Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don’t criticize what you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.
– Bob Dylan (“The Times They Are A-Changin‘”)
The Glee Club
When I was in primary school I decided to join the Glee Club, which was an extra curricular activity for students interested in singing. I hadn’t ever sang before and had no idea whether I could or not; I didn’t even know if I’d like it. I just had an interest in trying out the experience and thought it would be fun.
Unfortunately the instructor ruined the experience. She was strict, highly authoritarian and in the end sucked all the enjoyment out of something that is meant to be inherently filled with passion, joy and emotion. The objectives became paramount, and the means through which the objectives were achieved, clearly dictated by the instructor. It became clear that the “club” was her instrument to be played; we were not individuals with interests or hopes in our own right. We were students to be kept in line.
Once, when we were performing for an assembly she grew upset about something we were doing – I can’t remember what – and stopped right in the middle of a song, as if to make an example of us and make it clear who was in charge. It was a truly mortifying and embarassing experience.
So I quit. Worse still, I came out of the experience hating music, and thinking I had no musical abilities; and this notion stuck with me for nearly 15 years.
Rediscovering Music
Then in my early 20s I found myself watching a documentary on the 1960s and was blown away by the energy and passion in the music and community idealism of the era. In particular I was drawn to Bob Dylan and the acoustic guitar. The fact his singing style was unconventional and not as honed as others I’d heard was inspiring to me. I realised that, if he could do it, so could I. Despite my experiences in primary school I decided to give it a try.
I had no overarching objectives in mind; no learning outcomes, no curriculum; no expertise, no existing knowledge; no network of any kind – just a desire to learn and to experience playing for the sake of doing so.
For quite some time it was a slow and exruciatingly unproductive experience. I didn’t read music and didn’t understand tablature; when playing, my fingers would ache; I couldn’t hear music of any kind in what I was doing, and would end each session feeling like I’d accomplished nothing – but I had a vested interest and sense of ownership in continuing to try and was thoroughly enjoying the journey. Where I ended up wasn’t a concern.
Eventually I realised I could actually hear a coherent song emerging from what my fingers were doing. More significantly I could even recognise patterns developing. I realised many songs used the same chords, and eventually saw and heard destinct recurring structures in music. This lead to connections with concepts and ideas that in turn lead to others.
The personal ownership I had in the learning experience led me through the difficult beginnings until I gained an appreciation – or cognition – of how seemingly disparate musical concepts tied together, and importantly began to see progress and improvement in my abilities. Thus began an entirely different chapter – I started exploring areas where I’d not been interested before – and in particular musical theory. There was no agenda in doing this, it was just an interest that I explored; once again without any specific outcomes in mind. But what it did was enhance contribute to my overall understanding of what I was doing.
Outcomes
Today I have one of the best musical ears and musical memory of anyone I know and can figure out how to play entire songs without being told the key – just by ear. I still can’t read music though; and still doubt my abilities.
Whereas my experiences with the glee club – and especially the instructor who lead it – was one of the more scarring experiences of my youth, the self-led exploration of music that began in my 20s has been – and continues to be – one of the most fufilling and personal experiences thus far. The realisation that I could direct my own learning and follow whatever path I chose was instrumental in empowering my exploration of the musical landscape.
And yet I still can’t help but wonder where I would be today if the instructor had taken a different tact with the students – encouraged empowered exploration rather than self-doubt; fostered a culture of passion, enthusiasm and encouragement rather than one of passive obedience; and above all treated students as unique individuals rather than subjects to be ruled over.
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much not only for the post, but for the video. You sound great.
I had an art teacher in high school who told me girls can’t do art. He drew a picture of a brain, then a picture of a small girl brain to explain why. I did his assignments, was absolutely miserable, and never did art again after that. He not only prevented me from learning, he showed me that there are some situations where no matter what you do, the person in charge will make sure it doesn’t work.
Unlike you, I do not have any innate talent in art, though I did finally find an artistic outlet as a theatrical lighting designer. But even to this day, I cringe at putting pencil to paper to draw anything.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Mike.
Every educator– prospective educator should know this story!
I think it’s absolutely critical that educators realise how much of an influence they carry over students – particularly younger ones – and that what you don’t say is as critical as what you do say – not to mention the way you say it.
If we want students to take responsibility for their own learning journeys later in life they must be allowed the time to explore their ideas during their formative years and realise what learning means to them. Free thinking learners can’t grow effectively in an authoritarian environment.
@Lisa – To me educators have a duty of care to protect the self-images and self-esteem of their students and create the most nurturing environment possible. In my opinion that instructor has no business teaching.
I’m absolutely shocking at art. I can doodle and draw stick figures, but not much more than that. Even with music I don’t feel particularly creative; more that I’m building on the work of others than coming up with something original.
Then again, I’ve also realised that you don’t need to be good at something to have fun doing it
@Lani – I think educators really do hold a lot of sway in how students perceive themselves and their abilities. I think it’s critical that the notion of the educator being one who imparts knowledge unto a receiver be abandoned and the larger picture seen.
People are complex creatures with unique circumstances that warrant far more consideration than that – e.g. intellectual, physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional elements all make up the whole person (and many other factors) – students are no exception. Treating learning as though it’s just about the transmission and retention of knowledge is just insufficient.
Thanks for the post and the song to listen to while we read it – I remember my brother singing it when I was a child.
I was struck by what you said here “It became clear that the “club” was her instrument to be played; we were not individuals with interests or hopes in our own right.”
Having been a student and a teacher in secondary, tertiary and higher education, it has always struck me that the ‘one to many’ situation of teachers in classrooms does leave the risk that the teacher’s ego can drift into centre stage. Kindness and openness are an antidote to education becoming more about the teacher’s self-fulfilment than the students’ self-development.
I almost the same experience as you. I started saxophone in the 4th grade. I was pretty good, and as in a previous post, I was a girl in the 60′s playing sax and being told girls didn’t do that. My band instructor was an alcoholic and was ruining everyone’s experience in band and music theory. I still thing about getting another sax and just playing it for me, now almost 40 years later. It was a big part of my life growing up, and should still be a big part of my life.
Almost everyone I know has a similar experience in their past (mine was sport!!). However I wonder whether they are as instructive for educators as we believe.
What you have described is extreme, is highly dysfunctional. It often comes from a generation who was brought up to believe in a certain power dynamic in student-teacher relationships. These days, were a teacher to behave in this manner, they would probably know that they were doing something wrong. Or find that the people around them wouldn’t tolerate it. They would find it reasonably obvious.
What is more difficult for educators is the grey areas in the middle. Where you have a reasonable learning plan and an obligation to your school/university/organisation to get through a particular curriculum. Yet also an obligation to students to allow them to find their own rich learning no matter what it is. How much power do you exercise to keep things on track? How much do you encourage people to take their own paths? How much power do you as an educator really have in the face of your obligations to a school/university/organisation/society?
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