Rock'in Out!

Lesson: Gender Rolls

Student Objective
: To discover the wide array of stereotypes that exist to try and separate groups of artist.

Assignment
: To create a collage of various artists and "labeled" groups
: The class will be paired up and each group will make a collage of a different "labeled" group.
: Labeled groups include
- Female musicians versus Male musicians in Country
- Female musicians versus Male musicians in Hip-hop
- Female musicians versus Male musicians in Rock N'Roll
- Female musicians versus Male musicians in Popular Music
- Male musicians
- Female musicians
: Then they will have to answer and create a report on their findings. Questions include...
- What do all the artists have in common?
- What makes them different?
- What do these things say/imply about gender and/or race?
- Are these stereotypes real? Are they true? Do they apply to you today?

* A variety of music will be available and played in the background.

Conclusion
: A class presentation of all collages
: Followed by a class discussion of the findings after every presentation and inputs of other thoughts and wonderings

Lesson: Discrimination

You'll need to borrow some drums from the music teacher. Give them some time to explore and play with the drums. Then, transition to a game. Go outside with the drums, and inform them that the first one to reach this line, is the winner.
- Ask each student do give you an example of a simply combination on their drum that everyone will do. Pick the Caucasian artists to take 2 steps, while everyone else can take 1
- If they have brown eyes to take 2 steps. If they have blue or green eyes to take 4 steps
- Do another drum combination. Again, ask the Caucasian students to take 2 while everyone else takes 1.
- If they have blonde or red hair they can take 4 steps, while everyone else can take 2.
- Keep continuing until someone wins, and it will most likely be someone who's Caucasian,

Go back into the class and discuss the game. I noticed that so and so was getting a little frustrated during the game. Was anything else feeling this way? How come?

The game was unfair. We played to so I could help demonstrate the unfairness that can be found in the world, including in music. Based off of one's skin color alone, it would be decided if they were good enough to make music. It didn't even matter how good they were.
Sometimes one would even sound better than the other, but depending on their skin color, only one of them got the chance, and it wasn't always the one who sounded better.

I'm a country girl at heart. I've been lucky enough to have had two lives growing up: one in

the city, and the other spending my weekends running around barns and haylofts. So

when I got to choose what chapter to read, I jumped at the chance to read about Blues

and Country Music: Mass Media and the Construction of Race. I have to be honest, it's not

quite what I had in mind nor what I was looking for, but it was interesting nonetheless. It

was very surprising and fulfilling to learn about the history and roots of country and blues

music. It still blows my mind how far segregation went. I know what segregation is, I read a

lot about the segregation experience, but for some unknown, silly reason, I didn't think

about segregation in music. As I'm reading, I'm thinking to myself, "Duh Kristina! It's

segregation and it influences everything in life, even music".

Record labels assigned artist to two different labels depending on just their race. They also

used this separation of race as a separation of the style of music they performed. African

American artists music was considered Race music, while Caucasian artists music was

considered Hillbilly music. Even though the music industry was run heavily by the

influences of segregation, there were plenty of people that saw past the lines of

discrimination and noticed people for their attributes and who they are. The artists were

aware of the "influence they had on each other's work" (36 Garofalo). Their influence on

each other was so intense that "artists were sometimes listed in the wrong racial category

in record company catalogues" (38 Garofalo). What a funny web we weave when people

try to separate things. Especially when trying to separate something is like trying to

separate two different types of sand. By this I mean the influences of the oh so many

different cultures on music. The fiddle from Europe, the banjo from Africa, yodeling from

Switzerland and Germany, the mandolin from Italy, and string bands from Hawaii. The

influences that we all have on each other is hard to deny or hide.

The other thing that struck me was that some things never change. There is an image of

how women and men are SUPPOSE to act. Even in blues music, at its very roots, that

double standard existed. Male Blues singers were "sparsely accompanied" (39 Garofalo)

by others on stage as if to say 'I'm a tough guy, and I don't need anyone'. While Blues

women were "usually accompanied by a red hot jazz band or a scintillating master of the

key board" (39 Garofalo) because a poor little woman would be lost without a man in her

presence to help her. Even now in Hip-Hop, you can't portray yourself as being soft

because that is associated with feminity or being a pussy, while acting hard or in a manly

manner makes you a hard core, "real" man (Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other

Cultures Threatened with Assimilation, Kembrrew McLeod). Will these stereotypes and

discrimination ever cease to exist?

This class had definitely been any eye-opener for me. It seems so obvious yet the

influence that music really has on our lives (past, present and future) are so hidden and

aloof.

