ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the possibility that centering mutual relationships may be a helpful frame for music educators when considering a response to the pervasiveness of trauma in society. Situated in the author's experience as a White teacher who was beginning her career serving a majority African American student population in Detroit, this chapter narrative highlights states of unease within the relational triad of student, subject matter, and self. These challenges hindered mutual relationships in the classroom and were a catalyst for confronting many assumptions and prejudices. This chapter invites the reader to consider the form and function of mutual relationships in teaching, with a focus on how trauma may both impact and be buffered by each member of the relational triad.
