The Educational Thought of Carl Orff and Alfred North Whitehead

86 Pages·2009·0.8 MB·English

by  Wayne & Colette

Music, Growth, and Wisdom:
The Educational Thought
of
Carl Orff and Alfred North Whitehead

Master of Education Thesis
Department of Educational Foundations
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

By Susan Colette Bischoff

© S. Colette Bischoff, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, 2009. All Rights Reserved
PERMISSION TO USE

I hereby grant to the University of Saskatchewan and/or its agents the non-exclusive
license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis in
whole or in part in all forms of media, now or for the duration of my copyright
ownership. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis. I also
reserve the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis.

I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written
permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter that is
included in my thesis, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I
submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee.

Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or
part should be addressed to:

Head of the Department of Educational Foundations
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X1
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am sincerely grateful to those who have travelled with me on this educational journey.
A special thank you must be given to my thesis supervisor Dr. Howard Woodhouse,
whose amazing insight inspired me throughout the writing process. Thanks also to Dr.
Mark Flynn for acting as an advisory committee member, Dr. Dianne Miller, oral defense
chair, and Dr. Peter Purdue, external examiner. I appreciate the generosity of all who
invested time and effort on my behalf.

I am extremely grateful to my extended family, dear friends, and colleagues for their
interest and support. Finally, I am indebted to my husband Wayne and my children
Laura, Adam, and Anthony for it was your love, patience, encouragement, and devotion
that gave me strength to continue this challenging but rewarding journey.

ii
DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to the children and teachers who have enriched my life.

iii
ABSTRACT

This thesis demonstrates how an interdisciplinary, organic music program built on the
theory of Alfred North Whitehead and the practice of Carl Orff fosters freedom,
imagination, creative expression, discipline, and wisdom so that children may learn about
themselves, others, and the living world through an interdisciplinary approach to music.
The thesis also addresses the failure of music educators to fully recognize and embrace
the compatibility of Orff and Whitehead’s work and the subsequent deficiency of school
systems to provide aesthetic experiences through elementary music programs that
develop wisdom.

The thesis underlines the importance of education that enables balanced growth in
children; provides an historical perspective on the factors that contributed to the
development of Orff’s Schulwerk; emphasizes the importance of arts education in
Whitehead’s educational philosophy; and provides a constructive proposal for a music
education program utilizing the philosophy and practice of Whitehead and Orff. The
potentiality for music education and a process-based approach combining the work of
Orff and Whitehead designed to nurture growth and wisdom and help children live life to
the fullest, are underscored.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PERMISSION TO USE…………………………………………………………………..i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...ii
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………..iii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………..iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………...v

CHAPTER ONE: Connecting the Disconnected – Rethinking the Aims of Education
I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….....1
II. Carl Orff and the Powers of Music Education……………………………............6
III. An Interconnected Growth Process……………………………………….............7
IV. Play and Discipline…………………………………………………......................8
V. Growth in Nature and in Humans………………………………...……………...10
VI. Whitehead, Wisdom, and Art Education………………………….......................13
VII. Arts Education, Beauty, and Wisdom……………………………………………16
VIII. Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………….…..18
IX. Purpose of the Thesis…………………………………………………...………..19
X. Methodology………………………………………………………......................21
XI. Definition of Key Concepts………………………………………………….…..23
XII. Outline of Chapters……………………………………………………………....24

CHAPTER TWO: Orff Schulwerk: Music Education for the Whole Child
I. Structure of the Chapter…………………………………………………............26
II. From Beginnings to Fruition…………………………………………….............26
III. The Essence of Orff-Schulwerk…………………………………………............35
IV. Instruments for Exploration and Expression…………………………………….36
V. Reflections on the Orff Classroom………………………………………............41
VI. The Power of the Schulwerk to Enhance the Playful, Joyful, Moral and
Imaginative Capacities of Children……………………………………………...44

CHAPTER THREE: Alfred North Whitehead and the Joys of Arts Education
I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………...47
II. Educating for the Fullness of Life……………………………………………….48
III. Rhythmic Cycles of Growth……………………………………………………..51
IV. Knowledge and Wisdom………………………………………………………...55
V. Artistic Activity, An Integrated Curriculum, Bodily Feelings, and the Art
of Life……………………………………………………………………………57
VI. Reflections on the Relationship of Whiteheadian Educational Philosophy to My
Own Teaching……………………………………………………………………59
v
CHAPTER FOUR: Orff and Whitehead in the Classroom: Fostering Growth and
Wisdom Through Music Education
I. Chapter Outline…………………………………………………..........................63
II. Philosophical Principles of an Organic Music Education…………......................65
III. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….....72
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………….....74

