The art of teaching, the science of teaching and the luck of teaching.

Watching all the high school bands in the Inaugural Parade makes me think of all those band teachers, parents, bus drivers and members of the community that got them there.  No science involved but a lot of hard work by all.  Pretty impressive.

The high school band from the State of Washington was from Longview and is three hundred strong--a multi award winning band.  Nice going.  But how do you get that many kids playing instruments--and all  together!  Just getting uniforms for them all that fit must be a feat.  Much of all this starts in the grade school mostly around the fourth grade.

As soon as classes are settled, the elementary school music teacher goes to each fourth grade and gives the children a music aptitude test.  I don't know how good these tests are but at least it gives the music teacher some idea of what some kids might do.  Then letters go home to the parents telling them of  "band night," to explain how kids can start learning a musical instrument.  Before that night the teacher needs to contact local music stores that will sell, rent, or somehow provide instruments.  For the moment, I cannot remember an elementary school having instruments to loan to their students.  It is mostly a "buy" or "rent" situation.

The evening arrives and the parents and the music stores all show up in the gym or multipurpose room.  Some parents bring an instrument from home....."It was my grandmothers.." or "Dad played this in the war!"  Even though the letter stated clearly that this would be for a band, not an orchestra, some parents brought violins and the spare guitar.  I suspect after all these years there would be more guitars now and indeed, some schools have guitar bands.

Anyway, as a music teacher you sort out the parents that want to buy and those that want to rent.  You've told the group that you really would like some trombones for the larger kids and "we need some French horns."  But trumpets, clarinets, and flutes are normally the instrument of choice.  Actually the really nifty thing is that many of the parents have gone through this as children themselves.  Some of them actually bring their old instruments that generally are in pretty good shape.  It is a long evening......

Generally a week or two later the big day arrives.  The music stores deliver the instruments to the school and the teacher, bless her/his heart gets to sort them out to the right kid.  "Don't open the cases yet!"  The kids are excited and really don't hear you.  It is total confusion and if the principal ever showed up at that moment would probably think the music teacher was devoid of discipline and organization.  But truthfully, we do get organized, the horns are passed out with new beginner level music books.  The band is taught how to get chairs and where to sit and where the music stands are.  And now it is time for instruction...on how to play your instrument.  Quite a feat.

After a few weeks the band has settle down into a routine and simple songs are starting to come together.  As a music teacher when we finished our first song, even I was amazed.  Totally surprised.  I'll be damned.  The kids are smiling and you are smiling.  The weeks go by--band meets two or three times a week--and you are making progress.  "Don't forget to practice!"

It was about this time when I was a elementary band teacher that I was prowling around the high school band storage room probably looking for some old unused French horns.  Among the old cases was one particularly beaten up case that contained a bassoon--not in bad shape.  I asked Bill, the high school teacher if I could loan it out to a student and he agreed.  The high school band hadn't a bassoonist in quite some time.

Now to find a fourth grade student who would like to play this instrument.  Our district was pretty much a middle class bedroom district close to a major city.  But one of our schools had more parents that were struggling then the others.  I decided to start at that school.  First I talked to the secretary (school secretaries always know everything) and she gave me some leads.  I was looking for...in educationaleese,  a smart social isolate--someone who was not popular but smart.  I talked to the two third grade teachers and then to the two fourth grade teachers.  

Everyone agreed that this one child was a problem.  Very smart, an only child, but who lacked social skills.  She always wanted to help others but didn't do it very well.  Didn't stay in her seat much and didn't always follow directions although to be fair she quite often seemed bored.  

So that afternoon I called her mother.  I said something like your child has music talent (I lied, I didn't know), and I would like to loan her a bassoon and give her free lessons on how to play it (I never played a bassoon in my life).  My other condition was that they had to buy the reeds which were expensive, around five dollars a reed.  Mom told me she'd talk to her daughter and to her husband and they would get back to me.  They did with alacrity almost the next morning.  It was a go!  

