26.09.2024: Interview mit der Schuldirektorin

[…] Aus dem Interview mit der Direktorin der Volkschule Campus Landstraße haben wir erfahren, dass Klassenlehrende über keine spezifischen musikpädagogischen Kenntnisse verfügen müssen, um Musik in Volksschulen unterrichten zu dürfen. Laut der Direktorin hätten sie ‚‚sehr viel Spielraum‘‘ und können selber über Methoden und Inhalte entscheiden. Sie müssen sich lediglich an den Lehrplan halten: (https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10009275&Artikel=&Paragraf=&Anlage=1&Uebergangsrecht=; zu Musikunterricht siehe Seite 39). Interessant ist, dass die Lehrerin der von uns untersuchen Klasse 4A nach unseren Beobachtungen versucht, das Repertoire des Musikunterrichtes zu diversifien, indem sie beispielsweise den Schüler*innen Popmusiklieder (wenn auch nicht die neusten) zeigt. Dies kann vermutlich auf den musikalischen Habitus der Lehrerin zurückgeführt werden, die sowohl klassischen Musik als auch Rock- und Popmusik. Allerdings nimmt sie, großenteils aufgrund der fehlenden Ressourcen wie Zeit usw., die Lieblingslieder von den Schüler*innen nicht als Referenzpunkt des Musikunterrichtes.

24.10.2024: […] In one activity, all children did one vocal sound and the others copied. Originally, the activity was supposed to be to throw the sound, but as we were inside and the acoustics were difficult and it was the last day before holidays, the spirits were high, and we had to do the activity a bit more structured. We can do the original activity in two smaller groups once we are outside with them. Many of the children were quite inventive with their sound, for example, repeatedly putting light pressure with their hand on the throat while vocalizing.

                                             i.     We loosely introduced sounds / noise in our environment as music in a John Cage explanation "even the fridge makes music". 

                                             ii.     One child marked that this was just like rivers, they make music.

We began working with worksheets. One student did not like this activity and showed their disinterest by marking an X at every question. Erla sat with them for support and learned that the reason was because the child had difficulties with spelling. When Erla read the questions out loud, they would answer verbally. Erla supported them by vocalizing the sounds of the words they said. After this, the child participated well in the group activity that followed, telling Erla about the cats (their favourite sounds were from cats) from their home country that their siblings own, drawing each of them in their own house. She asked the child to support her in various tasks to empower them: the student took this seriously and f.ex. helped her put a tape on the big paper for the group activity, collect the colors that were spread around the floor and lead the other children on how to roll up the big paper. […] (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

7.11.2024: […] Generell scheinen die Kinder viel zu sharen zu haben. Sie kommen mehrmals auf uns zu, um etwas mitzuteilen, sei es aufgabenspezifisch oder etwas anderes. Sie erzählen gerne, so mein Eindruck, über ihre Lieblingsbands oder wie sie selbst Musik machen. Vielleicht könnten wir ja beim nächsten Unterricht ein bisschen über die Lieblingslieder von den Kindern reden. […] (Lis Vovka)

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7.11.2024: […] For the past week, I have been working on the application, and trying to understand and fill in the gaps of what we are trying to do with this project. Many of the questions we have are complex. Conducting the case study simultaneously means putting theory into practice, or, helps me to focus on putting practice into theory. The two sessions we have had in Campus Landstrasse has made me reflect quite a bit on my journey working with children in school settings, beginning, I think, 11 or 12 years ago (in Iceland, you don't need an education in pedagogy to work in schools). As well as spending time with children in a non-school setting.

Being in Campus Landstrasse is absolutely wonderful, of course, the children are so welcoming, inventive, playful and full of life. Living in Vienna can sometimes be a bit lonely for me because I am used to having a lot of children around (family and friend's children), but people my age in Vienna (in the bubbles that I am a part of) are not as concerned with having children as soon as in Iceland. This creates a certain gap in my life because I am used to having access to children's perspectives, and getting to learn from them in my everyday life. 

Child-adult knowledge sharings don't seem so significant in the moment, but they matter deeply to me. An example of such might be a mundane walk in an insignificant Reykjavík neighbourhood with my nephew and we are knowledge sharing; he explains to me very specific power entanglements within the Marvel universe and I explain to him which berries are only for birds, not for humans. He helps me being critical by asking me if I ever tasted one, who taught me this, and if it is actual truth. How do I know they are poisonous? I told him that actually, an adult had told me that, and as a child I never questioned it. We compromised by not eating the bird berries today, but I would work on finding out if this was actually true.

