On the "Truthiness" of "Remixing the Classroom": A Reply to Randall Allsup.

Abstract

The praxial philosophy of music education in Music Matters (2015) argues that music educators should teach democratically, creatively, and ethically toward empowering students’ abilities to achieve full human flourishing through critically reflective music making and listening of all kinds. Moreover, Music Matters contends that teachers have a civic responsibility to develop students’ awareness of why and how they should engage in music making for selfand community transformation. Thus, praxial music teachers resist all forms of oppression and defend pupils against their own personal influence. Also, toward the growth of pre-service and in-service music teachers’ creative and educational abilities, Music Matters provides multidimensional, porous, and open concepts of musics, “educations,” personhood, musical understanding, musical products, musical-emotional experiences, creativity, and curriculum. Therefore, our discussion refutes Randall Allsup’s numerous misrepresentations of praxialism as an oppressive, uncreative, archaic, Master-apprentice, performance-centered philosophy that cultivates obedient students, and represents the worst abuses of “institutional” music teaching.