ABSTRACT
The social realities, outlined in Chapter 6, impact a teacher’s daily work to varying degrees but are integral to all public schools. One, the achievement gap, first documented by Coleman, is real and a concern of all teachers, music teachers included. Aside from genetic differences that are not the subject of this book, music achievement gaps come about largely as the result of differences in formal and informal learning conditions inside and outside of school, which are precipitated by socioeconomic, racial, gender, and cultural differences in the students who either have to or elect to enroll in music classes.
