The State of Education

Marvin Stamm
Jazz Trumpet

Cadenzas

Fall, 1998

The State of Education

The youth of this nation are our most valuable resource, and their education is one of the most important areas upon which we should focus our attentions.

Although many people would not think that Jazz musicians are concerned about much more than fulfilling their own selfish and desultory needs, that view is entirely distorted. Most of us are concerned and involved members of our communities with children whose quality education is a primary concern. For those of us parents who are involved in music and Jazz education, this is even more true!

We all are aware of the events and individuals that whittle away at the importance of education while paying considerable lip service to it. Cuts to government funds for education, especially on the state and local level, are prime culprits. Local arts administrators can play a particularly damaging role when they view education-related programs as frivolous indulgences. Our congressmen in Washington who see no value in the promotion of arts, PBS or NPR set negative examples for the lower levels of government by undermining the value of our culture.

What these people fail to recognize is that the arts in toto are the only elements of our society that teach us about things of the heart: Beauty and feelings, pain and joy, the turmoil of human emotions, that which raises us above the animals! And, of course, our radio and television stations feed the public mostly pap, as they direct their programming to the lowest common denominator of humanity. If we weave our social fabric only of the cheapest, coarsest fibers, then we give the members of our society no higher levels to attain.

But what about our own involvement and culpability in all of this? Does the blame rest only on the shoulders of those outside the field? No, I think not! We need only to look at the music students who graduate every year and then give up instrumental performance, stating, "I don't need to practice any more because I'm going to be a band director!" Or students who graduate without having mastered even their major scales, much less having delved into more complex areas of music. If they are finished with learning now, what kind of growth can we expect of this kind of music educator in the future? What kind of imaginations will they help develop? How can they be inspirations to the young people in their classes?

In my travels, I work with many young people and experience the leadership at a number of schools, and I see that this is not uncommon. Often, one finds music directors who have had little performance experience themselves, who plan to study no further, who just want to do the minimum of what is expected and no more. Many teach because they don't know what else to do, and teaching is not a hard profession to enter. And if one achieves tenure, not a difficult step at most schools, one is fairly assured of a full, cozy career, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Should not a profession as important as teaching be regulated stringently, since teachers are such a great force behind the development of the youth of our communities? Who is responsible for the lack of regulation of the certification of such teachers? The blame lies with many, including (1) university and college administrators who see students only as sources of tuition to support the status quo, (2) professors who are interested only in their own selfish concerns, and, certainly, (3) a system that values an advanced degree, such as a Ph.D., more than the gifts brought by an experienced teacher sans doctorate who loves to teach and inspire others. Viewpoints such as these have undermined our educational system.

Of course, there are those teachers who inspire and create an environment that makes a young person want to learn, but the number of those teachers shrinks each year, as the numbers of the opposite group grow. Our expectations, both of ourselves in our family environments and of those in the schools, are not high enough. Parents tend to pass responsibility for maintaining standards to the schools, but when the schools try to have high expectations of students, parents cry, "Foul" and "I'll sue!" Administrators do not administrate, and teachers, in turn, are prevented from having any expectations of their students or, in many cases, even from maintaining decorum in their classrooms. The inmates are running the asylum!

I'm afraid the blame really belongs to us, the parents who refuse to be involved, to take part in the PTAs or school board meetings, and who are afraid to raise their voices in protest of that which we constantly bemoan. Education and teaching is a process in which we must all participate. If we leave it to others, we have no right to complain. We must have high expectations both in our home, classrooms and schools and of our local, state and federal officials, because when our expectations are high, we give all in our communities something for which to reach! And we need to be unafraid to make our voices and our demands heard. The silent voice is NO voice!

Last, teaching is not a profession, it is a calling! We need to honor those teachers who so willingly involve themselves with our young people and help them to raise themselves up, who feed their hunger for learning and inspire them to strive for more.

We need to give proper reward to those teachers who feel the same deep need for knowledge and fulfillment that comes with the difficult work they must do to achieve their own dreams and goals.