Talking Out of School: High-Stakes Tests

April 16, 2020

Imagine if you will… a music class in inner-city Miami. Kids of all cultures blending together in the most amazing heterogeneity. Influences from calypso, congo, bolero, Afro-Cuban jazz, hip-hop, southern roots rock, salsa, merengue, and more. They all meet together in the music room as an educator tells the narratives of our cultures through notes on the page.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRMbMlLTm84 Kids are cultured, they have a release, they have an escape from the demands of their day. It’s likely the only time they can express themselves in this way, and maybe the only time they’ll get to do it in their…