ABSTRACT
When training to be a teacher I remember being challenged by my education tutor for using the word ‘wants’ instead of ‘needs’. To be frank, I hadn't really thought much about the difference; however, thirty years on I am a little clearer. What pupils may need and what they want are not always the same, but both have to be addressed if teachers are to engage with learners. For instance, a teacher may believe that pupils ‘need’ to learn how to read music and design activities that reinforce concepts about notation. However, there are not many pupils who would necessarily want to learn to read music for its own sake. More likely they would prefer something that they regard as relevant to them personally. Nearly thirty years ago Robert Witkin produced evidence that indicated that 78 per cent of pupils ignored music altogether when suggesting ideas for their own curriculum. They simply did not ‘want’ the music that they had experienced in lessons (Witkin, 1974: 145).
