Anthems in Middle Childhood: Negotiating Musical Experiences and National Identities

Music is an omnipresent part of life for elementary school students in much of the United States. The music they engage with throughout the school day serves as one of their primary sources of social learning, integration, and acculturation. In US schools, anthems representing various cultural groups and student cliques echo in the hallway and on the playground while the national and school-related anthems are formally taught and performed at certain times throughout the school day. These anthems serve as a way to not only represent or symbolize certain social groups, but also evoke emotional responses, communicate ideas, and encourage social assimilation and cohesion. This chapter will explore the various musical anthems of a bilingual elementary school in Miami, Florida, to gain greater insight into the meaning and functions of the anthems and the role they play in the negotiation of their national and youth identities. In support of this central purpose, the following sub-questions guided this study: (1) What anthems do bilingual students engage with throughout the school day and how and when do they engage with them? (2) How does the US national, school, and other cultural and social groups’ anthems influence bilingual students’ national and youth identities? and (3) Why are these anthems meaningful and valuable in their lives?