from the desk of the executive director
Sustainability: Okay, I Have Things Where I Want Them, Now What? Timothy J. Schaid, Executive Director
Our theme for this issue of Wisconsin School Musician (WSM) is “Sustain- ability.” In this age of educational ac- countability and re- form, mixed with more demands on the role every educa-
tor must play toward assuring academic success for all students, sustaining qual- ity music education classrooms can be a daunting undertaking. Just when the music educator feels his/her music education curriculum and classrooms are where they should be, another well intentioned edu- cational or school-wide initiative comes along that gives us pause to wonder how we can sustain what we already have in place while we take on even more.
Arguably, the level of student interest in a particular course that is offered at school is an indication of that course’s sustainability. Courses with high student interest tend to get priority in scheduling and courses with low student interest tend to be under consideration for elimination from the curriculum. As such, maintain- ing and increasing student participation in
music education courses without jeopar- dizing quality might prove to be the most important avenue to take toward assuring sustainability.
Nevertheless, this begs the question, “Why do students have high interest in some courses but limited interest in others?” Understanding there are myriad perspec- tives on what probably are a multitude of answers to this question, I will not attempt to postulate answers here. Rather, I will provide the reader with an opportunity to reflect on his/her own answers through offering my thoughts on how to sustain participation in and the quality of the courses we teach.
Sustaining and Building Participation First, remember that students want to be challenged. From my experience, most students flock toward courses that are cognitively stimulating, that are connected to them personally, and that give them an opportunity to successfully demonstrate and build upon their skills and abilities. The establishment of attainable high expectations and then helping students reach them is key to attracting students to your classroom.
“…look at the challenges and problems that come your way as opportunities for you and your colleagues to find solutions.”
Second, learning can be and should be fun, even when it is hard work. Music educators are dedicated hard-working professionals. Their work is not easy, yet they enjoy doing it and have fun doing it. The learning that takes place in our music classrooms should be hard work for stu- dents, but we should also make sure they have fun doing that hard work. To quote Theodore Roosevelt, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Finally, remember that students will remember you far longer for the teacher you were than for what you taught them. Be your students’ biggest fan, their
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www.WSMmagazine.org 10 April 2014
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