Klarinet Archive - Posting 000164.txt from 2007/02

From: "Karen Coats" <belongtogod@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Band Directors-Help needed
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:21:21 -0500

Greetings to all of you!

I teach and have taught at church...various children classes (Sunday School,
etc.) and I would like to ofter some thoughts about this.

This past Sunday, I went all out for my class (various ages from 1st to
sixth) for doing a fun project, so I brought in poster boards for each child
to create a bright picture, whatever they wanted to represent "joy".
Paint, glue, glitter, etc. etc. was all part of it. So, the kids excitedly
got out all these supplies, but something astonished me, so I stopped them
from the beginning, and asked them, what was missing??? And they all waited
for me to tell them, and I told them that if they wanted to paint, they
needed "water" for one, and other cleanup items, and that the brushes needed
to be in water when not in use. This really got me to think. These
children didn't know much about painting, even the very smart sixth grader
that I had that day.
It was so sad, because I can really see what has been happening in these
past years about creativity in school. It is on its way out because there
is another issue going on.

As my class went on, I saw once again, children who had not that much
respect for other people's property, disrespectful, goof offs, easily
distracted, and then it became clear to me, why these cut backs and so forth
going on in public schools.

Frankly, teachers are not treated right, and if the parents are not training
their children, and the teachers don't have much say, I think teachers are
targets of various sorts of abuse and not respected as they should be, and
it can be continually exseperating. I had a child, for example, in my
classes for years, that no other teacher would tolerate in their classes,
they all ended up quitting. And it truly was exscperating for several
years.

In public school, I believe there must be a much better way. I can see why
these new systems of teaching, like exploratory, are coming out. And
perhaps in many ways, creativity is on its way out of schools; it is just a
matter of time. For example, can you imagine, teaching art to teenagers now
a days if one had disrespectful kids therein? Why, there would be sabotage
of mess all the time to deal with. The teacher would become more like a
warden of the class instead of an art teacher.

In the same way, in music, it might be getting just as scary for the
principal so they make music less than what it is; no big deal. So, I can
see why a school would make it "exploratory" because it would teach the
children, yes, there is music out there and instruments, but do it on your
own time attitude with those who might care.
I might be completely wrong, but I can really see how things are changing.

Perhaps the thing that it will have to come down to is that a proposal (a
new rule) will have to be initiated where teachers get to admit students
based on an interview (desire to learn, etc.) and then maybe it will have a
chance to succeed.
For example if I were teaching a real art class, I would desire the right to
eliminate the goof offs that are purely there to make a mess and distract.

I heard about another school where the children get to take "various
creative classes" based on grades.

I believe there is a growing panic about all the "unknown" variables that
would make the leaders of the school grow weary of creative
responsibilities, in schools where children are bringing knifes, guns,
threats, having fist fights on the buses, and so forth. Furthermore, in
some schools it is "cool" or "absolutely not cool" to be in the school band.

Then if it is, then, a priviledge to be in a creative class, by grades or
admittance, who can say how it would go for the student amid a school of
other kids?

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