Lesson: Music Review (2nd/3rd)

Student Objective
: To think critically about a musical selection
: To compare and contrast two different songs
: To note the positives and negatives from their point of view
: To create a poster review

Introduction
: Show different symbols that mean you like it and do't like it. Examples: Thumbs up, Thumbs down, Big 'X', Sound of a bell ringing, Sound of no (eh-eh), etc.
: Does anyone know what these sounds mean?
: All of these sounds are used when someone decides whether or not they like something. It's our own opinions and we make these judgements every day. From whether we like what we just ate for breakfast to the songs we hear on the radio.

Middle
: Next, I want you to listen to these songs. After we've listened to the 4 songs, I will ask them to rate them and let them listen to them a second time. (Current songs: Justin Beiber, Demi Lavatto, MIley Cyrus, etc)
: They will rate their favorite to least favorite on a worksheet.

Assignment
: To create a music review poster
: The song title and artist must be written in BIG letters and centered
: Writing has to be neat and legible
: You have to include at least 3 reasons why you like this song
: You need to include honest critique from others - At least 3 who like it and why, and 3 who don't like it any why
: Add at least 1 way you could make it better
:You need to include at least 3 of your favorite quotes from the song
: Include at least 3 pictures that you see in your head when you listen to the song
: Include other graphics to make your poster POP

Conclusion
: Presentation of all the posters

Gavin DeGraw
Chariot

In his first album Chariot, Gavin DeGraw sings in Follow Through, "Oh, this is the start of something good" and I couldn't agree more. His sweet, soul-stinging voice gets in your head and your heart. You can't help but wish he was singing for you, and most importantly, to you.

Chariot is a collection of songs that represent the metamorphosis of one's feelings about a relationship and himself from good to bad and good again. However, the order in which the songs are arranged leave the listener feeling a bit bi-polar. The majority of his songs are soft ballads that serenade you. Follow Through is a slow starting song that eventually gets your hand drumming right along with the uptake. This leads us into Just Friends what gets you feeling for this poor guy and reminds you of your own high school heart dramas. Then that turns into Chemical Party where you think he's learned that his gal isn't a good match for him and this assumption in paired with the unruliness sound of the song. Over-Rated then gives off mixed signals because in the beginning he sounds bitter and angry when he sings "you're so good" but the rest of the song seems to be him trying to convince us of the awesome love he'll have. The ending of this song always gets to me when he sings, "you-who-who". It reminds me, and not in a good way, of the movie Greece when Frankie Avalon is singing to Frenchie. I can't help but picture insanely updo-ed women wearing toga dresses with wings, and Gavin climbing the stairway among the clouds. What I really want to hear at the end of this album is "I Don't Wanna Be" to get me pumped up an re-energized about my life point of view. Even though his songs feel out of order, it doesn't take away from the pure enjoyment of his voice nor the experience we have when listening to his songs. He sings in Follow Through, as if reading our mind, "all I really want is you, you to stick around, I'll see you every day", and need I say more?

Lesson 1 - Constructing The Private Public Self

Objective
: Creating a private public self
: Discuss when is it too much?

Introduction:
- Ask the students what the definition of "private" is?
What does it mean, when I say to you to keep something private?

- Ask them what the definition of public means?
What does it mean when we do something in public or share something in public?

Lesson:
Define the private public self
- It's when you share private information about yourself to the public. It would be information that no one would know, unless they were in the same room you were in at the exact moment.
- Ask someone to go in the hall. Then I will hop on one foot and ask the class if the student in the hall would know what I was doing at that moment. Then I would ask the student in the hall the same questions. Next, I would have a student write it down on a mini whiteboard and give it to them. Then I would ask the student again, and they would be able to tell me.
- I would explain that celebrities these days (like, Justin Bieber) use media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to share their private public self.

Creating the private public self
- We will use mini white boards and markers to share our EVERY move.
- From how our pencil feels, to what color we write with, to when we cough or sneeze. Basically every little thought you think in your head, you need to write on the board for the ENTIRE day.

Wrap-up:
- What is a private public self?
- What did you think of our white board activity?
- What do you think about sharing all of that information? Was it fun? Was it helpful? Do we need to know all of it?
- Why would someone willing share all of that information?
- Where should draw the line as to what to share?
- How much is too much?
- Pretend you are a celebrity (Miley or Justin Bieber) and you shared private information on Twitter or Facebook. Then a fan came up to you and started asking you personal information, do you have a right to be mad at them for asking? Why?

Lesson 2 - The Man Behind The Curtain?

Objective:
- To get students to think about the possible consequences of sharing your private public self
- To make students aware of the possible dangers that lie in the different multi-media communicational devices (Facebook, Twitter)

Introduction:
- Ask who is familiar with the Wizard of Oz? Ask what the story is about?
- Read the chapter in the Wizard of Oz where Oz appears to each one of the characters as a different form.

