From Tema Okun (2022):
“[O]ur cultural assumption that we can and should reduce the complexity of life and the nuances of our relationships with each other and all living things into either/or, yes or no, right or wrong in ways that reinforce toxic power.
Either/or and the binary shows up as:
- Positioning or presenting options or issues as either/or — good/bad, right/wrong, with us/against us.
- Little or no sense of the possibilities of both/and.
- Trying to simplify complex things, for example believing that poverty is simply the result of lack of education.
- Closely linked to perfectionism because binary thinking makes it difficult to learn from mistakes or accommodate conflict.
- Conflict and an increased sense of urgency, as people feel they have to make decisions to do either this or that, with no time or encouragement to consider alternatives, particularly those which may require more time or resources.
- A strategy used by those with a clear agenda or goal to push those who are still thinking or reflecting to make a choice between ‘a’ or ‘b’ without acknowledging a need for time and creativity to come up with more options.
- A strategy used to pit oppressions against each other rather than to recognize the ways in which racism and classism intersect, the ways in which both intersect with heterosexism and agism and other categories of oppression.”
What does either/or + the binary look like in music education?
Manifestations
Where did you see this WSCC in your K-12 music education? Where did you see this in your preservice training program? How does this characteristic show up in your job requirements now? How does this characteristic show up in your standards? What behavioral management practices reflect this characteristic? How do your teaching practices perpetuate or challenge this WSCC? Try to be specific.
Remedies
What specific pedagogical tools have you used to challenge this characteristic? What repertoire or content could be incorporated to remedy this characteristic? What needs to change in music education culture or school culture in order to accommodate remedies for this characteristic? What do you wish you learned in your preservice program that would help you challenge this characteristic? How could remedying this characteristic benefit your students and their communities?
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