Educators have several choices when it comes to music education methods: some choose Orff, others Kodály, Dalcroze, or Suzuki (Mabini, 2024). Yet whichever approach an educator selects, they will face the same challenge: repertoire selection. Music educators understand the importance of programming culturally diverse music that serves students beyond the Eurocentric canon (Gay, 2010; Hess, 2021; Howard, 2022), but many factors affect their decision-making processes. As music educators grapple with repertoire selection for their pedagogy and concerts, they rarely have the sufficient time or space to deeply consider whether the sociohistorical context of a particular song might be harmful to their students or community. Public forums like social media offer little trustworthy help, and encourage quick reactions of either support or outrage rather than critical discourse (Coppola, 2021). What is needed in the literature is a deeper understanding of the nuanced, carefully considered choices behind repertoire selection. Such an understanding may help foster the communities of support that teachers need to thrive (Bylica et al., 2024). The purpose of this instrumental case study is to explore how elementary music educators (N = 8) grapple with choosing songs for their music programs, especially in a culture of accountability.I situate accountability as a form of ethical responsibility (Coppola, 2021; 2025). I additionally examine accountability culture through the lens of “woke culture,” which Merriam-Webster (2025) defines as being “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” According to Coppola (2025), ethical responsibility is to acknowledge that one is personally accountable for and answerable to their actions and behaviors. The question guiding my research is: How do elementary general music educators navigate programming choices in the era of accountability?Using Paulo Freire’s (1970/2010) framework of critical dialogue, three themes emerged through abductive data analysis and coding. These themes derive from the core experiences and shared stories of how teachers are navigating the complexities of choosing music. The three themes are 1) the need for transparency, 2) doing one’s research, and 3) a perceived (lack of) teacher agency. Implications discuss the necessity for critical dialogue (Freire, 1970/2010) and the importance of engaging in practical judgment (Coppola, 2025) in order to facilitate communication and collaboration rather than duty-based maxims and self-silencing, both of which limits learning experiences for students.