My number one responsibility as an adult is of course to keep him safe, but at the same time, I am constantly learning from them and with him. In my experience, spending time as an adult with an adult is different than spending time as an adult with a child. Time is felt and measured differently. With adults, I measure (and feel) time in minutes (sometimes, I can feel 15 minutes better than 1 minute). With children, time seems to be measured in presence and curiosity. As my nephew and I walk through a forest path that will eventually lead us to the neighbourhood's swimming pool, Google Maps tells us it should take 15 minutes. But Google Map did not factor in the bird that decided to sit less than a meter next to us, the very interesting trash that was lying around (purple-plastic-something, an old, destroyed not-a-smartphone, some odd thread that I can't remember well enough), the spot where a lot of flowers were and we had to explore, the amazing stones that somehow happen to be all around, and the constant curiosity of being with the-other-than-human in the environment of a forest-like area. This is the same for when we reached to the street; the peculiar stickers we found on different cars, as well as on the playground; the many different exciting equipment there is to climb on. This list goes on and on. Anyway, I didn't have a clock with me but this journey ended somewhere between an hour or two hours. 

Rushing children is a pity, because the everyday world exploration, of which they are masters of, only becomes a mutual experience (with adults) when there is presence and flexibility. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

28.11.2024: [...] Ich habe mich auch gefragt, wie wir als Erwachsene besser darauf eingehen können, wenn Kinder untereinander Konflikte haben, die auf mangelndes Bewusstsein zurückzuführen sind. Mir wurde klar, dass es nicht nur darum geht, Regeln aufzustellen, sondern auch darum, offene Gespräche zu ermöglichen. Gleichzeitig muss ich anerkennen, dass ich manchmal nicht alle Gespräche der Kinder vollständig verstehe, was mich herausfordert, noch aufmerksamer zuzuhören oder alternative Kommunikationswege zu finden. (Lis Vovka)

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28.11.2024: [...] During the session, many children came up to me individually, eager to share their songs and tell me about them in a more personal way rather than presenting in front of the whole class. They wanted me to understand just how special their chosen artist was. One child excitedly told me, “This artist is only 14 years old!” while another proudly shared, “This artist is really famous in Syria.” These moments felt genuine, they weren’t just sharing music; they were sharing a piece of themselves. It was clear that the songs meant a lot to them, and they took pride in the stories behind the artists. Whether it was admiration for someone closer to their age achieving something incredible or a connection to their cultural roots, the music became a way for them to express who they are and what they value. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

12.12.2024: [...] It is quite difficult for the children to talk about their favorite song and reflect on why a specific song is their favorite song. Reflection takes time to practice. It's also hard for us. We started the session by asking the children to remind us of our rules. Then, we added one rule: Be mindful before choosing a song. Think, is there a bad word in it? If so, let's pick another song. If we hear bad words then let's pause the song and pick another. One student came with a good point that they don't know all the bad words, so that might be tricky for them. Throughout the session, the children somehow become the guardians of bad words. When a bad word appeared in a songs, they were quick to ask us to pause the song because of the rule. I think this is not a problem anymore and we should be more able to talk openly about these things from now on. We also need to practice reflecting together as a group on tricky things. 

While listening, they drew with new papers and pens that Lis brought. When asked questions about the songs, they get shy. If they are asked during the songs, they speak more freely. When I am moving between them and having a 1:1 conversation with them, they go deep into a story or explanation about the song. I think I should practice asking the right questions. Moving forward, it would be nice to work more with them in smaller groups so they can practice this in a safe(r) way. I understand that they don't want to speak in front of a big group, I certainly don't like it. One idea could be also to split up, Lis interviews while I do sound-making practices with them (we have done very little of those). Let's see. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

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12.12.2024: [...] Bei der Introduction der neuen Regel hören uns die meisten Kinder aufmerksam und interessiert zu. Dann fragen wir, welche Regeln wir noch haben. Gleich werden zahlreiche Hände gehoben. Ich suche gezielt Augenkontakt mit den jeweiligen Kindern, die sich bisher noch nicht viel gemeldet haben [innerhalb unserer letzten Sessions]. Die ausgewählten Kinder zählen unsere Regeln sicher und präzise auf, und ich bin positiv überrascht, wie gut sie uns zuhören.

In diesem Moment merke ich das unterschwellige Vorurteil, das ich hatte, als ich beim letzten Mal beobachtete, dass einige Kinder nicht so interessiert zu sein schienen an dem, was wir machten. Diese Annahme war voreilig und zeigte, wie easy und gleichzeitig gefährlich es ist, Beobachtungen auf eine biased Art und Weise zu interpretieren. Diese Wahrnehmung sollte ich nicht auf alle projizieren. Gleichzeitig muss ich verstehen lernen, dass nicht jedes Kind seine Aufmerksamkeit auf eine offensichtliche oder gleiche Art und Weise ausdrückt. Es gibt wahrscheinlich vielfältige Opportunities, wie Kinder ihre Aufmerksamkeit nach außen zeigen – sei es durch diskrete Gesten, stille Konzentration oder durch eine aktivere Beteiligung.

