ADDING VALUE TO MUSIC EDUCATION: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING STUDENT POTENTIAL AND ENABLING FUTURE SUCCESS

BY HELEN ADAMS

Every band director wants a great band, but what does this really mean? Is it an accomplished ensemble? Is it recognition for your program amongst your peers? Is it musical accolades for individual students in your program? What if directors could encompass an even broader scope of defining a great band as a place where every student maximizes his/her potential for future success. If we turn out great individual performers and award-winning bands, yet our students cannot follow through on future career success, then what have we ultimately accomplished? We should bring an even higher level of value to what we do as band directors by focusing beyond the next concert or the next performance evaluation. My goal in this article is to share strategies I have come to understand during my 30+ years of teaching that can directly impact the future success of band students and ultimately the future success of band programs.

Can music or band really influence a student’s potential? Finding research that shows a strong correlation between music education and academic success is easy, but how does music education correlate to success in a larger societal context?

Let’s look at it from an employer’s perspective. What do employers look for when hiring? Daniel Goleman in his book “Working With Emotional Intelligence” offers the following list of desirable personal traits:

• Listening and speaking skills

• Adaptability and creative responses to setbacks and obstacles

• Personal management, confidence, motivation to work toward a goal, pride in accomplishments

• Cooperativeness and teamwork, skills at negotiating disagreements

• A desire to make a contribution, and individual leadership potential

Employers say that these traits are becoming harder to find in potential employees. Goleman attributes this deficit to the fact that in education we are often so worried about improving a child’s intellect that we overlook developing characteristics that fall in the “emotional intelligence” area such as initiative, empathy, adaptability, and persuasiveness. As children develop higher IQ’s, their emotional intelligence is on the decline. Goleman’s research shows that “On average, children are growing

Perspective

Adding Value to Music Education ..., Helen Adams, cont.

more lonely and depressed, more angry and unruly, more nervous and prone to worry, more impulsive and aggressive.”

Goleman’s employers that were polled also stated that:

• Half the people who work for them lack the motivation to continue learning and improving on the job

• Four in ten are not able to work cooperatively with fellow employees

• Many young people lack the ability to take constructive criticism which is designed to improve their job performance

• Only 19% of those applying for entry-level jobs have strong selfdiscipline in their work habits

The skills that employers are seeking directly relate to the skills that directors help band students develop. For example:

• Self-motivation to continually strengthen technique is expected

• Playing in a large ensemble enables and strengthens cooperative skills

• Directors use constructive criticism daily that students must absorb for selfimprovement

• The self-discipline of practice is a core component of band However, participation in band can help develop even greater life skills that will influence a student’s potential for future success. Directors can bring a higher level of value or merit to band directing by focusing on these broader skills.

As we begin to consider these additional skills, I would like to propose that the key is not necessarily in the word “success,” but in the word “potential.” The dictionary defines it as having power/existing in the possibility/capable of developing. Let us look at several ways we can be a daily influence on students’ potential success beyond music using the word “potential” as a guide.

TO BEGIN WITH, THE LETTER “P” REMINDS US OF PEOPLE.

Directors who treat everyone with respect carry a great deal of influence. How one treats others often impacts how one is treated (the golden rule). Learning to get along and establishing positive habits is an important goal for band students. There are a variety of personalities within each band class. Helping students learn that they do not have to like everyone they interact with, but that they should be kind to everyone is important. Encouraging and prodding one another to reach a personal best is key to a groups’ success. The business world speaks in terms of commodities; people are the key commodity to most successes. By helping your students build strong “people” skills you are adding to their potential success as well as strengthening your overall program through each persons’ individual growth.

THE LETTER “O” REMINDS US TO REMEMBER ONESELF.

