The following is the complete speech by S. Gordon Jessop from the annual Trade Secrets Conference. An abridged version appears in the Fall issue of the UMEA Journal.
Keynote speech: Trade Secrets Conference
Keynote speech: Trade Secrets Conference
By S. Gordon Jessop
Park city, UT June 18, 2007
Have you ever wondered what the key of a keynote speech should be? This is probably a minor concern for you, but it has been A Major concern for me, because giving speeches of this type are not A Natural think for me to do, as you will soon C. I have felt an urgency to B sharp while preparing this speech but kept having senior mental lapses and had to rest often. As soon as I had sufficient energy, I would again attempt to scale the wall, so to speak, but could only take a half step at a time, which made progress very slow. I often worried about falling flat on my face. Now, there is a chance that you may not perceive a keynote in this speech, which would therefore make it aleatoric or indeterminate. There is a structure, however. The form is through-composed rather than ternary or sonata allegro. My greatest desire is that your time won't be wasted and that you will find something harmonious with what you believe and have experienced in the ideas that follow.
Public School Experience
Reflecting back on my public school experiences as a student, I don't know for sure when or why I wanted to become a music teacher, but I'm glad I did. Several factors may have influenced the decision, such as: (1) There was always music in my home - mom taught piano lessons and my older siblings played in the band. (2) Dad was a teacher and school principal. (3) I had a fourth-grade teacher who did a lot with music. We sang songs, listened to the music of Grieg and Saint-Saens, and other classical composers, and we had opportunities to create music and perform our compositions in class. I composed and performed two little piano pieces. () I took summer band between 4th and 5th grades. The only time during my public school years that band was taught by a band teacher was during 5th and 6th grades. (5) In 6th grade, I played the corned solo "Finiculi, Finicula" for the class - a simplified version, except for the high C at the end, which I nailed (probably because I didn't know that is was supposed to be hard to play high C). The band director was very complementary and encouraged my parents to get me lessons with a private teacher, which they did. In junior High and High School, the band classes were taught by the choral teachers. In high school, my primary interests were athletics, music (more because of the private lessons than the band class), Art, and a gorgeous blond, who eventually became my wife.
Public School Teaching Experience Following High School, I attended and graduated from Utah State University. I then taught public school music for the next 15 years: 2 in rural Wyoming (3rd to 12th grade, band choir, general music and art); 3 years at T.H. Bell Junior High in Weber District (band, choir, general music, and art); 10 years at Roy High (band and choir). During the last four years, I was also the district music coordinator for the seven junior highs and three high schools. I was involved on Saturdays for nine years with the Golden Spike Youth Symphony Orchestras as brass section leader and conducted the youngest orchestra for two years. I also taught as many as 25 private students a week, played in a dance band on week ends, completed a master's degree in music education at Utah State University, followed by an Education Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision from the University of Utah. Within those years, three sons were born, and I was President of UMEA.
University Music Teacher Education
I never aspired to be a college teacher, but circumstances evolved in such a way as to set me on that path. I completed a Ph..D. in music at BYU and was hired to teach music education. I have had the opportunity and challenge of teaching many classes, including Instrumental Practicum, Brass Workshop, Music Methods for Elementary Classroom Teachers, Sight-singing, Exploring Teaching, Student Teaching Seminars and observations, as well as graduate courses in History of Music Education, Research Methods, Theories of Learning and Motivation, and several others. It has been a very fulfilling journey, although sometimes very bumpy. It is from these 46 years of teaching that the ideas I will now attempt to share with you have been generated. Well, so much for the pre-ramble. I hold these truths to be self-evident. Hopefully, you will also.
A common thread through all of these experiences was a constant desire to find a more effective and more efficient ways to improve the learning experiences for the students I taught. In tandem with being driven by this need to improve, I was haunted by the question: Are my students learning because of what I am doing or in spite of what I am doing? As I struggled with these persistent thoughts, I became intrigued by the phenomenon of why some teachers excel and other do not.
I followed the careers of my peers who became teachers and observed many teachers during student teacher observations. I perceived that some were much more proficient performers than I was, but they either quit teaching or didn't excel as teachers. WHY? Several possible reasons became evident:
It was apparent that some didn't have the people skills (or interpersonal intelligence, as Howard Gardner puts it) to establish and maintain viable relationships with students. Some didn't have a clear leadership vision of what could and should be happening in the classroom. There was no discernable sense of purpose or direction in their teaching. Some just didn't seem to what to deal with the front end of the instructional process. And by that I mean developing in students the receptive, cooperative attitudes and behaviors that are necessary or and conducive to learning. This includes establishing norms or standards of behavior which constitute the foundation for learning. It appeared that these colleagues desired to be conductors more than teachers.