Lesson:
-The Wizard of Oz appeared as a beautiful lady, a huge floating head, a terrible beast, and a ranging fireball. Do any of the characters know which form is the "real" Oz yet?
- Do you think it was a smart decision to follow the directions of a person who appeared to each of them as a different figure?
- Play "The Man Behind The Curtain"

Game: The Man Behind the Curtain
- Have a curtain/barrier set up in the middle of the room
- Divide the class in half and have either on each side.
- Each student needs a flag. On one side it say "Real Thing", and on the other side it says "Oz".
- Each side takes turn playing the character (answering the questions) while the other side asks the questions to find out more about them.
- After all the questions have been answered for the character, the question askers have to decide if this person is really who they say they are.
- Hand out the Question and Answer cards to both sides. Each Questions card has a matching Answer card.
- Ex. Question Card #1 Answer Card #1
1. What is your name? 1. My name is Elmo
2. What is your favorite color? 2. Red
3. Where do you live? 3. On Sesame Street
4. What kind of animal is your pet? 4. A goldfish
* I am not the real Elmo
- Then ask everyone to vote if they believe this is the real Elmo
- The "Elmo" tells everyone if they are the real Elmo or not.
- After all the cards have been played hold a discussion.

Wrap-up
- I noticed that it was difficult for some of us to figure out if we were talking to the real character not. Why do you think that is?
- Just because we see something on the internet or participate in something on the internet, does it mean that we can trust it or believe it?
- If we were able to use different multi-media resources, such as Facebook or Twitter, what do you think would be some good guidelines to keep in mind.Think back to when we used the mini-white boards too. When is too much information a bad thing? Also, how can we stay safe from "friends"/"strangers"?

I have a love/hate relationship with John Mayer. I love some of his songs, but I hate his

behavior. Especially his parading around and mouth overload. I also believe that he too

has a love hate relationship with himself, his "public self". He is constantly crossing the

lines between the public self, the private public self, and the transgressive intimate self.

Celebrities, like John Mayer, are playing with fire when they decide to make their lives

public through the private public self, as well as the transgressive intimate self (which

John Mayer often finds himself in trouble with). Celebrities have a choice to live a private

life or to live in the public world by choosing multi-media formats, like Facebook and

Twitter, to live out their daily lives. I don't understand how they can sit there and

complain about being hounded by the paparazzi and the intrusiveness of it all, when

they are the one's who are telling their every move to the public. They are the one's who

are inviting us, the public, into their "private" lives. They are promoting their "private"

selves in a public world, and are then asking the public to draw the line so they can keep

a "private" self. Can they really expect the public to know where to draw the line, when

the celebrity doesn't even know when to draw it?I'm not saying that just because they

choose to live a private public life via the Internet that they don't deserve a sense of

safety. Of course, their rights need to be protected and they should never feel in harms

way, but they also shouldn't put themselves in harms way either. One minute John Mayer

makes a "Paparazzi-Control Proposal"* to increase the noticeability of paparazzi and to

control the amount running rampant by making them register. Then in the next, he's

holding a mock press conference to announce his single status*. This isn't a pick and

choose kind of world. YOu can't have it both ways.All of this "staging of the self"(The

Promotion and Presentation of the Self) definitely has a purpose, and the purpose is to

sell and promote the self in order to make the big bucks and become famous. I can't

help but notice that the increase usage of multi-media avenues is also increasing our

need of instant gratification. This too is correlated to the insanity of all the props used

during concerts. This only makes me question even more if all of these things are

creating an illusion and preventing the audience from seeing the real artist and their so-

called talents. As 4 Real says in their article, "They need their props because they are

faking it". Is all of this grandstanding, whether it's props or manipulating

their "private/public self", preventing us from seeing the man behind the curtain? Is it

preventing us from seeing the truth, that maybe they just aren't as talented as we think

they are?

* "John Mayer's Paparazzi-Control Proposal: Put 'P's on their license plates!"gawker.com/5032026/john-mayors-paparazzi+control-proposal-puts-ps-on-the-license-plates
* John Mayer announces his single status to paparazzi (again) www.zimbo.com)

Lesson
:Censorship

Objective
: Create understanding within the students what censorship actually is
: Get the students involved in the discussion if censorship
: Hold a mock court on whether or not "Mary had a little lamb" is appropriate to listen to

Part 1
: Students will be asked to bring in some of the music that they like to listen to. I will tell them that we will be listening to music in the am during Morning Work, and I would love if they brought some music in that they enjoyed to put on the playlist.
: After I have had a chance to listen to the music explain why we will not be listening to their music and let them debate why they think we should listen to it.

Part 2
: Discover what censorship actually means
: Dictionary definition
: What censorship means to them? How do they experience censorship in their lives at school?

