If graduate school has taught me anything, it is that people can go a long way with a little bit of knowledge.
Robert A. Duke, Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor and Director of the Center for Music Learning, or "Bob" as he is 'affectionately' known, teaches the same class, writes the same essay, gives the same workshops, presents the same conference lectures, and uses the same aphorisms in every aspect of his being. Being such, Suzuki teachers, advocates of a method that seriously considers 10,000 repetitions, love him. This is even evident in a group class workshop with esteemed and extremely loquacious, Ed Sprunger, who could not resist quoting Bob 2 or 3 times.
"Tests Teach"
"Learners construct knowledge"
Even though I have lost one set of notes by computer theft (yes, Bob from 108 Place, we think it's sketchy that my laptop went missing when you were 'servicing my apartment' in 2008), lost one in a hard drive crash, and will probably lose all of the rest of my notes in a forest fire, I cannot burn out of my brain those two sentences. Having heard the same lecture at no less than four conferences and in three semesters of classes with him with the same powerpoint that presented those two phrases and taking courses with teachers who tried to emulate the same ideas with limited success like the twin sibling prophets in Minority Report. This is the blog that came to mind tonight.
U.I.L., the end.
Why does my life become reduced to something as banal and ridiculous as UIL Concert and Sightreading competition? I apologize to all of my TEKS colleagues who have to teach entire curricula based on ridiculous tests. Everyone has their strategy to beat the system. Everyone has a theory on how to seat and reseat their groups, select repertoire, omit people from specific passages, and how to use the sightreading prep time. It reminded me of how my mom tries to beat the slot machines by timing it 'just right.'
Let me just get this off my chest.
Who the _ _ _ _ cares?!
(I did discuss censorship with my students, see kids, this is an example.)
This week has been one of the most frustrating weeks for me thus far. I don't know why. Perhaps it was the contrast of floating on a Suzuki cloud where dice rolling was evil and teachers were shocked and upset to the point of tears when discussing preschool-aged children having meltdowns. I guess I am an evil teacher who cannot get kids to learn anything in a world where everyone is playing the game and getting ahead.
If my students don't know anything, how is this going to help them at this point? How can I construct knowledge onto nothing, especially when sometimes it is not nothing, but rather it is something that continues to let them be knowledge-less?
Why is 'sight-reading' (also known as faking) in a vacuum considered a relevant activity to the field of music? Sure it may be an easy way for some judges to get over their Napoleon complexes and dish out some 4's, but honestly, where is the music in this? To whom are we sacrificing our souls, so I know where to use my future retirement money to buy mine back?
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