I also perceived a problem with the "front-end alignment," to use automotive terminology, which I have come to believe is a pervasive problem throughout our schools and stems from not understanding and feeling deeply about what the purpose of public schools is. I invite each of you to take a moment and answer the question: What do I really believe is the purpose of schools in American society? To me, this philosophical perspective is the front end of education and should underlie and permeate all that we do as educators. Having answered this fundamental question, lets take on three related questions: What are the implications of this purpose for me as a teacher? What are the implications for students? How does the subject I teach relate to my perceived purpose of schools?
I think that education is sometimes adrift, because we have lost track of why the whole educational enterprise exists. Without a clear focus, it becomes easy for schools to be regarded more as day care centers than as educational institutions. Without a clear focus, we become more prone to teach "about" things rather than to help our students to "become" or to actually "be" civil, cooperative, caring, competent, responsible beings and musicians. These are the qualities that constitute what author, Steven Covey, calls the "character ethic" as opposed to the "personality ethic." I believe that all teachers and administrators should be engaged in this character building endeavor, but music teachers, coaches, and elementary classroom teachers are probably in the most opportune positions to have the greatest impact on student because of the amount of time that is spent with them. Music performance groups and athletic teams require cooperation, team work, and a commitment to others. Can you imagine the difference I could make if every teacher in your respective schools were intent on fostering the development of these essential character traits?
Then, once we have acquired a clear understanding of the purpose of schools, another important part of the front end alignment is to clarify what our purpose and responsibility is as a teacher as well as the purpose and responsibility of our students. Obviously, the teacher's responsibility is to teach and the student's is to learn. But a teacher cannot make a student learn if he or she chooses not to. Knowing this, I might approach this role-clarification endeavor by informing my students: "I believe that my responsibility as a teacher is to provide for you the best learning experiences that I am capable of. I realize that I can't make you learn anything that you don' want to learn, and I am not interested in trying. But I will do my best to invite and encourage you to actively participate, and I will always be respectful of you. If you have any ideas for making the experience more effective, or if you see my role differently, please share your perceptions with me." Then I would state my perspective of what their role and responsibility is as a student saying something like: "I believe that you have at least two responsibilities: one is to take advantage of the opportunities to learn that are provided, and the other is to never interfere with the learning of others." I would then ask if they saw their purpose and responsibility differently. You will probably think of a more effective way to clarify teacher and student roles and responsibilities, but it is important to establish a common perspective for what we are trying to do.
Classroom rules or norms also need to be clarified, and I believe that two principles can suffice for most classrooms: Be Responsible and Be Respectful. Laying down the law and posting lists of rules and consequences is advocated by some, but these strategies tend to be less effective, because they place the teacher in an adversarial or watchdog position. Besides, the real norms are the result of what the teacher consistently does or does not do, which is sometimes quite different from what the poster on the wall says. It si likely that the norms that do emerge in the classroom reflect the question: "What things will I neither tolerate nor compromise in this classroom?"
How many of you have pondered about what circumstances or conditions music exist for you to be your best as a teacher? Similarly, have you ever considered what conditions must exist for students to do their best work?
A few years ago, I was asked to teach a pedagogy class for vocal and instrumental music majors who aspired to be performers but, in reality, would most likely be teaching in private studios. There was no specified curriculum for the course, so I decided to look inside myself and reflect on my experience as a public school teacher and a teacher of private lessons to see what I had learned that might apply to these student' needs. I began by looking for similarities and differences between studio and classroom teaching. To my amazement, I found only one significant difference - the number of students being taught at one time. But that difference is huge, because teaching large groups of students 3with their individual needs and differences is far more complex and demanding than is one-on-one teaching. It requires a dynamic, engaging personality, a phenomenal flow of energy and resilience, plus solid organizational skills. I also realized that teachers and students are driven by the same motives, one of which self-efficacy - the need to have some control over our own destiny. I wondered, "What are the things that we do have some degree of control over in the teaching/learning process? As I pondered this question, three factors emerged, which I called "the three determinants of teaching and learning excellence." These factors, over which we have some control are (1) the instructional environment of the classroom or studio; (2) our instructional priorities (the curriculum); and (3) the instructional processes used for achieving the instructional goals. Each of the three determinants influences the connections or relationships that are established between teacher and student and the subject content. Let's look deeper into each of them.
