At the end of the 2015 school year I read an e-mail from my principal asking the faculty for thoughts on how to achieve the district wide goals of raising standardized test scores, raising the graduation rate, and reducing absenteeism. A few days later, in our Tuesday morning faculty meeting, one of our counselors mentioned a quote (I looked for the source and found several different ones) that went something like this: “Today’s students are leaving high school information rich but experience poor.”
As I heard those statements I wondered how it is that we have solutions to both of these challenges right here at our school—solutions that have been a part of our school most of its 100 years of existence—yet for some reason we continue to downgrade their importance and look in vain for some other pathway to achieving these objectives. How do we get test scores up? How do we get kids excited to go to school? How do we get more kids to graduation? How do we provide more “experiences” for kids who are so overloaded with information that they simply cram it down their throat just long enough to regurgitate it on a test? Conversely, how do we justify requiring courses with content that most of our students won’t need or use once they finish that class? Finally, in what classes are we educating students on how to communicate, work with others, and grow emotionally? In answer to those questions I would like to share with you the gift several of my students gave me this past week.
Let me explain how I came across the words I am about to share. Over 25 years ago I decided to create an opportunity for my students to earn a special award recognizing their individual success and overall contribution to the band program. I called it the “Excellence in Music Award,” and over the remaining years of my career over 200 students received it. The requirements include achieving a high score on three different tests (theory, history, musical form), pass off major and minor scales within a certain time limit, earning superior ratings on solos at festivals, and garnering a certain number of “musicianship points” through their participation in music activities during high school. Finally, the candidates for the award wrote a letter to someone who had a musical impact in their life and an essay about how music shaped their life. They submitted the letter and essay at the time of their final oral exam and interview. In 2015 I had a record 21 students—some of the finest I taught—receive the award. As I read their essays my heart was touched deeply and I realized that I needed to share what these students said with you. Perhaps their words will strike a chord in your heart, or bring back some tender memories from your own high school days that will remind you why involvement in the arts can make a monumental difference.
In an interview a few years ago, Mythbuster Adam Savage said "If you want the kids' test scores up, bring back band and bring back shop and get kids actually learning stuff instead of teaching them how to take a test." I realize that a television personality isn’t an expert on the subject, but with this statement he was pretty much dead-on correct. In fact, I can provide a mountain of data to demonstrate that students who take music classes score higher than their peers on standardized tests, have a higher graduation rate, and much lower rate of absenteeism. This data has been available for years but apparently it hasn’t been noticed by those who think that the best way to improve test scores is to teach to the test. Perhaps the wisdom of our own students can help. Their words follow (some italics added):
“Because the nature of music can be used to manipulate how we think, I have been able to gain many diverse and unique perspectives into many different subject materials relating to life.”
“Before I was in music, I was just a kid who would play video games and not pay attention to what went on around me. Music has helped me cope with my ADHD. It has allowed me to focus much more on any task that I am doing. Sure, nobody likes to do homework, but music has allowed me to not be distracted while doing my homework so that my grades can stay high.”
“The past two weeks I looked around the band room every day during rehearsal and saw several empty seats. A good portion of students were missing. Why? Because they were all taking AP tests! Not one of my other classes was ever as empty as Wind Ensemble was during those two weeks. Well, doesn’t that make sense? Smart kids take band. That’s the stigma. I disagree with this statement. Rather, I believe, band makes smart kids. Sheet music is nothing more than fancy designs on a page, made up of lines and circles and a few Italian words here and there. It’s practically an encoded message—complete nonsense to the untrained eye. Yet, these kids are able to not only decode these messages, but translate them into movements and motions and fingerings on a complex instrument. Then, through that instrument they create specific sounds and pitches which convey to the listener the very thoughts, emotions, and ideas that were hidden deep within the black bar lines of the lifeless sheet music. Now, if that doesn’t take an immense amount of brain power, then I don’t know what does.”