The potential of student success requires a significant personal investment on a director’s part, and a level of acceptance from students. The great motivational speaker Les Brown would tell you that even when you open your mouth to speak, you are making an impact. Our choice of words and how we share them can be encouraging or discouraging. For example, I will always remember the student teacher who had been working with our program for several weeks. He sincerely asked, “when do you yell at the students.” We explained there is never a reason to raise your voice to students. Directors’ influential nature can help students develop their own self-awareness which can be accomplished without raising one’s voice. Providing a program where students can learn who they are, what they can do, and what they can share with others should be every director’s goal.

THE LETTER “T” POINTS TO TODAY.

What we do today changes tomorrow. It is easy to procrastinate, but learning self-motivation is one way to battle against procrastination. What is self-motivation? It is looking at something that is hard to do or accomplish and taking the small steady steps required to get there without giving up. For example, consider a new piece of music. We have our students sightread and struggle to play through the selection, but after disciplined study and practice we can enjoy a successful performance. Another famous saying of Les Brown’s sums it up nicely. “If you do what is easy today, your life will be hard. If you have the selfmotivation to do what is hard today, your life will be easier in the future.” Practicing and preparing music to have a wonderful performance in band is a great rehearsal for what one will do to be successful in life. Reminding students that today is the best time to start preparations for any goal they wish to achieve should be a daily routine. Future potential starts today.

THE LETTER “E” STANDS FOR ENCOURAGEMENT.

Directors should strive to establish a climate within their programs that cheers the success of others. Helping others meet their goals can bring satisfaction, but celebrating these accomplishments together builds team spirit. I am not saying that one should diminish their own individual success so others can feel a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, our country (and especially the educational community) seems to be overly concerned about the gap that is opening between high achievers and average students. What I am saying is that one should work hard to reach the highest goal possible but try to bring others along with you by offering assistance and encouragement. There is nothing wrong with being willing to do the things today that others will not do so that tomorrow you will have the things that others will not have. Working toward a goal often goes at different paces for different people, but band can encourage students to apply themselves wholeheartedly at their own pace, assisting, and encouraging others so they can enjoy the successes as an individual first and within a team second.

“N” NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR POTENTIAL OR THE POTENTIAL OF OTHERS.

Band can help students learn how to strive for success even if under constant challenge. A few summers ago, I met a member of The Cadets drum and bugle corps who, even though he had macular degeneration which creates extreme tunnel vision, was able to march tenors with the corps. He could not see to read the small print of the music, so he had to memorize his music by ear very quickly and he depended on the repetitions of marching rehearsals to learn the drill. Imagine looking through small fuzzy pinholes and having to go out on a strange practice field every day and perform in a different stadium every night. What a great example for others on how to meet life’s challenges! Enduring stressful situations and going beyond one’s comfort zone can strengthen one’s resolve to push through hard tasks. What if the corps directors had overlooked this person’s potential and focused on his limitations instead? The group would have missed out on the strong work ethic and drive for success that this person was able to contribute to the group. By helping students see available possibilities and creating safe opportunities for them to practice reaching those possibilities, directors can help develop strong individuals and stronger band programs.

“T” TURN A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE.

There are many things that impact one’s life and how one acts and reacts determines the potential for a positive or negative outcome. A person’s attitude is often the first defense against the unexpected. Directors often deal with an unexpected turn of events caused by such things as weather, broken equipment, sick performers, or missing music. How they react when the unexpected happens can make a big difference for the band. Directors should brainstorm ways to replace, repair, and substitute for a more positive solution. Most directors try to keep a well-stocked repair kit to help the band avoid performance mishaps; however, directors should strive to stockpile a variety of tools to help turn negative situations into positive experiences. Often the tools needed are not a physical tool, but a relationship tool. The solution to your negative situation may lie with any of the following people: a school bookkeeper/secretary, a local business owner, a parent, a colleague, a student, a retired teacher, a bus driver, or a county shop employee. The key is to take time to build relationships. Having working relationships with a variety of people expands the toolbox. Helping students learn that the unexpected negative turn of events can often be put right with a positive approach and problem-solving skills is another way to impact their potential for future success. Be an example for students when it comes to turning negatives into positives.

