Un llamado de "conciencia plena" a los educadores musicales

Abstract

This paper presents the conference delivered by Dr. Cara Bernard, an academic from the University of Connecticut (United States) and Editor of the prestigious journal Visions of Research in Music Education (VRME), on October 4, 2023, at the XIV Latin American Regional Conference and VI Pan-American Regional Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). In her conference, Dr. Bernard offers a critical perspective on a central element for contemporary discourse in music education: the omnipresent gap between theoretical discourses of change and their practical implementation. Drawing on Paulo Freire's concept of "narration sickness," Dr. Bernard identifies a tendency among educators to propose calls for reform and change—such as fostering musicality, promoting social justice and creativity, or advancing inclusion—but without providing adequately contextualized guidance for their implementation.
According to the author, this often leads to the generation of ambiguous, general, and poorly applicable to teaching practice, leaving teachers without clear pathways to integrate new ideas into their diverse teaching contexts. The central argument points to a dichotomy between thinkers (academics, researchers) and laborers (K-12 educators), a situation further exacerbated by the ways knowledge is transmitted and disseminated in academic settings. These frequently prioritize the unidirectional transmission of information over dialogical interaction, the application of ideas to practical situations, and the consideration of specific teaching environments. In this sense, the author asserts that any theoretical postulate presented disconnected from practical application becomes mere "blah-blahblah"—lacking the transformative potential inherent in genuine praxis. Thus, Freire's concept of praxis, integrating theory, reflection, and action, is presented as the essential framework for translating abstract ideas into tangible and impactful changes.

To counteract this "narration sickness," the author introduces Maxine Greene's concept of acting in a "wide-awake" manner. This implies an active and imaginative engagement with the reality of our contexts, including the capacity to "act on what we imagine." Dr. Bernard addresses the practical implications of a "wide-awake" approach, highlighting them through the example of Rex, an elementary music teacher. Rex's decisions and adjustments in response to various pedagogical concerns—often subtle yet deliberate—demonstrate how specific actions can foster an effective union of theory and practice, providing solutions to the daily problems related to Rex's pedagogical work.
The author concludes by calling on music educators at all levels to critically embrace the axiom "it depends," not as a barrier to action, but as an imperative for reflective and context-sensitive engagement. Similarly, she advocates for visualizing new spaces that, by incorporating different resources and dimensions, improve access to and dissemination of theoretical and practical
knowledge, as well as the interaction between "intellectuals and laborers." This would allow for reducing the gap between "those who think" and "those who do," thereby fosteringthe cultivation of more inclusive, equitable, and enriching learning experiences for music education.