Persistent Teaching
As you may know, I teach full-time as a band director at Shortridge IB High School just north of Downtown Indianapolis. This legendary school is the state's oldest free public high school, opening its doors in 1864. It was one of the first schools to integrate its faculty and staff, with its Black student, Mary Alice Rann, graduating in 1876. It was home to several alums like Kurt Vonnegut Sr. and Jr and Madelyn Pugh, and it operates as the fine arts magnet for the Indianapolis Public School (IPS). We serve a student body of around 1100 students, and the student population is predominantly minority, with Black and LatinX being the favored ethnical groups. Over the decades, and really over the past century, the school endured many transitions, changes, closings, etc., as the needs of the student body, district, and surrounding community have shifted.
Our band program at Shortridge is unique because we begin band students as freshmen (unless they come to us with prior experience elsewhere). If you have ever taught beginning band (or starting...well...anything), you already know the level of persistence and patience you NEED in order to get the job done the right way. Consistent reminders of fingerings, technique, breathing, posture, note names, key signatures, time signatures, rhythms, dynamics, telling the 2nd trumpets that their part is not always the same as the 1st, using more than an inch or so on the bow when you play... you get the point. If you teach in any urban or rural setting, the added element of at-home situations provides a unique challenge before introducing musical content.
I say all of this to say that our students and our ensembles, regardless of their age and experience, deserve our persistence and patience whenever we have the opportunity to get together and make music. I write this as a reminder for myself. Persistence, perseverance, patience, and passion are critical to providing those life-changing moments through music. We have those days/weeks where all those buzzwords help us get to the weekend (or school break).
Love your students.
Love your ensembles.
Love the music making process, no matter the speed.
Love yourself...because you deserve it.
