All For One, And..... Yeah....

Because of my involvement with institutions outside of my primary place of employment, I have frequent contact with kids from all over Southern California. There's one conversation that I keep having with these kids and their parents - one that revolves around their dissatisfaction with their school programs, often to the point of dropping out. The sad thing is, these are good kids I'm talking about - talented musicians, smart and loyal if you earn their respect. The fact that they chose to walk away from their school's program should send some serious messages to the teachers in question. Some people, however, have an unwavering ability to ignore the writing on the wall.

A lot of times this dissatisfaction comes from the simple fact that their school program is inadequate. The average playing level is far below that of the student in question - which means that the level of repertoire that the teacher chooses lacks technical challenge and artistic interest. Now, in my colleague's defense, this is unavoidable. You have to aim for the median when choosing repertoire.... however you also have to keep that advanced player in mind and actively look for ways to keep them interested and involved, otherwise they will do exactly what a lot of them do, which is make tracks for their counselor as fast as they can and switch into a ceramics class.

The problem is, a lot of music teachers feel entitled to the loyalty of the students - that the mere fact that the kid is an enrolled Whatever High School student who plays an instrument, he or she is morally obligated to participate in the music program. Some teachers go as far as to hunt these kids down and pressure them into enlisting. To that end, they ignore the concerns of the individual student and their families, and more than a few of them get kind of unfriendly with kids who don't just submit.

Now, what you need to know is that on the teacher's end, it's easy to get your perspective skewed by the fact that a lot of external pressures are put on high-profile programs (sports, band, cheer, etc.). People who have no personal investment in the program itself (ie. they are not enrolled, nor have any kids enrolled) often think that the purpose of the program is to meet their needs, rather than the needs of the participating students. (I've gone on and on about this in my previous accounts of dealing with Former Principal Palpatine, so I won't labor the point). Not only that, but if the program is competitive then the reputation of the program director becomes a major motivating factor as well. That all mixes together to create a situation where the individual student becomes part of a machine that meets the needs of other people - and I can't imagine that anyone would want to participate in a program like that.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't demand a certain amount of commitment from our students. Obviously, we can't run smorgasbord programs that allow students to participate as much or as little as they want - then we'd see the qualities of loyalty, responsibility and concern for the well being of the community disappear altogether. What I'm saying is that our job is to make sure that the experience of the individual student has to be rewarding and meaningful. They are not the means to an end, they are the end.

Give to the individual student, and most of the time, they will give back... more than what you ask for in return. If the program you offer is inadequate, look for ways to fill their needs (the rest of the education world calls it differentiated instruction). A lot of times if you even try, you will earn their respect and loyalty, and you won't have to resort to extortion and intimidation to get what you want out of them.

I want to tell these students and families that they should participate in their school program, just for the sake of supporting their school. However, I have to stop and ask myself - If I were that kid, would I want to be stuck in a program like that? I mean, I want to support my colleagues, I really do, but like one of my dear friends points out - it would be nice if said colleagues had their shit together first.