vi
Chapter One
Connecting the Disconnected - Rethinking the Aims of Education
We must seek out such artists as have character and thus are able to express the beautiful and noble.
Then our youths will live in a healthful land, and everything will benefit them that drifts across from
beautiful works to the eye and the ear, like a breeze that brings health from good fields. From
childhood on it will form them insensibly like a beautiful poem, and it will give them love for such,
and harmony. Yes, that would be the most glorious kind of education.
(Plato, “The Republic”)
I. Introduction
Childhood is a time of gradual change and growth during which we gain an understanding
of the world beyond self. It is a time when we are most impressionable, and open to
discovering what we love. The ancient Greeks believed that guiding this notion of love,
‘passionate desire’, or erõs, in ways that develop goodness, was the ultimate goal of
education (Garrison, 1997, p. xiii).
Whiteheadian scholar, John Cobb, argues that education should enable moral
goodness, or "strength of beauty", in the learner's soul by enhancing aesthetic value,
celebrating community, and helping children appreciate their relationships with the
natural world (Cobb, 1998, pp. 106-107). This comprehensive notion of valuing is the
basis upon which non-coercive relationships with other human beings and with nature can
be built. The maximization of private wealth, however, has resulted in self-indulgence,
poverty for many human beings, and enormous damage to the planet. Examples of the
latter include pollution of the air, water, and land, ecosystems destroyed for use by
human beings, cities running out of space to dispose of their garbage, and global warming
(Daly and Cobb, 1994, pp. 449-455).
Educators have a responsibility to counteract this dominant trend by
reestablishing an awareness of the need for unity among people, as well as balance
between the human and natural worlds. Students who learn about the relationships
among different disciplines are more likely to develop strength of beauty, and understand
and be able to express their connectedness with other people, nature, and the universe,
than those who are only exposed to separate, discrete disciplines. In reality, problems are
2

interconnected, and knowledgeable individuals working together from different
perspectives can recognize this interdependence in ways that 'experts' who plough a
single furrow cannot (Daly and Cobb, 1994, pp. 133-137).
Unfortunately, much of my experience as an educator leads me to believe that
Saskatchewan schools do not always assist students to develop an understanding of their
connectedness with the universe. In consultation with colleagues in various strands of
arts education, there is a resounding chorus of concern surrounding issues such as course
scheduling, curriculum expectations, and limited university programming for prospective
teachers in the areas of music, dance, drama, and visual arts. As a result, the quality of
the arts and aesthetic experiences for students in the province suffers and the interest in
them declines. Many educators have noticed a decline in enrolments in arts education
classes at the high school level. The current reality is that even though the potential of
interdisciplinary education is known and some efforts are being made to effect change in
schools, quality arts education does not occur in every school or every classroom. Some
positive efforts include teachers being actively involved in member organizations such as
the Saskatchewan Music Educators’ Association or the local chapter of Carl Orff Canada
Music for Children; the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education’s early learning initiative, as
documented in “Play and Exploration” (2008), which is based largely on the Reggio
Emilio approach to early childhood education; and an effort by one particular
Saskatchewan school division to implement a special program designed to teach curricular
areas such as language arts, math, history, social studies, and science through visual art,
music, drama, and dance. Unfortunately, this program has only been granted the funding
required for three out of thirty-seven elementary schools and from conversations with
some of the teachers involved, I believe that their personal connection with the arts, and
willingness to explore and implement alternative pedagogies will be a determining factor in
the program's success or failure. While the majority of teachers recognize the potential of
the program, a few remain skeptical for two main reasons. First, they are not convinced
that it is possible to cover all the curricular content through an interdisciplinary, artistic
approach. Second, their own artistic and creative life experience is limited, so that they
3

tend to rely on the artist as expert rather than as co-teacher.
Whitehead believes the arts are powerful in their ability to assist in the
development of ‘active wisdom’, or the mastery of knowledge through “the habit of the
active utilisation of well-understood principles” (1929, pp. 30, 37). The imaginative
process enables the child or adult to visualize or create new images and ideas that provide
alternative possibilities for feeling, thinking, and acting in ways different from those
predominant in reality. He considers imagination a central element in the creative process
of growth, which constitutes the education of human beings since the imagination is a
unifying force in life (1929, p. 93). This approach, however, is too often absent from
schooling today as large class sizes, outcomes evaluation, standardized testing, tangible
reward systems, compartmentalization of disciplines, and teaching primarily for content
all militate against it.
For example, a class with a large number of students may have time and space
constraints restricting the effectiveness of active learning. Space restrictions will make it
very challenging to foster an environment that promotes learning through means involving
any physical movement, variety in seating arrangements, or the set up of learning
materials that the students can use for discovery, exploration, and their growing capacity
for wisdom. Because of large class sizes, the teacher may not have enough time in the
school day to interact on an individual basis with students, attend to their needs, and
challenge them to become creative, reflective thinkers. Alternatively, s/he may try to
enable students to do their school work by providing them with tangible rewards,
possibly making them dependent on extrinsic rewards rather than the intrinsic value that
comes from active wisdom, sometimes described as a love for “deep knowing” (Oliver and
Gershman, 1989, p.176).
Even though evidence is lacking to suggest schooling is the primary factor in
determining an employee’s productivity, teachers and administrators often feel pressured
by various sectors of society to place an overriding emphasis on skills training in the
hopes of “preparing tomorrow’s workers” (Kohn, 2007). Kohn indicates that this way
of thinking can cause a shift in the curricular focus, thereby placing a disproportionate