Klarinet Archive - Posting 000025.txt from 1998/04

From: C E Field <CEField@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Re: Brass VS. Woodwinds
Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 12:23:09 -0500

<<An educational observation.......the best school band programs that I have
observed seem to be those in which the band director is either active in
his professional performance, or he still plays frequently for the
students - even in a non-professional manner. Those programs for which
badn directors never play, I have seen a high percentage of them, the
bands are usually very mediocre......with low self-esteems. Is it
coincendence?
>>

Roger, I suspect you are correct in your assessment. I can tell you the very
same is true of science teachers who are active researchers and those who
"only" teach. This is not to disparage dedicated teachers, merely to share the
fact that there is an added dimension that is missing when teachers do not
keep one foot in the "real world." I am a Ph.D. biochemist by education and my
best teachers by a long shot were those who were active outside the classroom
in clinical labs, research labs, or industrial consulting. Those teachers knew
the latest methodologies, equipment, and so on, and were EXCITED about
developments in their fields. That excitement was contagious.

Cindy