The Instructional Environment
The instructional environment is comprised of at least three omnipresent factors that interact and influence both our teaching and the receptivity of our students. These three factors are (1) the psychological-emotional ambience of our teaching space, (2) the physical setting, and (3) the values, traditions, and expectations of the school administration, patrons, the community, and the larger society in which the teaching and learning takes place. I think we can have quite a lot of control of the first two variables, but probably only control how we choose to operate within the third.
- 1. Psychological-emotional Ambience
The psychological-emotional ambience is prevailing mood, atmosphere, or chemistry that exists in the classroom and school and has a great influence on our rapport and interaction with others. In an environment conducive to teaching and learning, there is an ambience of trust, support, genuine caring, encouragement, pleasure, challenge, sense of purpose, and so on. Variables that influence the ambience of the instructional environment are: a. The demeanor of both teacher and students - including facial expressions, body language, communication, and other manifestations of their personalities, and the leadership style of the teacher.
In the classroom, our relationships that are influenced by our leadership style will tend to be either student-centered, in which we interact with students on a horizontal plane (one human to another), or teacher centered, in which our interaction occurs on a vertical plane (superior to subordinate). The relationships that are most conducive to producing effective learning are usually more horizontal than vertical, because there tends to be more respect, trust, warmth, caring, and concern for others. Communication contains more "we," "us," and "let's" phrases, which helps students to perceive us as being allies working with them on the same side of the problem rather than as adversaries. In contrast, in vertical relationships, teachers tend to be more domineering, self-centered, and authoritarian in their interactions with students. This usually has an adverse effect on both learning and relationships. Communication is often laden with "I want.," and "Do this for me" phrases. Keeping students in a subservient, reliant position may elicit in us feelings of power, control, and importance (even indispensableness) but, in reality, such behavior actually produces weakness in our students and in ourselves.
The nature of our interpersonal relationships also influences the type of relationship students have with the subject we teach. Again, there are two contrasting options - one being more dictatorial and the other being more directorial. Sometimes we as readers position ourselves between the students and the subject content, so that they can only experience it through us. From this dictatorial position, we make most, if not all, of the decisions and require that students be obedient or subservient in carrying our desires. In such instances, it may be wise to ask ourselves this question. When learning is so centered on the teacher, are students really being educated?
In contrast, if we choose to position ourselves more on the sideline like a coach and let students interact with the subject more directly, they have more opportunities to make decisions and to be self-determining. Our role as teachers is to intervene, when necessary, to direct awareness to important things that are not being perceived by asking appropriate questions and to interject insights or suggestions that will increase understanding. Nurturing of this type results in education (informed student performance) in contrast to training (performance without understanding).
b. The credibility of the teacher is a second variable that affects the psychological-emotional ambience in the classroom. How students perceive the level of our expertise - our musical, pedagogical, and interpersonal knowledge and skills - influences their trust and willingness to buy into our learning goals and strategies. It's the kind of thing that is going on right now between thee and me.
When rapport is good, there is a merging and amalgamation of teacher and student personalities, attitudes, and aspirations that produce a harmonious, cooperative, sympathetic, and even synergetic ambience in the classroom. There is a general feeling of trust and feeling safe. Stephen Covey's analogy of making deposits and withdrawals in an emotional bank account can be helpful in establishing and maintaining a positive and productive rapport with students and colleagues. We make deposits by showing courtesy, kindness, and honesty; by keeping commitments, clarifying expectations, really seeking to understand others (listening empathically), and by apologizing sincerely after making a withdrawal. In contrast, we make withdrawals by showing discourtesy or disrespect; by ignoring others, betraying their trust in us; by threatening, being overprotective or arbitrary, and by being domineering and overreacting to situations. - 2. Physical Setting or Instructional Space
The physical setting is a second component of the instructional environment and involves a host of factors influencing the conduciveness of the instructional space, including the acoustics of the room, lighting, temperature, ventilation, and such equipment as chairs, mirrors, pianos, sound system, and video equipment. Also, such visual stimuli as posters, charts, color, texture, and other aesthetic features. The setting needs to promote focus and concentration, which means being free from distractions. All of us know that neatness and orderliness, or lack thereof, communicates something about our values and expectations. - 3. Values, Traditions, Needs and Expectations of the School Community and Society
In addition to clarifying what the purpose of schools are and what our purpose and responsibility is as teachers, the following questions may help us to better understand the unique sociological and cultural milieu in which teaching and learning occurs:
"What are the prevailing expectations for me as a music teacher?"
