Argy’s Arts Blog

4 responses so far ↓

• 1    sam moore-young // Oct 31, 2007 at 9:22 pm

  My band program is in its 10th and hardest year in terms of scheduling. There are a number of reasons.

  First, and I believe this to be absolutely true, my principal has added a number of programs, perceived by the staff as resume padders, that drain resources from established programs. The latest and greatest is “Connections”, an advisor/advisee program that meets every morning for 15 minutes and the last period on Friday afternoon. This program, for which we have not been trained, means that the first period starts 10 minutes later than it did in previous years which trickles down to more time shaved off every period of the day. Nine years ago, a period was 45 minutes; now we are down to 40 minutes. I also lose a band slot which I didn’t have enough of to begin with. All for what is essentially babysitting.

  Secondly, I am not allowed to pull kids for lessons or full band at specific times of the day because those parts of the day are dedicated to the “holy two”: language arts and math. Since a band typically has mixed grade participation, it is impossible to schedule a time where everyone can be there.

  I used to have time during the day to work with students on audition/festival music but that doesn’t happen anymore and the kids get very frustrated and give up.

  Add to that, disruptions for assemblies, spirit days, special programs and the magazine drive and it adds up to very little contact time. But here’s the kicker, I am not allowed to have band during the three weeks we have MEA’s because the room is far less than soundproof and you can hear what goes on all over the building. I revolted when it came to NWEA’s this fall and held lessons.

  Why do we keep on in a profession that gets so little respect from administrators?

• 2    Barri Lynn Moreau // Nov 1, 2007 at 9:19 am

  As the Director of Education for PCA Great Performances in Portland, Maine, I am concerned about the declining numbers as well. In addition to district band festivals losing participants, we have noted a continued decline in participation both in our band and choral residencies. Student or school participation and professional development registrations have declined to the point that we are suspending our them for 2007-2008 to determine their overall value to the music community and viability in the future. We have collaborated in the past with districts 1 & 2, USM School of Music and statewide band/choral directors to present residencies, but volunteer and financial support have waned along with participation. We begin an overall needs assessment early next year for our arts education activities and others available within Maine as we look forward to programming future education outreach.

• 3    Jane Kirton // Nov 3, 2007 at 3:49 pm

  Why do we keep on in a profession that gets so little respect from administrators?

  I have come back to this questions a couple of times - do I respond or not? I finally decided that it was my duty to respond. The reason we keep on with our profession is that we truly believe and know how important music is to our students, to their future, and perhaps their ability to get through the day.

  We must persevere and continue to show our administrators just how important music is. I’m not just talking about how it helps in raising test scores - we need to show them that music can stand on its own as an important tool in life lessons.

  This past summer I took a graduate class in Music Philosophy which made me realize how important it is for us as educators to continue to study, learn and more importantly connect with other music teachers.

  In this day and age of changing strategies in schools, it is our job to continue to be excited about our classes which is not always easy as we go through difficult times such as you are now. Ease up on yourself a bit - tell yourself it’s ok if you can’t prep them for festivals as you did in the past, it’s out of your hands for now. But do what you can to keep music alive in your students minds and hearts.

  As I teach my students and I experience a chill that goes over my whole body, I stop and say, “There, you got everything just right that time – the shivers came,” let’s do it again just like that. The passion – the excitement – the feeling is truly unexplainable in our language. Music, a language in unto itself, a world invisible to the eye, exists in the closeness of our hearts. We as educators are responsible to nurture our students and our administrators in our beliefs and values of such a treasured human cognition.

  Most importantly to all who teach music I would say first you are not alone. “Don’t give up, we need to broaden and strengthen our teaching to include those beyond our classrooms.”

  I leave you with two quotes:

  “The things I learned from my experience in music in school are discipline, perseverance, dependability, composure, courage and pride in results. . . Not a bad preparation for the workforce!”
  - Gregory Anrig – President, Educational Testing Service

  “Some people think music education is a privilege, but I think it’s essential to being human.”
  - Jewel – singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist

• 4    Ed // Nov 13, 2007 at 2:41 pm

  Our band program is being “scheduled out of existence. When over 60 students signed up for band, they were scheduled for four different periods throughout the year with no scheduling for full band. Chorus has been scheduled the same way (we operate on a four-by-four schedule where a full year class meets for a half a year). Are you confused yet? Also out of forty students in my current “band class” only 15 actually play instruments (out of the 15, 4 are at the beginning stage). The rest are either learning how to play guitar or bass or (here’s the kicker) 4 are doing “musical research>
  There is always an upside - students are focusing on their individual music choices, the real downside is they may never be part of a performing ensemble - and at the very least band (chorus) teaches ensemble.

  I remain passionate about my students and flexible with my music and patient with those in charge of scheduling.

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