FOLKSONG IN THE CLASSROOM (IX,1), F/88, Pp. 28-29.

The environmental education movement of the 1960's and 1970's spawned a new era in education as well. Environmental education was born from the union of older educational movements, such as Outdoor Education and Conservation Education, with a heightened concern for the environmental problems that were beginning to surface during that time.

Environmental education (EE) presented itself as a multi-and interdisciplinary system of education which could be integrated into the entire school curriculum. However, as it's concepts began to be applied to existing school systems, it more often was relegated to the life sciences and/or the social studies, and seldom, if ever, were the other subject disciplines included.

The main premise of EARTHSINGING is that the arts, especially music, can and should be accorded a more integrated role in the interdisciplinary structure of today's environmental education, where the emotional and motivational power of song can be sued to stimulate student enthusiasm for the continued study of environmental issues.

An effective means of introducing music into an environmental studies unit is by the presentation of selected musical pieces to the students. This can incorporate any or all of the following suggested activities:

1. Select a song, or group of songs, which can give insights into the environmental concepts being studied. Many exemplary selections may be found in catalogues of classical, jazz, popular, traditional and topical folk music, and contemporary children's music.

2. Introduce the song(s) by providing information about the artist, or author, the background setting for the song, and information relating to the concepts and vocabulary presented in the song(s). The students may also conduct their own research into these areas.

3. Play the songs in a quiet setting. This can be accomplished by simply playing a recorded version, or by a live performance by students with musical aptitude, the music teacher, or yourself, if you feel comfortable in doing so.

4. After the songs have been played, as many times as desirable, ask questions which encourage reasoning and stimulate discussion of the content and the emotional implications of the selections. Encourage the students to look beyond the words to the author's point of view, much like you would study the messages in advertising.

5. Have the entire class learn to sing the songs and find or create further occasions to sing it over the course of the unit. Often the re-singing of the songs will bring up new viewpoints and spark new ideas for discussion as the students' understanding of the subject increases.

6. Have students write additional lyrics to the songs, or write original songs which they feel better reflect their own understanding of the concepts and issues and can help them to clarify their own feelings about these issues.

7. Have students collaborate on a longer work which interweaves music with other art forms to create a short musical play with stories or poems, a multi-media art show or slide presentation, a student concert comprised of environmental songs they have learned, or even a song cycle of the students' original material. Such a work can be an excellent culminating activity in which the class can also contribute to increasing environmental awareness throughout the school or community through a public presentation of the work.

In a time when environmental education is often locked into the sciences or social studies, EARTHSINGING represents a step toward integrating the more intuitive and aesthetic components of education as taught in the arts and humanities, into our understanding, appreciation and concerned commitment to protect our environment.