ABSTRACT
There is plenty of enthusiasm for child-centred learning amongst university-based researchers today but very little progressivism amongst daily practising teachers. This chapter describes that bringing DJ decks into classrooms and encouraging children to Master of Ceremonies (MC) over Electronic Dance Music (EDM), if that is their 'thing', is an intrinsically good idea precisely because it provides a space in which children can centre their musical learning, in the first instance at least, around music with which they identify. Perhaps a music teacher can take more risks than an English teacher, given that an inability to play music is unlikely to ruin a person's employment prospects. The chapter focuses on some reflective studies of the era in general before exploring more music-specific work on child-centred teaching methods. Mainstream commentators on the topic of child-centred teaching almost invariably offer fact-free polemic against progressive methods, typically being individuals who have little or no experience of actual teaching.
