st Century. Sometimes inclusion in

the classroom can be a bit challenging in classes with a larger number of students, with little to

no support for these students. Standardized tests are also a struggle for these students because
there are some instances where a student may have a visual or physical impediment to where

they can’t take the standardized test. Another challenge would be if a student doesn’t speak

English as their first language, and the test is provided to them in English; it completely rules out

the fairness factor. Programs for special education are also very expensive.

Regarding funding for special education programs, public school programs are funded

through federal mandates. Typically, students in wealthier areas who have a disability are more

likely to get better services in their school. Students in Urban areas do not receive as much

funding as Rural areas, persay, because of the fact that students in urban areas are just generally

underfunded to begin with. Whereas students with disabilities in rural areas are more likely to

find the correct services needed to make them more successful

The six categories of disabilites are cognitive, communication, behavioral, emotional,

physical, and sensory. Cognitive disability is the inability of a student to “receive, process, and

commit information to memory.” (Hammel & Hourigan, 2017). Communicative disability is the

inability of a student to communicative based on a list of factors (i.e. ESL student, neurological

challenge, or a developmental delay). A behavioral disability occurs when a student acts out or

inappropriately due to the sheer lack of social skills. An emotional disability can be the inability

to learn, the inability to maintain a relationship with their peers, inappropriate behavior,

pessimism, and strong fears regarding school or personal issues. A physical disability is when a

student’s physical condition affects their ability to “normally learn in school.” And finally, a

sensory disability is when a student is unable to utilize one or more of their senses in order to

succeed in a typical classroom setting.

 The label-free approach Because of equal-access provisions within the law, music

teachers are under increased pressure to deliver instruction, often without preparation or support.

Often, music teacher educators themselvses lack the preparation and therefore do not always

include the subject of teaching students with disabilities in their undergraduate methods courses

In the case study of Dan, a student with a physical disability wishing to learn the

trombone, The director could look to see if there is any sort of extension to the trombone

available for purchase that he could order to make moving the slide on the trombone more

accessable for Dan. This could either be funded through the music program, or the special

education program since Dan probably has a 504 plan.

Two questions that came up for me during this reading were: How can an educator could

provide accommodations for a student with disabilites without the student feeling embarrassed

for their accommodations? As well as, how can an educator establish an open environment in

their classroom and among their other students so the student with a disability feels more

welcome in the classroom?