“On June 4, 2012, I didn’t join a band. I joined a family. A family of crazy and insane people that I have grown to love so much. My appreciation for music goes far beyond just the different notes that are played by a band. My music appreciation and love has literally given me a reason to enjoy life. The thing that got me to school each day was the thought of playing with such an amazing group. At 7:15 (almost) every morning I walk into my second home. Everyone feels welcome in the band room, a place where there is safety, love, and a lively spirit.”
There you have it, straight from our students. They have made it clear that their participation in band helped them get better grades, prepare better for tests, and have a desire to come to school. I’m certain that the same could be said for students who take other classes in the performing arts. In other words, if we want to achieve the district goals, perhaps we should steer kids into more classes in the fine arts. Then, when we completely blow the other schools out of the water with our academic performance we can tell them that the “magic bullet” is nothing more than a school that realized the value of fine arts education.
I will now move on to the second point, that today’s students are leaving high school “information rich but experience poor.” When I heard those words I wondered exactly what that statement supposedly means—specifically, what “experiences” are they missing? Here are some thoughts from my students (who also happen to be your students):
“Marching band is the most important experience I have ever had in my life and I will take it with me no matter which direction I go. The friends I’ve made, the trials I’ve gone through, the physical struggles, the many tears of both joy and sadness. I am eternally grateful for the Davis High Band and what blessings and lessons it has brought me.”
“Marching band and winter drumline have enabled me to be involved at the high school, giving me all sorts of friends and teaching me all sorts of lessons. The way I work and the way I think are both changed because of band.”
“Music is a rewarding experience that contains the secrets to my spirit and body through its uncanny ability to modify how I feel. Whenever I play notes written by the magical composers of every era I pour my emotional troubles into the intricate nuances of every note, creating a state of half-conscious peace that fills my being.”
“I cannot even begin to express my feelings regarding my experience as a drum major. It was probably the toughest thing I have ever had to do, but has been the most rewarding experience, even more so than I could have ever imagined. The irreplaceable lessons of hard work, building culture, humility, and passion couldn’t have been built anywhere else.”
“Those experiences on the stage are why I continue with my instrument. It’s a kind of charming catharsis, or relaxing release that can’t be found sitting in a math class.”
“I may not remember what I learned in 12th grade English, but I will always remember the lessons like hard work and individual accountability that I learned in band.”
“Music has taught me many things: hard work, persistence, patience, musicality, emotion, social skills, and so on. The skills and life applications I have learned are way too numerous to list.”
“I used to be a very quiet and shy person who didn’t like to get into things and was bullied in elementary school. In 8th grade I was made principal clarinet and then was promoted to symphonic band later that year. My self-esteem had grown immensely, I was confident in something that I thought would never happen to me before that.”
“I won’t begin to mention all the life lessons that I have learned from band. It would take another five pages to describe them all, but I truly have loved the band experience and all I have learned from it.”
“It was interesting to me that my band classes and experiences were about more than making good music, but also about making good, quality people. Music makes me happy, and when I am happy I feel that I have a better influence on those around me.”
“I feel truly sorry for those that disregard the significance of music in the lives of individuals. I’ve learned so much more from becoming a musician than simply how to play a little tune. I’ve learned expression, individuality, integrity, teamwork, diligence, trust, responsibility, and accountability.”
“I plan on using the lessons learned in band throughout my entire life.”
So you say our kids are “experience poor?” I’m not saying that band is the only way to have these types of experiences—in fact I believe that there are several—but if you read what these kids are saying you can easily see that those who chose band are leaving with a great deal more than a head full of information.
Just like we choose a car that fits us, I believe we choose a content area that fits us when we become educators. I chose music as my educational vehicle to teach kids and I do not regret that decision. I’ve often heard that I am lucky because I get “the best kids in the school,” but did anyone ever consider that their band participation may be a huge reason why they are “the best kids?” They truly are amazing, and I hope you enjoyed the statements from them. Their essays make me want to stand up, shake off the dust, and get back to work. They tell me that what we do in band has made a huge difference in their lives—which is all I could ask for.
