The mission statement for Pop Rockers.org is to help girls in the Twin Cities area attain their full potential through an emphasis on music, expression,
and the creative arts.
Our vision is to help girls compete professionally, be in an equal playing field and excel beyond a glass ceiling. This program creates a professional atmosphere by prioritizing classroom management, presenting realistic views of history and current music trends in today’s market, all using a smaller group size than other band programs. The expression of music, stories and poetry encourages good social interaction in a supportive environment. On one hand they will learn to support other women, but yet know the proper way to compete without taking it personal.
More information on Pop Rockers:
Studies have shown the relationship between high math scores and higher income. Music is an element that can increase math skills, which is especially needed for girls. Letting girls elevate their musical skills and expression not only helps them with math and social skils as well, but it puts them in a competitive playing field as an adult to earn equal wages
We believe that these years are critical for young women. They will need coping mechanisms to resist stereo types and pressures that may not be in their best interest and the wisdom to know if their actions are responding to society or if it’s a well thought out decision (teaching them how to teach themselves).
This program supplies an emphasis on music classes of all genres, preparation of how to compete and find support to navigate through their own career and life journey.
We are starting a new generation of well prepared women to live a dream in the creative arts. It is important to our program that young women effectively communicate and present themselves professionally so that cultural competence is obvious in our students. That they not only contribute to our society, but will be in the best advantage to put themselves ahead. Our students will be well prepared on the details to start their own business (most women in top positions are running their own business ), and increase the visibility of talented women to the public so that it would improve the ratio of men to women in the professional field of the creative arts.
It is a repeated challenge that throughout history women are rarely mentioned, forgotten and even trivialized in printed articles and texts. Pop Rockers would not only support and encourage compositions by the students for the ensembles but would supply history and stories that give a fair presentation of history which would include how women have worked with men in a harmonious way, thus making sure that great role models are remembered from every kind of background.
In more detail, big businesses (including the music and record business) have a tendency to advertise using images of women to sell and get your attention. This school wants to make sure that the students are aware of this type of media, how to understand it in context and also be exposed to positive female imagery. This is important for girls in middle school while they are developing their own image and to counter act eating disorders and low self esteem.
The focus here is to practice critical thinking through constructivist learning (activities and curiosity based learning). Activities include ensembles, a student radio station, learning games and even a Friday Concert in the auditorium. Students are encouraged to show their learning by creating new music, which shows formal thinking. By focusing on discovery learning, it deviates from the term used by Fieire
as the “banking approach” where information is deposited. Deviating from this method, the teachers won’t be seen as ‘all knowing’. This doesn’t create a good atmosphere for any student who may not be able to identify with the culture of the teacher, which is not a realist approach and it doesn’t represent the way young women think and see the world. Using the creative approach starts the concept of ‘how to think’ and ‘how do I see this?’. Instead of fitting into society that does not take them seriously, they can process their own view and how this knowledge fits into their life. The student can see this music program as a valued commodity and relate to it, thus getting more involved in what they consider to be “their band”. Ned Flander’s revealed in his study that students learn best when information was taught in an indirect way, which proves how important classroom interaction is. Using ensembles and creativity classes creates opportunities for students to relate informally with both their peers and their teacher.
Schools in general play a major role in determining who will get ahead in society and who will not” . For example, music history fails to mention major women composers and artists that may effect the perception of how a students sees what is really significant. Creating a new norm of society that can be internalized to shape a student’s perception as a place they fit in. Realizing that young women of this age need to verbalize ideas with their teachers and with peers. This is a environment to learn common ground and collaboration in these early adult years.
It is understood that every student who attends may come from various backgrounds. We know that our society has vastly diverse cultures and we promote a unified approach, suggesting that beyond this school our students can excel and understand and work with their community. This school accepts inner city students from different cultures and respects the different ways each culture raises their children. Our approach on teaching is to start with what the student knows, their experiences and interests and incorporate strategies for teaching. Teachers and students work together on how to apply their perception into the real world, how to not lose their identity and still be aware of and know the rules for the ‘game’ used in todays business world. The goal still remains to teach children how to think, act and know the acceptable behaviors or our collective society.
The philosophy of this school doesn’t stop at gender, it supports the idea that people are more alike than different. However, it is a balancing act between our beliefs which are shaped by our culture, families and peers, and introducing an understanding and openness to others different from us. Understanding how humans form hierarchies and class systems is bedded in a belief about oneself, learned early on, so we are careful in how we teach so that we don’t discriminate. We want to improve the perception students have on the value of school and this program.
This school is empowered with an innovative curriculum. After the second wave of the act “A Nation at Risk” also called the Governor’s Act, schools got to run at a local level with achievement, assessment and accountability. Our music program has teachers from the community with real life music experience, as well as expertise in music, and work with administration from WIMMN for curriculum building. We strive for a strategy that Ron Edmunds refers to as “equity and quality”. Working at a local level to help students experience the integration between their neighborhood, their music, and the learning environment. We are developing critical awareness of society so that they can challenge the current social order in hopes that they can make their community better for the next generation of women.
This program supports the search for a greater meaning in life. To find a purpose helps to develop our character and motivation. Teachers hold a valuable position, and they reflect our philosophy of the importance of teaching the student how to teach themselves. By understanding the world we live in today, how each student’s purpose fits into that, then we can communicate better and understand how we fit in, which will help in navigating the future for each student.