Wondering, open dialogue and new perspectives
Hot'n' Spicy Steel Band from Hillerød Music School starts the conference and draws the mind far away from the grey day outside. The band is greeted by smiles and applause from a concert hall well filled with professional music teachers, educators and leaders with skills, commitment and heart to pass on the music.
Wondering and Socratic dialogue as a method
The keynote speaker and inspirer of the day was Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, Professor of Philosophical and Dialogical Practice at the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University. Very briefly, he works with wonder as a method in learning processes and teaches, among other things, to 'stand in the open', where we let go of our fixed opinions and assumptions and instead ask about what we do not know. In this way, we can get to the questions or wonders that grip us and perhaps take us somewhere new in the dialogue.
He has developed a method which he calls the 'wonder compass' and it was to be the methodological basis for discussion and dialogue in today's workshops, which touched on different perspectives on the conditions and development potential of music schools.
The keynote provided food for thought and energy from the morning:
"Exciting presentation, but it was also a lot of input to take in", said Thomas from Vallensbæk Music School immediately after the presentation, "It's a completely different approach and language than I usually use in my teaching, so I'm looking forward to exploring the ideas with others during today".
Johanne Hempel and Lone Sonne from Via University College and associated with the MA in Music Education Development at RMC felt inspired: "I have come across some of the ideas before and I must say that I am a bit seduced to think about how they can be translated into practical management and teaching," says Johanne Hempel.
Lone Sonne agrees: "Yes, I'm quite seduced too - I get 'lærings-mod'. I am already imagining how I can use the Compass of Wondering and the exercises in a practical way in my teaching work and create a space where we talk to each other based on Finn Thorbjørn Hansen's methods. It was a good and inspiring start to the conference," she says.
A new space for reflection
Thus inspired, the conference participants moved on to the day's workshops. A number of players from the music and cultural worlds gave presentations on different perspectives on the challenges and potential of music schools.
Against this background, and using the 'wonder compass' as a methodological tool, the conference participants discussed the role of music and cultural schools, the relevance of music education, talent development, co-creation and aesthetics in educational practice in workshops.
Kirsten Juul Seidenfaden, co-organiser and project manager of the conference, knew that the ambitions were set high in terms of introducing a philosophical method as a background for the dialogue in workshops.
"We were well aware that it would be a challenge to work with the method with so many participants in a relatively short time," she says. "But I thought it was really exciting and great to see people grasping it and throwing themselves into it, even though it was difficult. I hope that the participants have gone home feeling that they have opened up a new space for reflection and perhaps a new way of looking at their own practice in the music schools. I've spoken to several people who said they'd never had that kind of conversation before, so I hope we planted a seed for a new way of thinking and approaching dialogue," says Kirsten Juul Seidenfaden, who was generally pleased that participants had been so supportive of the conference after several years' absence.
"It's so nice that we have a secure connection with the participants and that we seem to have succeeded in creating a platform in a lovely setting where people can come together for a good day. That's important and I'm so glad we can facilitate that," she concludes.
Next year's conference will be held at DKDM on 3 January 2024.