“I” PURSUE INTEGRITY AND INNER STRENGTH.

What is integrity? Why is it valued? Why is it needed? Without sounding too simplistic, I will try to answer these questions using author Daniel Goleman’s approach. Integrity is having people believe you are trustworthy. Integrity is having a real openness to others about one’s feelings, beliefs, and actions. Integrity also means that one tries to live up to one’s own values. At a very basic level, integrity hinges on impulse control that keeps us from acting in ways that we might regret later. Impulsive actions can be kept in check through self-control. The self-control to be genuine with others is another way to demonstrate one’s integrity. Most directors teach self-control every day in band class. If you don’t believe me, try giving instruments to fifty beginners and then tell them they cannot make a sound until the class rehearses together. Having students with self-control is a necessity for a strong band. Ultimately, having integrity means having the selfcontrol to do the right thing. If band programs produce great individual performers and award-winning ensembles but students cannot demonstrate integrity to do the right thing, then directors are not focused on the broader skill set. Building the inner strength to live one’s life with integrity can be a continuous challenge. Directors can help students develop their inner strength to meet this challenge which will carry over to meeting challenges in life.

“A” IS ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE.

Whether we understand all the complexities of human interaction or not, one thing is true: people in groups inevitably catch feelings from one another. This viewpoint is discussed in the book Primal Leadership: learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence. The authors, Daniel Goleman; Richard Boyatzis; and Annie McKee, state that researchers have seen again and again how emotions spread between people. What does this mean to the individual? It means they must choose each day whether their attitude will be contagious with antagonism and hostility or with optimism and inspiration. At the end of each day, maybe it would be helpful to reflect on the words of that ancient knight charged with protecting the Holy Grail in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Which statement would you prefer the knight make about your daily attitude – the infamous “He chose poorly” or the words the knight uttered to Harrison Ford --“You chose wisely”? Your attitude belongs completely and solely to you and luckily the choice of personal attitude is not a permanent choice. It is a choice one gets to make and remake every minute of every day. Directors should choose their attitude wisely and help band students learn to do the same.

THE LAST LETTER “L” REMINDS US OF LEADERSHIP.

Good leaders listen and learn and are not afraid to love themselves and others. In Goleman’s research on leadership styles, he found that “nice guys do finish first.” In studies of US Navy squadron leaders and their emotional tone, it was found that superior leaders knew how to blend a take charge, purposeful, assertive, rigid style with a warmer, friendlier, more cooperative, gentler people-oriented style. Contrastingly, the average squadron leaders tended to be more authoritarian and controlling, more domineering and tough minded, more aloof, and selfcentered, and needed to show they were right more often. Band offers many opportunities for students to improve their leadership skills, and it is an ideal place for students to see how leadership has a ripple down effect. Leaders who listen and show empathy in their personal interactions have a more positive affect than those who are harsher, more disapproving, distant, irritable, legalistic, and unbending. Ultimately, anyone who is sincere and not self-serving in their actions has the potential to be a successful leader. As a director, one should constantly self-reflect on personal leadership style and strive to build the best leadership qualities in students.

To summarize, we each have the potential to make a difference. Let the word “potential” be an acronym for the broader skills directors should focus on to make a difference in the lives of their students that ultimately help strengthen band programs. Remember that band is more than the sum of its parts. The synergy of band creates a wonderful vehicle that can allow directors to influence a student’s potential for success that continues long after their years in the band room. Serving as a band director provides the means to enhance students’ lives with more than music performance skills. With the right focus, directors have the means to impact students’ future success in life.

Simple but powerful lessons drawn from “potential”:

P How we treat people often impacts how we are treated

O Oneself - who you are, what you do, and how you share with others is important

T What we do today changes tomorrow

E Encourage one another

N Never give up on your potential or the potential of others

T Turn a negative into a positive

I Integrity and inner strength are positive traits

A Choose to have a positive attitude

L Good leaders listen and learn