"What function does music serve in the school and community?"
"How does what I do or hope to do as a musician and teacher fit into the value structure of the school and community?"
"To what extent are music and musicians valued?"
Obviously, what we attempt to accomplish must be compatible with the values and traditions of the community, if we are to survive and thrive in that environment.
Instructional Priorities
Let's now consider a second determinant of teaching and learning excellence; another important factor that we have quite a lot of control over - our instructional priorities; our long and short-range learning goals. Goals, priorities, objectives, learning targets, outcomes, competencies, aspirations, or whatever we choose to call them are very important motivational factors because, as educational psychologist Asahel Woodruff reminds us, "Learning is a by-product of goal seeking behavior." In other words, we learn what we need to get what we want. The motivational strength of goals is obviously proportional to their importance to us. One of my instructional goals is that I strongly believe that I should help students to develop competence as musicians and as people. I believe that it is important for teachers to consider what the essential attitudes, knowledge, and motor skills are that students must have to help them to eventually become self-reliant musicians and people. I also believe that looking within our own experience and value structure first helps us to clarify what we really do believe. Then, if we don't have well-developed conceptual or value structures to draw from, such introspection prepares us to recognize and receive information from outside sources that we might otherwise miss. In addition, having clear priorities infuses our actions with dynamic energy. The strength of our convictions and our core values influence everything we do.
As teachers, we are both leaders and managers. Having a vision of what should be done and why is an important component of leadership. Convey asserts that a primary responsibility of a leader is to determine what should be done or "doing the right things." Managing is "doing things the right way," which is finding the best way to achieve the goals that have been selected. Even though we have district and state curriculum guides and National Standards, I encourage each teacher to look deeply within him or herself for answers to these questions:
What are the most important for things for students to learn to develop as people and musicians?
Why is it important that students learn these things?
Howdo these things contribute to the development of the student?
Why is it important for teachers to have clearly defined, well thought-out long and short-range instructional goals? What difference do they make in the instructional process?
Instructional priorities provide a sense of direction and purpose to the extent that the teacher has a strong conviction of their importance and an equally strong resolve to achieve them. Clearly defined priorities help to focus energy and to use resources wisely. Instructional time, which is a non-renewable resource, becomes sacred and cannot be squandered because there is never enough time to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished. Priorities propel instruction and provide a sense of urgency and that what is being done is important instead of just filling time with various activities. In addition, having clear instructional priorities places the teacher in the strategic position of being proactive, rather than reactive.
Some of you may be wondering how to identify and clarify your instructional priorities. An important preliminary step is to decide what attitudes, knowledge, and skills students must possess or acquire to progress on the maturity continuum from dependence on the teacher to independence as people and musicians.
One way to identify or clarify our priorities may be to consider these questions: "If I could only help students to learn one thing as a musician, what would it be?" and "What knowledge and skills would make the greatest difference to students in their musical development?" For me, because the essence of music is sound in time, the first instructional priority has to deal with tone production. We never quit trying to achieve the appropriate sound - a sound that has freedom, resonance and beauty; a sound that will blend with others.
If I could only teach two things, what would they be? For me, that would be rhythm and pitch accuracy. The third musical priority for me would be to develop expressive performance knowledge and skills and would focus on such things as line, flow, direction and energy - the stuff that makes music compelling.
Similarly, we might ask ourselves: "What would be the most important thing a student needs in his or her development as a person?" For me, that would be the development of receptive, cooperative and respectful attitudes and demeanor. And so on.
In addition to our consideration of what students need to develop as people and musicians, there are other factors that influence the formulation of our long and short-range instructional priorities. Namely,
- 1. Our previous experience - especially the way we have been taught
- 2. Our perceptions of school and community needs (which impact on what students and others perceive as being relevant)
- 3. Our personal ego and emotional/aesthetic needs
- 4. Mandates of district, state and professional organizations, such as MENC
To me, in order for instructional priorities and goals to be effective and educationally defensible, they must be realistic, attainable, and based on the developmental needs of students rather than on our ego needs as teachers. If our students are happy and successful, we will be happy and successful.
