Reflection Post Week 5 - School Socioeconomic Status Review

With my current position at Florida Virtual School, my community is the entire State of Florida.  I have students from the rural panhandle to the urban centers of Miami.  Florida is a very diverse state, and I encounter all types of students with all types of socioeconomic statuses.  Additionally, I don't know a lot of my students personally, and know even less of their parents.  Because of this, I will look back at the school where I taught before beginning at FLVS.

My former school was located in the small town of Crystal River, in Citrus County, Florida.  Crystal River is on the Florida Gulf Coast, about 80 miles north of Tampa.  One of the biggest employers in the area is Duke Energy.  There is a power plant in Crystal River that opened in 1977.  The nuclear plant went offline in 2009, but the coal fired plant is still in operation.  According to the Florida State Department of Education, 59% of students in 2013-2014 qualified for the National School Lunch Program (free and reduced lunch).  According to US News, minorities account for 12% of the school population.  I could not find specific numbers, but from my own experience, a majority of my students and families are quite religious, with Baptist and Presbyterian being the most common denominations.

I personally tended to not let SES factors play too much into my musical decision-making.  I chose music and lessons that were in line with the Florida Sunshine State Standards.  Knowing that a majority of my school, students, and parents were Christian, I generally had no reservations with having Christmas music at our winter concert.  I would, however, do everything I could to expose my students to a broad array of music from different time periods and around the world.  Our book makes mention of the fact that in many cultures, the school music classroom might be the only place that students are exposed to "art" music.  I took it upon myself to introduce the "classics" to my students, without making them feel as though the music they listened to at home was somehow "below" the music I taught.  Every year, I tried (and succeeded, I hope) to always instill in my students a love and respect for all forms of music.