Diese Situation hat mir mehr gezeigt, wie wichtig es ist, sich der eigenen Vorurteile bewusst zu werden. Mein Eindruck, dass einige Kinder nicht interessiert waren, beruhte möglicherweise auf einem eingeschränkten Verständnis dafür, wie Aufmerksamkeit aussehen kann, oder - besser formuliert - soll. Es ist eine Erinnerung daran, dass jedes Kind individuell ist und sich auf einzigartige Weise ausdrückt. Manche Kinder sind zurückhaltender, andere lebhaft oder ausdrucksstark. Indem ich mehr auf diese Unterschiede achte, kann ich besser auf die Bedürfnisse und Ausdrucksformen jedes Kindes eingehen, ohne sie mit einer einheitlichen Erwartung zu bewerten. (Lis Vovka)

24.01.2025: [...] Warm up: shake out the energy from hands, legs, whole body, jumps, reach out to the earth, reach out to the sky, wake up the face: melon, raisin, move in circles with the shoulders, etc, the dragon face exercise.

Vocal ball exercise: everybody in a circle, one person throws an imaginary vocal ball to another person and creates a vocal sound at the same time, the person that catches the ball also does a vocal sound.

Soundpainting: I taught them the way I learned it, but I allowed the children to co-create the signs. The children loved the warm up and were eager to add exercises to it. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

13.02.2025: [...] Another memorable moment for me was with a shy girl (need to learn her name) who up until now has appeared not to be too convinced by us. She had written 2-3 paragraphs on her side of the paper (and was one of the only ones I noticed that wrote in such length). I asked her if writing was her superpower and she replied yes. We had a little conversation about her talent, and came to the conclusion that she could be one of the writers for the exposé on the Research Catalouge. This seemed to excite her. I'm generally wondering how to access their sonic knowledge, and the hunch is through their creative diversities (storytelling, designing, drawing, etc), which might be theoretically obvious and already something that we know, but practically, takes more effort, patience and understanding. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

06.03.2025: [...] Meanwhile, the singing competition began. It was actually karaoke. I had brought a microphone (not connected to anything, just for prop), they sat in a circle and used my computer to go on youtube and find songs to sing karaoke with. They were in a super mood. Classroom teacher had to ask me to keep it down a bit because it was way too loud. I started having the dream of bringing them once to mdw somewhere were we would prepare a projector with karaoke and they could be as loud as they wanted. They continued doing this for 30 minutes, then it was so loud that I told them that the warm up is now over, and they could choose a research interest. They all chose K-pop, and started working. They divided into 2 groups and got super busy again. They made their own song, movements, even a rap. They are going to continue working on this in the next session. I asked them if I could audio record the outcome for the Research Catalogue and they were very hesitant, and worried that someone would recognize their voice. Isra who was doing the rap said that I should bring my program next time and she would go through the voices changes to see if any of them is okay for her. I have a vague memory of us walking up the stairs after the hof session, and she told me that singing is not permitted in her religion, so I'm wondering if maybe there should be no recordings. We could solve this by doing a graphic score or something like this. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

20.3.2025: [...] There was a third group working on the stairs (we were in the library). They were engaging in some storytelling that I did not quite understand, but they seemed to know what they were doing, so I didn't interrupt them. They drew pictures and told me they should go on the website and then recorded with my phone little stories on what the scenes represented. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

8.5.2025: [...] For the next session, I plan to bring my old laptop so that the K-pop group can record their voices. They’ve already developed lyrics, beats, and movements, and now they’re ready to record the song. I did a little research and GarageBand is recommended as something accessible for children. I think we can try that out, I remember experimenting with that program a lot when I was around 14 years old. They are a bit younger, but much better with technology than I ever was. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

15.5.2025: [...] When the session ended, the assistant teacher was very angry with the children. Oh, it was a bit too much. She seems to lead with fear, and it is quite sad to see how the children all get quiet because she is yelling. Her reasoning was that they were not showing respect by being loud (which is interesting because I think she is not showing respect by yelling). Not their fault, the loudness also comes from us. Ugh, hope for her sake, she stops yelling, it's not solving anything. Reminds me of two teachers I used to work with that did the same. (Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir)

22.5.2025: [...] No fieldwork notes; the session went for two hours, and Erla and Lis were present.

5.6.2025: [...] No fieldwork notes; the session went for two hours.

13.6.2025: [...] Surprise with ice and some ''thank you'' little gifts (personalised notebooks)

16.6.2025: [...] Sommerfest: We were a bit late but we still some of childrens performance. After the ''fest'' , we talked to some of the children and met the parents for the first time.