Philosophy of Forty-Nine

Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Music Education

2011-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

If I've learned anything from teaching hundreds of students each and every year for nearly thirty years, it's that no two children are alike. That sounds ridiculously obvious, but apparently it's not obvious to the lawmakers who are currently focused on education reform. Does education need reform? Yes. Absolutely. However, the focus on running schools as if they were factories to turn out consistent quality products is contrary to the direction education must go. In fact, never has it been more crucial to the future of our society that we go in a completely opposite direction.

Take music, for instance. One hundred fifty or so years ago when music was added to the curriculum in American public schools, it was done so because musicians were needed in community bands, orchestras, and in church choirs. This is how Americans listened to music, but then along came Thomas Edison with his crazy inventions and within a few years, recordings of music were within reach of most people. Music education's role shifted to include appreciation of music. In other words, we began to teach people how to listen to music as much or more than we taught how to make music.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, I think it's important. Not every musician is a performer. Some musicians are active listeners. Some others, however, are primarily composers and they have long been overlooked in music education.

Jump forward a hundred or so years and Steve Jobs comes along and changes the music industry again. Bon Jovi's pretty upset about that because the recording industry has suffered. The general public, however, has benefitted enormously. Not only is listening to music far more accessible, but creating and recording music is easy for anyone with a computer or an iPad.

How are the music teachers in your schools meeting the needs of students in this generation? Are they stuck in 1875 or are they exploring ways to use new technology to inspire and motivate the musicians of the future? How do we evaluate the arts teachers? What kind of achievement tests will lawmakers dream up to ensure that all teachers are "winning the education race" and turning out consistent quality students?

How should student achievement in the arts be measured? Can it be done by filling in bubbles on a Scantron form? I don't think so. Should all students reach the same level of achievement in the arts by the end of the year? By the end of twelve years?

Big questions.

Art, Immortality, and Leaving Something Behind

2011-03-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

I don't subscribe to a religion. I was brought up a Christian, but I quit. I'm thankful to the Christians, particularly the Catholics, who, through what seems to me to have been a concerted effort to not allow followers to think for themselves, commissioned a body of visual art and music that is life-enriching, however indoctrinating and enslaving it might be.

Art is important. Art is human. Art is an expression of the joys, the sorrows, and the mindfulness of life. Art enriches, sustains, and survives us. Art is understood not in one's consciousness but in one's heart. The tools - the skills needed to produce art can be taught, but the essence of art cannot.

The immortal: Bach, da Vinci, Beethoven, Michelangelo. They live forever because they continue to speak to us through their art. Lesser-known artists do the same, but some voices are louder than others. Which artists of today will speak to future generations?

I'm forty-nine. Compared to artists of previous generations, I've created precious little of merit to leave behind. Now I fear that being in a hurry to catch up, my work will be careless and frivolous. I write. I write and write and write. Years ago I wrote music, but I have found words as satisfying to put together as pitch and rhythm and more comfortable. What will I leave behind? Will it hold any meaning for anyone but me? What of my immortality? Is that vain? Yes, I suppose it is, but leaving the world a better place, I think, means leaving art behind that somehow enlightens another life. I don't think that's vanity.

Perhaps Beethoven and da Vinci can rest. In one lifetime they created art so profound they need not come back to improve on their work. I believe I have many lifetimes ahead of me. Time is running short and the business of raising a family (or two) and making a living are distractions.

Philosophy of Forty-nine. Opus One.

2011-03-13T17:03:00.001-07:00

It's not like I woke up one day and realized that my attitude had shifted. It was a gradual process. Over time, the little things that once pissed me off became insignificant because I now save my loss of patience for bigger things - like stupidity. I had a long list of things that now piss me off, but really most fall under the category of stupidity:

1) Administrators and managers who spend countless hours dreaming up pointless directives to impose upon the people who do the actual work. Stupid.
2) Politicians who worry about their careers more than they worry about the people who elected them to office. Stupid.
3) People who make judgments about people without knowing much of anything about the person they condemn. Stupid.
4) People (particularly women) who marry thinking they will find self-fulfillment in another person. Stupid.
5) Journalists who report opinions as facts in order to please their advertisers. Stupid.
6) Shortsighted individuals who fail to see that the global community is interconnected and interdependent. Stupid.
7) Drivers who think it's important to get to their destination 30 seconds faster by passing other cars at dangerous and reckless speeds. Stupid.
8) Addendum to #7: ANYONE who thinks their time is more valuable than mine. A caveat - I can think of a few people whose time I think might be more valuable than mine but few of them are still living. My time is pretty damn valuable. So is yours.

I could go on and on, but as you see - it all boils down to stupidity. Later this year I'll be 50 years old. When you approach this milestone, it seems prudent to spend some serious time prioritizing what you consider to be important and worthwhile in your life. I have begun to challenge my own ideas of what is sacred, moral, and true. Maybe stupid people don't give serious thought to these things. If you're stupid, however, you haven't read this far, so I'm going to assume that you, my dear reader, are not stupid.

Because I have a strong sense that I am not alone in my forty-nineness, I have decided to blog about these things that I ponder, in hopes of finding a kindred spirit or two who are also spending time on thoughts such as these. Leave me your thoughts if they are kind-hearted and come back often.