The Wealth of El Sistema: Emotional Capital and Transformation
Introduction
“From the minute a child is taught to play
an instrument, he is no longer poor.
He becomes a child in progress, who will
become a citizen.”
José Antonio Abreu, Founder of El Sistema
Venezuela’s music
education program, El Sistema, is arguably the most significant fusion of arts
education and social transformation of our time. Its recent growth in international prominence
is the basis for the popular description of El Sistema as Venezuela’s second
biggest export after oil. Even the most
prestigious classical musicians in the world have paid their respects: Following a trip to Caracas, Sir Simon
Rattle, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic announced, “There is no more
important work being done in music now than what is being done in Venezuela”
(Eatock, 2010, p. 595). What is it that
makes El Sistema so special? El Sistema
is special because it recognizes what marginalized groups have known for
centuries: that “poor” families have an
abundance of emotional resources. When
these emotional resources are mobilized, they transform lives.
Part
of what is powerful about the program is that its organizers envisioned,
established, and funded it not as a music education program, but as a national
social project. Contrary to mainstream
notions in the U.S. of music education as an often de-prioritized and
under-funded supplement to formal education, Venezuela is using music education
to prioritize its most vulnerable population:
children living in poverty. At
least 70% of the children participating in the program come from families
living below the poverty line. Funded by
the Ministry of Social Services (not the Ministry of Culture), the organizers
of El Sistema envisioned and established the program to rescue children from
poverty through music.
With
this in mind, embodied knowledge theory is particularly helpful in
understanding the unique qualities of El Sistema because it draws attention to
how nonmonetary forms can be important sources of power and influence. Embodied knowledge theory provides a lens
with which to examine education for transformation. Drawing from the theoretical concepts of
Pierre Bourdieu (Bourdieu, 1989), this essay examines how El Sistema
re-prioritizes social reality through intentional community. More specifically, the recently developed
concept of emotional capital helps to explain El Sistema’s transformative
abilities.
Emotional Capital
Recent sociologists of
education have drawn on the work of Pierre Bourdieu to theorize the notion of
emotional capital and examine the role of emotions in education and change. Bourdieu himself does not explicitly refer to
emotional capital, but rather highlights economic capital, cultural capital,
and social capital in the power dynamics of social reality (Zembylas, 2010). One criticism of Bourdieu is that while his
theory thoroughly explains how society reproduces itself, it does not address
how society may be transformed (Zembylas, 2010). The forthcoming notion of emotional capital
may be used to fill this gap and explain these transformative possibilities.
In Bourdieu’s conceptual framework,
economic capital refers to monetary forms of value, cultural capital refers to
non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means
(education, intellect, style of speech, dress, physical appearance), and social
capital refers to expected collective or economic benefits derived from
preferential cooperation between individuals and groups (social networks have
value). Economic, cultural, and social
capital are all forms of power and influence, and they can be exchanged for one
another. For example, because of one’s
college degree (cultural capital), one gains access to an alumni group (social
capital). Through that alumni group, one
may be given preferential treatment in obtaining a job (economic capital).
Recently,
sociologists began to evaluate the role of emotions among students, teachers,
and parents in education. Drawing from
Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, sociologists have conceptualized emotional
capital as another nonmonetary form of value.
Definitions and descriptions vary.
Conceptions of emotional capital range from emotionally valued assets,
such as love and affection (Allatt, 1993) to something that enables people to
tap into and exploit social capital resources in the acquisition of other forms
of capital (Garland, Hume, & Majid, 2002).
This essay selects and juxtaposes three attributes of emotional capital:
1) Emotional capital is an affective investment in others (Reay, 2000).
2) Emotional capital enables the acquisition of other
forms of capital (Garland et al., 2002).
2) Emotional capital is the most abundant resource
of marginalized groups (Manion, 2007).
These three attributes interact in such a way to
enable a transformative process. The
following discussion of El Sistema’s philosophy, pedagogy, and community help
to illustrate emotional capital as both a valuable resource and a change agent.
The Wealth of El Sistema
To Play and
To Struggle
In
1975, José Antonio Abreu founded a program to provide poor children with free
music lessons and a chance to play in an orchestra. He was convinced that classical music could
be used as a tool for social development.