Providing students with a viable, meaningful curriculum is one of our most important leadership responsibilities. In our efforts to empower students we must be wise and give them opportunities to be more self-governing without compromising the curriculum. Students, like teachers and other adults, know what they like, but they usually don't know what they need that will be most helpful in their development. Where we can give them viable choices is HOW to best accomplish the instructional goals in their individual practice or sectional rehearsals, which is part of their instructional process - a third determinant of teaching and learning excellence.
Instructional Process
Having clarified our instructional priorities, two questions that drive the instructional process are: "How can the long and short-range goals that comprise my instructional priorities be effectively and efficiently achieved?" and "What instructional sequence will best facilitate student learning and development?"
Now we are faced with the selection of literature, materials, and experiences that will be appropriate to the development needs and abilities of our students. In this endeavor, we seek to provide a variety of styles of music for breadth and a range of difficulty for depth; music that has sufficient musical content and substance to elicit emotional involvement and satisfaction; music that contributes to the conceptual and skill development of students.
Then we must devise specific instructional plans and sequences for learning the materials we have selected. Planning for instruction is essential, because it enables us to be more proactive rather than reactive. But we can and must be flexible in implementing each plan , because we can't always anticipate or accurately predict actual outcomes. An important part of planning includes either devising or implementing known strategies for focusing and engaging student attention and emotions, so that they will be receptive to subsequent learning and problem solving. Review is necessary to maintain previously encountered concepts and skills and provides a sense of progress, which is motivational. Opportunities should be provided that resulting the development of new skills and concepts. Specific things to be practiced and improved prior to the next meeting should be identified followed by a closure experience that elicits a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
Now, let's modulate to a different key or mode.
If you were to find a magic lamp or bottle containing a wish-granting genie, or if your baton somehow turned into a magic wand, what would you wish for to improve music education? What would you wish for that would improve your teaching and your student' learning? I would wish that I could turn back the hands of time and do some things differently. For example, I would not perpetuate the misconception that sharp symbols raise pitches and that flat symbols lower pitches. Instead, I would teach that a sharp symbol in front of an F means to play or sing F#, which is a discrete note and pitch. A Flat symbol in front of an E means to play or sing Eb, which is a discrete not and pitch. It is true that F# is a higher pitch an F, and Eb is a lower pitch an E, but they are discrete pitches. I don't know how this misconception got started. A contributing factor may be that the diatonic scale is usually taught before the chromatic scale is. I think I would teach the chromatic scale first to establish a sense of the whole - meaning all the notes that are possible in Western art music. I am confident that this could work, because of the well-established principle of learning: we learn exactly what we practice doing. We can learn to read and perform half-steps as easily as any other interval. We just need to practice singing, playing, listening and reading chromatic tones and scales.
When introducing students to 6/8, 98, 12/8, or anything/8 time signatures, I would teach students that the dotted quarter note is the beat note and NOT the eighth note, because as we listen to music, we hear groupings of twos or threes per pulse. I suppose that one of the reasons we don't teach the dotted quarter as the beat note is that there is no Arabic number to accommodate it as the lower number of the meter signature. Elementary books deal with this issue by writing the signature as 2 over a dotted quarter note. Also, I would teach that the half note is the beat note in 2/2 meter.Alle breve is not fast 4/4.
In addition to helping students identify the key of the music they are learning, I would teach them the purpose of key signatures, which is to arrange whole and helf step patterns according to the scale the piece is built on.
I would use a different terminology for "rests," because rest connotes shutting down. Instead of rests, I would say "symbols of measured silence." Energy still has to flow during these silences, and performers must stay mentally and emotionally present and engaged - even during the longer periods of measured silence.
Instead of simply requiring that students practice so much time each day as part of their grade, I would specify what should be accomplished within the practice time frame, so that they will learn to practice with the intent to improve something rather than to just put in time.
When diagnosing problems and prescribing solutions, I would make a conscious effort to describe what should be happening rather than what is happening. For example, if the tempo were surging, I would say "Keep the pulse steady" rather than "Don't rush," or I might say, "Increase the intensity of the sound to the 3rd beat in measure 15," rather than "That phrasing stinks." Diagnosing and prescribing from the perspective of what should be, rather than what is, provides both teacher and student with clear goals and creates a more positive ambience. When we do this as teachers, we are making deposits rather than withdrawals in both the emotional and the learning bank account. (This is also why the two classroom principles, "Be Responsible," and "Be Respectful" will work.) Now a couple of larger issues that I would deal with differently, if given the opportunity.
