Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: question from a non-tubist


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on August 11, 2001 at 08:41:08:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: question from a non-tubist posted by jayson on August 10, 2001 at 14:09:28:

I know I'm about to make an unpopular statement so please, all those who are angered by what I'm about to say, remember that this is only my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

Jayson, I have followed the thread you started and watched the responses to the questions you posed. A couple of other posters have alluded to what I'm going to suggest but I'm going to state it a different way. Something you posted hit a nerve with me and I thought I should respond to it with a different perspective:

"I will take the material given here into consideration and try to come up with a solution that best serves both the student and my ensemble."

I would encourage you to consider precisely what business you are in. What is your top priority when it comes to your job? As an educator myself, I would suggest that the answer is that your top priority should be the education of your students. The fact that you even brought your question to this forum shows me that you are concerned about this issue and are willing to consider alternatives to the standard options. I applaud you for that! I would encourage you to take it one step further and realize that what is best for the ensemble should never outweigh what is best for the student. I have seen too many band directors who were so wrapped up in how good they could make their concert and marching bands that they completely ignored what was best for their exceptional students. An example:

Here in South Florida, there are three main counties: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. The school systems here are divided up by county so each county has it's own set of priorities, structure, etc. Each county has, at some point, decided to establish what we call here a Magnet School structure. These are schools that are geared toward teaching the exceptional students a specific discipline. Each county has its own arts magnet school. I teach at the one in Miami-Dade and I have taught at the one in Broward. I say this because I want you to know that I have firsthand experience with this situation. You would think that with counties of this size, such magnet schools would be really great places for exceptional students to go. Typically, these schools are staffed with the best band director, excellent private lesson instructors (that's where I'm involved), and a cirriculum that stresses the same kinds of things as a typical college music school (music history, music theory, sight singing, brass ensembles, etc.), as well as having some of the best academic records in the whole state. This is designed to give the exceptional student the best possible musical education at the high school level and all this is free to any student who is good enough, lives in the specific county, and decides to enroll after successfully auditioning.

With the numbers of students we have in these counties, you would think that students would be beating down the doors to get free weekly lessons with professional players and playing in the finest ensembles in the county. But reality paints a different picture. The school in Broward is all but dead because of lack of students. The school in Miami-Dade is heading that way. Why? Because area band directors will not encourage or even allow their students to transfer to the magnet school because they don't want to lose their best students to another program. Some of these directors won't even allow our band director to speak to their students. They certainly don't tell their students of the existence of an arts magnet school that they could be attending. How does this serve the education of the best music students in the area?

Again, I applaud your initiative in bringing the specific situation you mentioned to a public forum that has the possibility of giving you some solid advice in how to best serve your exceptional student. I sincerely hope that you'll continue to put the student's needs in the first priority slot and remember that the needs of the ensemble are secondary.

My opinion for what it's worth...


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