So that afternoon my new student and I opened the case, put the parts together, the strap around her neck and I showed her how to hold the instrument.  Some beginning attempts and finally a sound of a bassoon.  It was a beginning.  I explained notation in the book and then told her what I expected for some homework and the next two pages which she was to practice for me.  We would have another session in a three or four days and I would review what she had done.  OKay?  You have any questions?   She was ready to start.

I went back to that school a few days later and she stopped me on the playground.  "Could I have book 2 please?"  "I'm sorry, what did you say?"  "Could I have book 2?"  We made a date for after school so she could show me what she had done--I was positive that she could not have finished book one in two days.  Positive!  

Well, she got the bassoon out of the case (which had been beautifully repaired by her dad) and she proceeded to blow me off my chair and through the book.  She had learned everything in the book--about twenty to thirty pages of drills, different fingerings and simple songs.  "Could I now have book 2?"   That evening, I went into the city and bought books 2, 3, and 4.  And the next day even though that school wasn't on my agenda, I stopped off and gave her the books. She was already beyond me in playing the bassoon.  I could help her music wise but she was now on her own.  Before I left the school I dropped in to the teachers room to say hi.  The two fourth grade teachers grabbed me and asked, "What have you done with Jane?  Totally a different girl.  Hasn't been a problem since you started giving her lessons.  A pure delight."  My stock in the teachers' room went up immensely that day.  Hot damn.

In about two weeks, Jane had proceeded to improve with such great leaps and bounds that I asked her to come to band practice.  You never saw such a proud, confident little girl come into the band and open up her case and get her bassoon put together.  The other kids watched with open mouths--really.  She never said a word to any of them even though several asked her what she was playing.  I introduced her to the band and said something like, "Jane is our new bassoonist." "Jane, play some notes for the group, please."  She ripped off a scale or two and did a simple song from memory and proceeded to wow the rest of the kids.  She instantly became their hero.  I will never forget that moment.  It is how teachers get paid.

She went on to junior high and then high school all the time playing the bassoon and becoming an outstanding student....some say a leader.  Her parents called me one evening and asked how they could buy her a new bassoon.  I told them they could use the one she had all the way through school if they wanted but no, they wanted to buy a new bassoon.  They were so pleased with her progress.  I talked to one music store whose owner also played with the major symphony in the city.  He said something about the new plastic bassoons and he would talk to the first bassoonist in the symphony about which one to buy.  Jane did get her new bassoon and also lessons from the first bassoonist.  And word got back to me many years later that she would occasionally be asked to be the fourth bassoonist in the symphony when there was a need for one.  I lost track of Jane but trust me, I'd do it all again.  

Sometimes it is not the science of teaching or even the art of teaching.  Sometimes it is just pure luck.  

 

A Day in the Life of a Teacher--Part 2

Let's continue this thread--what do teachers do and follow a high school or secondary school teacher.  In this case, let's follow a high school music teacher, although it could be an English teacher, a civics teacher, perhaps a science teacher--but today it will be music.  My undergraduate degree was in music education and my goal at that time was to become the best high school music teacher that ever was......  Started out as an elementary music teacher and during that first year, the high school music teacher became quite ill and they moved me up to the high school.  Bill Morse (no real names in any of my blogs except in rare occasions) was probably one of the finest high school music teacher in a smallish high school.   He didn't have kids make music--he taught them music.  He was good and so when he took seriously ill, I held down the fort so to speak.  I was in over my head.

High schools start earlier than grade schools.  I had to be at work by seven thirty although classes started at eight o'clock.  I'd leave my house at about seven fifteen still getting dressed.  I'm not a morning person.  We had to wear dress shirts, ties, slacks and jackets.  I would be buttoning my white shirt with one hand and driving with the other.  Then a clip on bow tie.  You'll hear more about this later on in this blog.

Before class I'd go to the office to get my mail and announcements.  There were always announcements.  Some schools today have someone read the announcements over a speaker system to the rooms but back in my day, I had to read it to the first period students.  First period was "home period" where you got kids from all over the school--each teacher had a group of kids and I'm not sure how they were divided up.  I'd read the announcements, answer questions if I could, take roll, fill out the form and then post the form outside the door of my classroom.  At least for me, it was mostly small talk among the students and me since it was not a true class. A few kids would ask for a hall pass to go to the office for some reason and I'd scribble something on a form and off they would go.

