CHORAL COMMENTS...
Taking Yourself Seriously-Why We DO What We DO? Ken Tucker, MMEA Vocal Vice-president
A pet peeve of mine is the labeling of core classes vs. non-core classes. I interpret this in my cynical brain, too often, as essential and non- essential and immediately become defensive. But did you know that No Child Left Behind defines “core academic subjects” as English, reading or language arts, math, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography.
I recently had a school concert to which dozens of choir alumni attended to sing some prepared pieces. It was wonderful to see so many former students reuniting with one another through the thing they all had in common- Choir! After the concert many of them went out to find something to eat and invited me along! Here I was eating, laughing, joking and reminiscing with dozens of former students all of whom were grown adults now with careers, families and successful lives of their own. And there it was I received a great epiphany; THIS is what it is all about.
...it is the music that unites us all.
If you have been teaching for any length of time you see cycles of students come in and out of your classroom, through the halls of the school and out into “life”, while all the time, you remain constant; never ceasing in what often seems like one seamless school year. It is so easy to get into the routine of what we do without reminding ourselves why we are doing it.
14 MISSOURI SCHOOL MUSIC
Is the music we are teaching important? Are the experiences we are providing our singers vital in the grand scheme of our students’ everyday and future life? I can testify through the experience I outlined above that it is. Our students do grow up and become real people. They marry and become successful citizens of their communities. Some even surpass us in the amount of schooling they receive. But it is the music that unites us all. How nice it is to see on the faces of these young adults the expressions and
laughter they share recounting the memories from circumstances you were integral in providing. And as they tell their stories and share the memories, it is so satisfying to see the looks on their faces as if they were non-verbally saying, “Choir was important to me. You were important to me. What I learned from you is important to me.”
Life lessons. How great it is to learn from our students. These lawyers, teachers, business managers and full-time parents are all whom they have become due to some influence from you and the teaching and guidance you offer. Let us stop selling our selves short. We ARE core! What we teach is just as important as science and math. It is up to us to stand up and be heard.
Let us start taking ourselves a little more seriously. Hundreds of former students already do.
Have a great year influencing people’s lives with music.
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