jazz education
Gina: NDHS has a very rich tradition in music and the alumni desperately want to see that tradition come alive again. My school had been closed for a number of years and was reopened about six years ago. Since the reopening, I have been the only music teacher in my department for the past four years. The alumni have been gracious in trying to obtain funds to make music come alive again. They not only work to find funds for the department, a few alumni have come in and helped dur- ing class with students as well.
Britney: The level of involvement from past alumni is not one that I am com- pletely familiar with at our school. Many past students do come back to visit often and even take on part-time and full-time working positions. There have also been many instances of former scholars con- tinuing support for our school by sending their own children, relatives and referrals to attend. Eventually, it would be ideal to establish a direct correlation between alumni involvement and support for fine arts departments, such as music.
Friends
Doug: As a professional musician since the age of 12, I have a large network of friends/colleagues that I look to for advice/ support. They are working professionals in every conceivable area of the music busi- ness and I rely on them quite a bit. I could not be a music teacher without first being a musician. As a teacher of mine once told me “You can’t teach your students anything if you don’t know anything.”
Ray: I have a network of friends and col- leagues that are very supportive of my efforts at MHSA. I also have a wonderful church family (First United Methodist Church – West Allis) that attends many of the performances at MHSA. They, too, often contribute monetarily to student en- deavors and trips. These wonderful church people are definitely the largest financial contributors to my program at MHSA.
Gina: I am technically the only person in my music department, but I thankfully have a great special education co-teacher with years of drumming experience that has been with me for two years now. He and I collaborate often for the classes we co-teach as well as my other courses. I also have a network of teachers and musicians that I can go to. That network is especially important when being the only music teacher in my building.
Britney: Some of the greatest aspects of my teaching career have stemmed from the large amount of advice as well as physical and emotional support I have re- ceived from colleagues in my field. Being an active musician in my community has allowed me to provide live musicians for each of our concerts, mentorship for our junior high composition concert, as well as performances and clinics presented to the school from affiliates at my high school alma mater, MHSA. Having comrades who serve as professional musicians as well as educators has also given me a great deal of insight with lesson planning, concert ideas, curriculum building and learning aids. I very much credit my suc- cesses (and sanity) to having this wonder- ful support system, and would recommend an entity of this nature to anyone within our field.
Conclusion
As I looked at the data collected for this article I realized there were both striking similarities and glaring differences regard- ing teacher support networks. I would assume this is true no matter where your teaching assignment takes you. In my opinion the most important factor as a teacher, regarding support networks, is do not be afraid to seek support and – perhaps just as important – do not be afraid to ex- pect some degree of support. Ultimately, we must be our own strongest advocate.
Doug Syme is director of jazz studies and arts department chair at Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
Email:
symedw@milwaukee.k12.wi.us
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