At eight twenty, kids would depart for their first period.  Mine first class was "B" band, all the kids that hadn't made the big band.  Mostly freshman and some transfers who wanted to learn a musical instrument.  It would take them a few minutes to settle down, get their music out and be ready for me.  We'd do scales to warm up, then some simple songs with me trying to get them to listen to each other.  Music teachers will smile at this:  "everyone playing but one band sound!"  B band never made one band sound which is why they were in that band.  But I felt good working with them--not far ahead of my elementary bands.

Next period started at nine twenty and it was the Stage Band.  Some schools call it the Jazz or Swing band and I know one school that calls it the Broadway band.  These are pretty good musicians already, have control of their instruments, like music and probably could have practice without me.  It was a fun period and I enjoyed it.

Now before I go to third period I need to tell you a little about me at that time.  This was my first year of teaching having just graduated the year before from college.  I was single although I had a steady girl friend who was still at college.  I'm a white male reasonably good looking and dressed.  I'm twenty-three years old.  I wanted to do well at my job.  I tell you all this because third period was for me the period from hell.  Pure hell.

It was Girls Glee Club.  About twenty girls who all were very excellent singers.  Many of them seniors were taking the class for fun.  And they had fun.  They picked on me, oh my on my how they enjoyed that.  "Do you have a girl friend, Mr. Blackwell?"  "Do you like girls?"  I'd respond, "Okay, let's settle down.  First song--here's the upbeat"  And I start them singing.  That was my only defense.  Those girls sang more for me then they ever did for Bill.  They petrified me.  Some were only five years younger than me but at least ten years older in the ability to tease a man.  Oh, dear!   They took great delight in harassing me and if you walked into the room at any time they would have looked like angles.  I was not cool.....trust me.

The last day that I was to substitute for Bill, a Friday if I remember, these girls, not an angle among them, came to class all wearing blue skirts, white blouses and big, BIG colorful bow ties.  They had a ball with me.

Next came lunch for me--I ate in the music room office.  It was too far to the teacher's room and I really didn't know many of the other teachers.  

After lunch it was the fourth and fifth periods.  That would be first the choir and then the big band.  Afternoons for me were pure delight.  The choir could really sing and so it was more of teaching them how to interpret the music or making sure they hit the right notes for the harmony.  We'd practice but it was enjoyable for me.  Pure fun and they paid me to do this.

Last period was band.  Most of the kids had been in music for several years including elementary band and junior high band so it was not much basic teaching for me.  Band teachers really don't have discipline problems.  The kids enjoy what they are doing and so we did it for an hour or so.   It think it was an eighty minute period.   Those were good times.

First buses came around two thirty.  Do you know why high schools start so early in the morning?  So that the athletic teams can practice in the afternoon.  Very important to a community are the athletic teams.  Get a winning football team and you can almost always pass a school bond.  Have a losing team and the bond issue is a maybe.  

For the music teacher some of that afternoon time was working with different music groups that came in to practice.  A saxophone quartette, maybe the trumpet section wants to improve a section of a piece.   Even if we started earlier in the day at the high school it would be easily four thirty by the time I headed home.  But one of the perks of my job as music teacher is that I didn't have that many papers to correct.  I have always felt sorry for my English teacher colleagues.

On the other hand, I was lucky.  The kids and I got to work on music for the spring performances.  Had it been early fall, the band would have been out in the field practicing marching formations until the five thirty buses.  Hey, it is a skill they have to learn--how to play and march at the same time.  But I was spared that teaching assignment.

I only taught in the high school for a couple of months.  But I have been in many high schools and those teachers are amazing.  These students are young adults and they want to flex their wings.....and they all think they are smart--many are.  I had several student teachers in a high school setting.  I was always impressed.

I've generalized a bit here but I suspect many high school teachers will recognize their day. A few have longer periods and a few high schools have different periods on different days to give some classes like science time to complete experiments.  But the main clog in the wheels are the teachers.  They are good.

If you still play a musical instrument or like to sing, go thank a music teacher.