Another school year has completely flown by. It was several days shorter than usual by virtue of District-imposed-money-saving furlough days, and also started and ended earlier due to District-imposed changes that are supposed to line our school year up with the school year of institutions of higher learning. So after we had our All-District festival in March, Spring Break came, then testing, then Spring Concerts and then it was over. I feel breathless and a little cheated. Usually there is time for a little reflection with the kids as we wind down the year. But the last three weeks were full to brimming with activities for them- field trips and the like. So I spent that time hunting down instruments ("I'll bring it tomorrow!" If I had a nickle for every time I've heard that....) and taking many trips to the trailer where we store instruments. We all build our biceps this time of year.
On our last day, yesterday, we met as a faculty (I have to hold myself back from calling us the Music Staff) to discuss how things will be in the fall (or late summer, as we start back August 22..argh!) Further cuts to our budget mean that, unless something changes in the interim, I will serve seven campuses; another teacher will have eight. We will only serve fifth grade, and some schools will only see us once a week. I also met with the principal at my middle school campus and confirmed that I will not be able to split my class next year. So however big the draw to be in that orchestra is now, the whole group will cram into that room every day.
Music is going to suffer for these changes next year. We fight and fight to get access to the kids and have schedules that can actually accomplish something. It is not possible to teach anything in half an hour a week. No one would expect children to learn math or reading with that much instruction, and yet we must do. We must because not to is to lock the door to the thing that keeps some kids sane and happy in school.
The elementary music students play their simple concerts and get charged up. A 4th grade trombone player who tried to quit (it's all about the drama...he's a really good player) several times said he was too nervous and scared to play the concert. He went through with it, and when it was over said "That's it? That was easy!" Another 4th grade flute player was very worried about making a mistake in the concert. He can barely get a sound, and had to be talked into not quitting. But I told him no one would know if he made a mistake and the little kids in the audience would just think he was wonderful playing that neat instrument. He was glowing at the end of the show.
One mom stopped me as I was making my circuit of collection the other day. Her son joined middle school orchestra, she told me, because he thought it would be easy and because of the Forum Festival trip we have made two years in a row now. She said he told her he wants to be in orchestra again next year, and she was so happy about that. And surprised. Unlike many of my students whom I have known for years, he had come new and inexperienced last fall. He had self-control issues, disrupted class a lot, and had to be taught from scratch. But by the end of the year he watched when he should watch, read percussion music, would stop his fidgeting and talking with a look from me, and he provided a steady pulse on the bass drum to drive the group.
Another mom told me she didn't know what had got into her son, but for the first time in three years, he had started really to practice his clarinet at home. Another dad told me how his daughter practiced clarinet and then described all the other parts in the orchestra to him, so when he heard the concert, he recognized them. A couple of kids have started experimenting with composition. All the eighth graders are going on to be in their high school music programs.
On one of the last few days when we had finished my lesson for the day, I gave the middle school class a few minutes of free time. Several of the boys got their instruments out and created a spontaneous, improvised oom-pah band, with no help or input from me. They entertained themselves for the rest of the class time.
These outcomes are just a few of the many positive effects music classes have on students' lives. I see it most in the middle school where I can work with them every day. They know they are building something great. As evidenced by the standing ovation at their concert and the continual buzz for the weeks following, their peers and teachers and parents know it too. I don't know if I will ever have a year like this one again, but I am so glad I got to have this one.
