We Need Your Help to Support Your “Kids” and Make Music Education More Effective
This message was sent to the parents and partners of the nonprofit community ensemble “for instrumentalists of all ages” – The South Hills Junior Orchestra – and participants in the SHJO Online Academy (SHJOOLA), but is applicable to all music families. School music directors everywhere need your assistance!
[http://www.shjo.org/]
Another first! A special “reach-out” via Fox’s Fireside geared exclusively to music parents.
Before we start with the nitty-gritty, on behalf of music educators everywhere, let us thank you in advance for all of your commitment and collaborative efforts in support of your child’s music program!
We hope this finds “you and yours” healthy, safe, productive, and happily engaged. Since many of the schools are within a month to the end of their fall semester and second nine-week grading periods, we thought now would be a good time to step back a little and offer our assessment of how things are going.
“When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.” In spite of the limitations brought on by the pandemic, the directors are doing everything in their power to connect with, stimulate, and enlighten the players and singers. In general, we are satisfied with the musical progress of everyone – the students are showing technical growth, mastery of the music, and even more importantly, great resiliency in dealing with these challenging times. SHJOOLA and other remote teaching or alternative music learning serve only as a temporary stopgap measures until all of us can return to our the normal “live and in-person” rehearsals. However, it looks like this may not be until Spring 2021 or later.
We would like to elicit the help of our music parents to check in and observe the online activities of your son or daughter, and if necessary, intervene on behalf of them. This would help us improve the quality of the virtual music programs run smoothly. We have all found that online teaching is very hard. The limitations of this technology (latency and inability to sync the visual and audio portions of zoom meetings) will not allow the chance to hear in real-time performances of individual players or the group altogether. The most important “takeaway” from this message is the camera on your household device needs to be operative and used every time we sponsor a class. In addition, it is not satisfactory for anyone to position their device so that we cannot see them, leave the meeting early, mute or disengage from the virtual lesson discussions, or turn off their camera at any time. Video feedback is the only avenue available to “monitor and adjust” our instruction during any “synchronous sessions.” We have found that Zoom runs quite well on smartphones and tablets, and the cameras on these devices will suffice if the computer hardware is not up to the task.
So, effective immediately, if your SHJOOLA child seems to be having trouble with his camera, we will notify you.
(Please let us know if you need any technical assistance. The cost of purchasing a new “web cam,” is as low as $16 at WalMart. If we cannot help you, we’ll find someone who can!)
As the character Jean-Luc Picard says in the Star Trek Next Generation series: ENGAGE! What are the number one concerns of all educators during this disruption to education caused by COVID-19, shared even by the “Plan B” strategies for music? – Loss of individual attention, sensitivity, communications, connectivity, empathy, and self-empowerment towards the pursuit of the students’ own inspired initiatives in learning!
In other words, “distance learning should not be distant.” To be effective, it needs to promote an exchange of dialogue, responsible online citizenship, and goals to reach-out and engage within this unique “music community!” (For those of you who enjoy reading about learning theory, feel free to peruse Mr. Fox’s recent educator blogpost about social emotional learning, “teacher presence,” emotional intelligence, “character” curriculum, and habits of empathy: https://paulfox.blog/2020/11/03/embracing-the-intangibles/.)
Following the advice of several members and to keep the team more “connected,” our initial SHJOOLA Zoom meetings will open 10 minutes early to allow for a little informal chit-chat! How are you doing?
REMINDER: Whether hybrid or online, attendance is mandatory. Music directors understand that, on occasion, there will be illness, family, business, or other educational conflicts necessitating the missing of a Zoom meeting. For SHJOOLA, our attendance policy is flexible, but notification of the SHJO Managing Director in advance is mandated: mdirector@shjo.org. (Please include your name and the reason for missing the session.) Considering all of the prep time your music directors are devoting to the lessons, it would only be “common courtesy” for the absentees to keep themselves up to date on what was presented, view any available archived rehearsal videos or slides posted (for SHJOOLA posted weekly at http://www.shjo.org/online-academy), and make-up all missed work within a few days of the absence. Ensembles are teams and rely on camaraderie and responsibility: “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!”