I would be ever vigilant to avoid the propensity to justify and rationalize my teaching behavior, either when I know I am doing something that I shouldn't be doing, or when I am not doing something that I know I should be doing. I have learned that whenever I act contrary to what I know and feel is right, there is a tendency to justify and rationalize that decision in order to make it appear to be right. This results in pushing the responsibility for making the wrong decision away from myself by blaming others, taking offence, and distorting truth. To maintain my image as an honest person, I maximize and extol my own virtues while minimizing those of others. I become increasingly testy and angry at times and aloof and holier-than-thou at others. I become increasingly self-centered. These behaviors raise havoc with relationships, and learning and joy cease. I must have the integrity to always act congruently with my knowledge and values of what is right.
Another thing I would do differently relates to my instructional priorities. Developing excellent performing groups has always been a high priority for me, as it has long been for most secondary music educators. I believe we should never deviate from the quest for achieving excellent performances, because there is great joy and satisfaction in such achievement. But, while striving for that excellence, I would strive equally for enlightened performance. By that, I mean helping students to develop greater insights of the pieces they are performing.
Some of you who have been in the profession since the late 1970's may recall a massive effort to change the existing performance model of music education to a comprehensive music education model. This paradigm shift was driven by the realization that students were being trained to perform well, but not really being educated as musicians. Well, as we are prone to do when making corrections, to ensure success, we over-compensate. Educational materials were produced that took on the look and content of university theory and history classes to be incorporated into rehearsals. In addition, some states, particularly in the Mid-West, developed listening and testing procedures for assessing comprehensive knowledge of students as part of the festival experiences. It was a well-intended idea that never flew, because only a few teachers had the knowledge, skills, and desire to follow this path. Now, 30 years later, the concern for providing a more well-rounded education has resulted in the formulation of National Standards. These standards, like the comprehensive musicianship effort, address the issue of what should constitute a musical education, but are much more feasible to implement. Even so, I still believe that we should look inside ourselves first for answers of what constitutes a musical education before we subscribe to the standards or the district and state curriculum guides.
All of this is a long way of saying that one thing I would do, if I could go back in time and redo my public school music teaching, would be to search for systematic and compelling ways to incorporate the acquisition and interpreting of music symbols into all performance group instruction. In addition, I would be searching for ways to help students to become aware and interested in properties of music that make it appealing and powerful. I would ask questions and interject brief comments about a progressive cadence in a piece being rehearsed, a unique structural detail, transformation of motives, timbre or color effects in another, impetus of line toward goal notes in phrases, and roles of particular voices or instruments in selected passages in yet another piece, and, of course, nuance in all pieces. Thus, my fourth instructional priority would be to achieve excellent performance of worthy literature with much deeper levels of understanding. I would likely start with just one piece per rehearsal. Then, as the process became more natural, I would expand to other pieces. Along with this, as a conductor, I would endeavor to look more like the music rather than just beating time.
Finally, and I'm going out on a limb saying this, we need to do some professional house cleaning and initiate a "Back to Basics" or "What is the Purpose of Schools" movement. I wish that we, along with our administrators and school board officials, would take a stand regarding what schools can and cannot do. We need to stop attempting to be all things to all people and refuse to be the scapegoat for many societal problems and resist the proliferation of legislative mandates placed upon us to remediate those problems. I sometimes think that there should be a "piling on" penalty for legislators who initiate such mandates and would encourage our State Office of Education leaders to attend legislative sessions wearing striped referee shirts, hats, whistles, and carrying yellow flags to be thrown every time the legislature tries to add something else to what we are supposed to do as teachers. Some means must be established that requires that whenever something is added to our responsibilities, something must be removed. I believe that this perpetual piling on of additional responsibilities contributes greatly to the present teacher shortage, because it prevents us from doing well what we love to do. What we do best is teach our subject content. That is what we have passion and conviction about. That is what brought us into the profession, and that is what keeps us in it. Through our content, we can teach students to read, write, think critically, feel deeply and become more humane, civil, and responsible people.
In conclusion, I believe that each one of us can make a difference in the lives of students in our individual classrooms. I believe that our success as teachers - the degree to which we can influence our students - greatly depends on how we connect and interact with them as well as the strength of our convictions about the importance of what is being done. Our success also depends on how well we teach to the power of music and how well we empower students by helping them to develop the skills of musicianship and character. It may not be easy - I know of no quick fixes or short cuts or recipes. But it is definitely worth our continued best efforts.