The program’s beginnings were modest and shaky. Abreu, a humble man deeply committed to
social justice, describes a moment of doubt at the first lesson:
Among
the most beautiful memories I keep close to my heart is that night when I saw
only 11 people there, and there were 25 music stands. I remember saying, “Wait, maybe this did not
work.” I had a moment of doubt, an
instant; but then a boy came in with his violin, as if nothing was happening,
and he opened his case and sat down. And
I said, “No, I have to do it.” (Eatock
2010, p. 594)
El Sistema’s motto “Tocar
y Luchar”—to play and to struggle—highlights the challenges of life that the
children face. For many children in
Venezuela, their challenges are framed by poverty and danger. Venezuela is one of the most dangerous
countries in the world, with four times the murder rate of Mexico. Approximately 32% of Venezuela’s population
lives below the poverty line (World Bank, 2011). Thus a significant portion of Venezuela’s
population lives in barrios, or slums, that typically lack planning and basic
services. These conditions of poverty
especially affect the most vulnerable:
the elderly, women, and children.
The challenges of life
that the children face are transformed when they become a member of the
orchestra, where their challenges are reframed into an ensemble goal of
creating beautiful music. A girl from
the barrio describes this phenomenon:
“It was my first day in the chamber orchestra, so I wanted to be
early. But I got shot in the leg, so I
couldn’t go. I started to cry because…it
wasn’t the pain in my leg. What really
hurt was that I couldn’t be in the orchestra that day. When I get here (with the orchestra), I
forget everything else” (El Sistema,
2008).
For this reason, one way
that El Sistema transforms social reality for its children is by creating a
safe space outside of the harsh realities of their daily lives where positive
education can begin. To put it another
way, El Sistema creates a new “field.” According
to Bourdieu, a field is a social arena within which networks, relations, and
struggles over resources take place. A
field receives its form from power relations and struggles over capital. Accordingly, the questions to be addressed
include: What are the forms of capital
in El Sistema? What are the processes of
exchange? What role does emotional
capital play in the exchanges?
Investment
in the Child
The process of stakeholder
investments in the child’s education is relevant in the unique ways that
capital is exchanged. The following
diagram illustrates stakeholders’ primary investments and the child’s returns:
The child participating
in El Sistema receives support from parents, teachers, peers, and
neighbors. As a result of government
funding, the national program provides over 300,000 children with instruments,
one to four hours of daily after-school lessons, and participation in one of
200 orchestras. Locally, children and their
families participate in creating the local center of programming, or núcleo.
From the beginning, the
child’s development is mediated through the development of the group. 90% of instruction is spent in either group
or orchestral rehearsals. Abreu speaks
often of El Sistema as a model of effective, almost ideal, community. In the orchestra, children learn empathy as
they depend on others to create the music.
They learn responsibility as others depend on them to play their part. They learn that the ensemble is only as good
as its weakest member, so they help each other improve. The shared goal of creating beautiful music
is a clear challenge that motivates them towards higher ideals.
Notably, El Sistema’s
open access policy means that every child is welcome to participate. This social inclusion involves the
integration of students not just of different socioeconomic backgrounds, but
also of different abilities, cultures, and ethnicities. In this way, El Sistema creates a subculture
among various cultures. Children who may
not interact under normal circumstances are brought together into a space where
the circulation of emotional resources forges new bonds. As a result, the local
community grows stronger and more harmonious.
Another key point is that
parents’ investment in the program is crucial.
Parent organizations attempt to fill the gaps that El Sistema overlooks
or is incapable of undertaking. For
example, changing light fixtures or cleaning up rehearsal spaces. These organizations were originally created
by parents, usually stay-at-home mothers, who wanted to give back to El
Sistema. These parents may not have
material wealth, but their willingness to invest emotionally in the program
encourages the children and teachers while strengthening bonds in the
community.
Additionally, the local
community participates by attending monthly or bimonthly concerts. These concerts serve as excellent motivation
for students. Groups are always
preparing to play in concerts, creating a culture of performance and
sharing. Concerts are a site of exchange
of emotional resources, such as pride, joy, sadness, and exhilaration that
strengthen the social capital that the child receives in the form of an
extended network.
To emphasize, the
emotional capital that parents, teachers, peers, and neighbors invest in the
child enables that child to acquire social capital in the form of a social
network, expanded by the open access policy as well as by performances in the
local community. This process of
exchange is a gift economy, in which gifts must be passed along to have
value. For example, many graduates
return to become teachers and advanced students often teach beginners. The music education that was given to them,
they pass along to their peers. The gift
of music that is given to the children, they share with the community at
monthly concerts. A gift economy is
different from a market economy with contractual exchanges in that gifting
forges bonds that connect people across time and space.