FYI, the software embedded in our SHJOOLA MusicFirst Classroom provides access to a valuable subscription that will last through June 2021. There are a lot of great applications for members to freely explore asynchronously (on-their-own at their convenience) in order to foster self-improvements in ear training, music theory, performance assessment, sight reading, and writing/analyzing music.
In conclusion, parents, we need you to “stop on by” and observe what’s happening! For SHJOOLA, our goal is to continue offering our free professional services in making meaningful music, playing duets, performing with online soundtracks, learning new (and in greater detail) musical concepts to “grow” our musicianship and comprehension of orchestral literature, and to just have fun being successful. PKF
These things are “NOT COOL” during online music classes…
- Arriving late to scheduled meetings (“early is on-time!”)
- Missing sessions and not “catching up” on the missed work
- Failing to download and print the music in advance
- Not having instrument and music (in order) ahead of the start of the meeting
- Turning off or re-positioning your camera so we cannot see you
- Failing to respond to questions or participate in the discussions
- Texting, emailing, or using any other device that distracts your attention
- Allowing interruptions or loud noises during the class
- Eating or drinking during rehearsals
Other “Fox Firesides” are available at https://paulfox.blog/foxs-firesides/.
© 2020 Paul K. Fox
Photo credit from Pixabay.com:
“Blaze-Fireplace-Campfire-Bonfire” by Pexels
“Learn Student Laptop Internet” by geralt
No teacher will have any patience listening to your whining or remarks of “could have,” “would have,” or “should have been” excuses. What have we always wished for? “If only I had enough time to learn that new scale, étude, or song!” “With all of my other academic assignments, sports events, and extracurricular activities, how can I fit in moments for listening to bands, orchestras, or classical virtuoso artists performing on the web?” “When am I ever going to have the chance to compose…” (or “arrange” or “record” or “memorize” or “conduct” or “choreograph”) “…that piece?” “When will I get around to learn this new technique, practice sight-reading, or dive into those drills designed to improve my key literacy, rhythmic precision, tone, intonation, range, form, coordination, embouchure, stick rudiments, or bow control?
The mission of South Hills Junior Orchestra, which rehearses and performs at the Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, PA, is to support and nurture local school band and orchestra programs, to develop knowledge, understanding, performance skills, and an appreciation of music, to increase an individual member’s self-esteem and self-motivation, and to continue to advance a life-long study of music. Members of the Orchestra learn, grow, and achieve positions of leadership to serve their fellow players.
Once the COVID-19 emergency was declared and universally all schools and outside activities were cancelled (for who knows how long?), the 37th spring season of my community youth (of all ages) orchestra was also “clobbered!” Up to this time, the Western PA-based South Hills Junior Orchestra (SHJO) regularly met on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the school from where I retired: Upper St. Clair High School.
The school musical allows all of the Fine and Performing Arts the chance to collaborate, create, communicate, and “come together” in the presentation of a new transformed art form… everything from acting, dancing, choral, chamber, and solo singing, and instrumental accompaniment… to costumes, make-up, sets, props, lighting, sound, and special-effects. The music and stage crafts “make the magic” to stir your imagination for an evening or matinee of wonderful entertainment and enlightenment!
The school district at which I am proud to have served for 33 years as music teacher, 30 years as HS producer, and 7 years as Performing Arts Curriculum Leader is putting on SHREK – The Musical. Their “grand opening” for two weeks of shows is March 6, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the Upper St. Clair HS Theater, 1825 McLaughlin Run Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15241.
The famous “10,000 Hour Rule” was described in the book Outliers: The Story of Success written by Malcolm Gladwell, Based on 
The 10,000 hour rule was also cited in a book by Sean Patrick: Nikola Tesla – Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century: 
Here are the “three buckets” (principles) of Simmon’s 5-hour rule:
The other day, I watched on CBS This Morning an interview of World Series Champion Washington National’s star outfielder Gerardo Parra 
We would not consider allowing our youth to play football without a helmet, work in chemistry lab or shop class without eye protectors. Yet everyday, we allow our children to participate in school-sponsored instrumental music activities without hearing protection.
paulfox.blog 