Definitions of censorship
: Look up different definitions on the internet.
: The class will be paired up. We will go round robin discovering different definitions of censorship and discuss what it means.
: Each partner has to find a different meaning other than what was given.

Survey
Censorship at home or school

1.       What are some things you do but then are told no to while ...
-          In the classroom
-          In the lunchroom
-          At recess
-          In the hallways
-          In the bathrooms
2.       Why do you think you are told to do so?
3.       Are there things that you are told not to do at school that you don't understand or think is silly?

Part 3
: Hold a mock trial of "Mary had a little lamb"
: 1 side is for the song being no harm, and the other is against it. Those who are against the song believe that it encourages discrimination of lambs with off-white, cream, or beige fleece.
:They will meet as teams and plan their game plan and collect evidence. They will then argue the sides of both with students being the lawyers and jury, and the teacher is the judge.

Questions to think about:
- What makes the song promote discrimination?
- What makes the song acceptable to listen to?
- What evidence do you have to support your argument?This may include supportive witnesses (i.e. Mary herself, or any other character - Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, etc)

What exactly is the "best" or "authentic" music? I think that "authentic" music is in the

eye of the beholder. I believe that it's up to the artist and the individual listener to

determine what is "authentic" to them. I also believe that there is no one single way to

determine what is "authentic". Authenticity Within Hip-Hop states that authenticity is rooted

in culture, but I don't think it has to be as complicated as that.

Music has the ability to take a "private concern" that is felt "individually and privately" (4

Real) and makes it authentic for the individual. This allows the listener to find a

commonality between them and someone else, and to find some understanding among

peers and not feel so isolated. It's a way to find some "final understanding" (4 Real).

Authenticity for the listener is what they see reflected in the music and in the band's

behavior.

Music has so many viewpoints and angles that I don't think anyone can agree on

concrete parameters to conclude if something is "authentic". I think that a certain band or

song can be authentic to some and not to others. Music allows the listener to connect to it.

It provides us with an avenue to see something from another point of view. When it comes

to music, I think that "you have to put it into the context" (4 Real) of where the listener is

coming from. That will then determine if there's something there for them to connect to. If

there is, then it's "authentic" to them. The experience of music is "an experience of

identity". To agree with Authenticity Within Hip-Hop, music is "an accurate representation

of one's own life world."

You can't prove if something is authentic. All you can do is try to walk in the other

persons' shoes. Explain where you are coming from and the reasons why the music

connects to you so much. Authenticity Within Hip-Hop states that artists believe that

authenticity is music that is "true, real, or keepin' it real", but therein lies the rub. What is

"true, real, or keepin' it real" changes with what is "real" for the listener. Christina Aguilera,

Ain't No Other Man is "authentic" in my eyes because she expresses everything that I feel

towards my husband and the timing of the release was right after we got married (feeling

the euphoria). However, I fully understand and respect that someone else may not feel the

same way. I guess the thing that I can't understand is why is there so much "hate" in

music. Why can't we accept that music is all different and it's okay not to like everything,

but acknowledge that it takes talent and hard work to create it (no matter what it is).

Tolerance and acceptance are the key words I'm arguing.

Lesson
: Branding in music - "Will the real Miley Cyrus please stand up?"

Objective
: Student's will investigate Miley Cyrus and her "Hannah Montana" character.
: They will try and distinguish how her character is used to promote her career,
sales, and affiliations.
: They will answer how her image reinforces her genre of pop culture.

Part 1

1. Research on the internet about Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana
2. Full name
3. Age when started the Hannah Montana show
4. Hometown
5. Family members
6. Hobbies
7. What does she promote(sell)?
8. How would you describe their image? (clothes, styles, behavior)
9. Do you like her? Why?

Part 2

1. How are Miley and Hannah similar?
2. How are they different?
3. What is the target audience for Hannah?
4. How doe what Miley and Hannah promote line up with her target audience?
5. How does her image (what you see) connect with her genre (pop culture)?
6. How does her image sell or promote her career?

Lesson
: Acceptance and tolerance in music

Objective
: Student's will listen to and analyze different styles of music.
: They will create concrete reasons why they do/don't like something.
: Discuss if one is better than the other and why?
: Answer if there is one way to judge music to decide if it's "worthy" (authentic) or not.

We will listen to different songs from different artists and different genres.
They will fill out the below form for each song by themselves or with a partner.
We will have a rod table discussion afterwards and make connections between it just being about music, and it being about accepting others for their similarities and differences to you.

The worksheet will ask the following questions:
1. Artist name?
2. Song title?
3. What genre is it in?
4. What do you like about the song?
5. What do you not like about the song?
6. Would you listen to this song again? Why?
7. How does the song fit the genre?