The gift economy is also a
process of acquiring social capital through a deliberate investment of economic
and cultural resources. This process has
unique dynamics. Relative to economic
exchange, it is characterized by less transparency, more uncertainty, and
possible violations of reciprocity expectations (Portes, 1998). In other words, it is governed less by the
law and more by relationships, where emotional capital plays an enforcing
role. Parents are not required to help
El Sistema, but they do it because they are emotionally invested. The community is not required to attend a
concert and applaud the children’s efforts, but they do it because the concert
elevates their spirits. Graduates do not
return to the program to teach because the job is lucrative; they do it because
it gives them feelings of gratification.
This process requires
economic investment, and six swing governments from extreme conservative to
extreme liberal have funded El Sistema, providing around 90% of the program’s
budget. The Ministry of Social Services
invests this money for the social welfare of the citizens. The other 10% of the budget comes from
private corporations who see increased economic activity around núcleos. Private corporations often offer scholarships
to high performers. Similar to an
athletic endorsement, the corporation receives benefits such as good publicity
as well as exchanges good feelings with the community.
Criticisms
The awe-inspiring success
of El Sistema is evident in the program’s international acclaim. The program received the Prince of Asturius
Award and Polar Music Prize. Maestro
Abreu received the Glenn Gould Prize and TED Prize. Two award-winning documentaries, Tocar y
Luchar (2004) and El Sistema (2008), document the program’s moving testimonials
of lives transformed. Recent research
focuses on the program’s replicability, and organizers in Los Angeles, Boston,
Scotland, England and Portugal already established similar programs. As its popularity grows, El Sistema and its
merits will likely be the subject of debates in professional circles. Hence this essay considers two criticisms of
the program from disparate points of view:
one about the legitimacy of social engineering and the other about the
lack of individual freedom.
Some critics claim that
using classical music as a tool to help lower-class children acquire
middle-class values is not changing society, but on the contrary, it is helping
to maintain the status quo (Eatock, 2010).
El Sistema unapologetically incorporates social engineering into its
philosophy and pedagogy. Acquiring the
cultural capital of classical music education is a stepping stone for social
advancement. Perhaps it is not as
revolutionary as some critics would like; however, it is also not as enforcing
of the status quo as they claim. Because
the program creates an intentional community, or subculture, in and around the
núcleo and because the creation of that community depends upon the active
participation of each member of the group, the program is not reproducing
society, but recreating it. El Sistema
changes the field. Moreover, classical
music’s virtues transcend class.
Children from all socio-economic backgrounds must reach higher and
higher to realize the shared vision.
Other
critics are concerned with the way that the ensemble focus limits individual
creativity (Eatock, 2010). A stark
comparison is that with North Korea’s music education program, where social
engineering, government funding, and astonishing performances also
collide. Why is the outside world in awe
of El Sistema but disturbed by North Korea’s performances? Part of the reason is the way in which El
Sistema is internationalized. El Sistema
welcomes the rest of the world to take part in its success. Through international tours, teacher
exchanges, and performances, El Sistema engages the global community. This engagement allows for dialogue, builds
intercultural relationships, and contributes to harmony in the world. In contrast, North Korea teaches its citizens
that North Korea is the best and most powerful country in the world, other countries
are enemies, and military domination will defeat those enemies. The music and dance performances serve to
reinforce these delusional ideas. The North
Korean government severely limits communications with the rest of the world,
and North Koreans do not participate in the global community, a key difference. The global community is concerned with
alleviating poverty, which is the main drive behind El Sistema. This shared concern allows for
collaboration. The main drive behind
North Korea’s music education program seems to be nation-worship, which is at
odds with the rest of the world. These
different purposes in education determine the accessibility of the programs in
a global context.
El
Sistema prioritizes group learning to the amount of 90% of class time, which
does de-prioritize individuality.
However, the fact that individual development occurs in the context of
social development is not necessarily a limiting factor. On the contrary, it is precisely the social
context that provides El Sistema with its wealth.
Conclusion
Recent
research highlights the significance of the role of emotions among students,
teachers, and parents in education.
Emotional resources are especially significant for those living with
material poverty. An examination of
emotional capital enriches dialogue about poverty alleviation and education for
transformation.
The
wealth that El Sistema gives its children is not a commercialized hunger for
material wealth. In contrast, it is a
palpable sense of spiritual fullness—a sense of belonging, of care, and of
connection. By investing economic and
emotional resources in the child, the program sends a clear message: We care, not because of what you have, but
because of who you are.
As
a result, the most vulnerable member of Venezuela’s population—the “child in
progress”—begins to play and to struggle.
The visceral and magnificent expression of music capitalizes on the
shared emotional resources of the group.
Perhaps it is not the rationale that most are accustomed to, but as
Abreu says: “Spiritual abundance overcomes material
scarcity.”
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