Thread by @GregClarkMusic, "So as a band teacher, what action can I take to give [...]

"So as a band teacher, what action can I take to give equity to my PoC population?"

I've got one. I've thought about it a lot. I've actually got a few, but this is the one that's most fleshed-out.

My working title is "second chance" band but really it deserves better

Background on me: grew up in rural areas, now teaching 4th-5th band in a medium-large suburban district.

I've taught in rural, urban, and suburban schools (in that order). Children are incredible. Poverty is pervasive and puts up a lot of walls.

So in my program, we start beginners in 4th grade. If you want to begin an instrument in 5th grade, we try to catch you up, but like every public school, we just don't have the resources to have beginners programs at every level. If you don't start by 5th grade, oh well

Our beginners get a small group lesson once every 6 school days, so about 25 (half hour) lessons in a year. It's not that much. It puts the onus on the student to practice at home and grow week to week, then check in at school.

You know... the 9-year-old who is brand new

Predictably, a decent number of beginners from 4th grade have left the program by say, 7th grade.

Also predictably, a large number of those who drop are students of color.

91% of our students are white to begin with.

Sidebar: NY State Ed department publishes racial makeup statistics. I thought we were more diverse than we are. Huh.

From a PURELY teaching-pedagogy-related perspective, one reason for the disconnect might be that traditional band instruction doesn't hit home.

There has been lots of literature on this... others may be more qualified to discuss it, but it's real. The tradition is white.

From a more practical perspective, money's tight. Our district provides some instruments, but only the particularly pricey ones, and those are generational purchases. Most families have to come up with their own instruments, and cheap ISO's become frustration and giving up

More practical- as I said before, the onus is on the student to practice. We don't see them enough in school to make real progress in short, crowded lessons.

I've been home with my two kids (3&1) since quarantine started. Work. Is. Impossible.

If you've got little ones at home, you know. There is NO WAY you're practicing clarinet at home if you've got a 2-bedroom apartment, maybe 1 parent, and a few younger siblings. It isn't happening. There is no peace and quiet during the few hours you're home and awake.

That last one is the biggest problem for me... our program relies on kids practicing at home. Getting to school early to let kids in to practice doesn't work for me, since our poorest schools are not in walking distance to the neighborhoods they serve, so kids need a bus.

Sidenote: the union side of me tries really hard to get my work done within work hours. I would like to believe it's fair to ask the same of students.

"Put in extra work hours for free" does not resonate well with the teacher or the artist side of me.

And another thing: my PoC and/or impoverished students are behind ALL the time. Many are weak readers, need physical therapy or occupational therapy... the gap is already there by age 9 for sure.

My program expects a lot of kids and families who are fighting uphill battles

What we need is a culturally responsive, student-centered, SCHOOL-BASED pathway to playing an instrument.

Start it in 7th/8th/9th grade. Class every day or every other day. For kids who somehow didn't have a way to participate when they were younger.

Whatever reason they dropped before has been addressed
-Can't practice at home (class at school)
-Can't get instrument (we help)
-Didn't like teacher (me)
-Didn't like instrument (now they choose)
-Didn't like music/pace (older kids, more contact, go faster)

The plan would be to get these kids to play around a NYSSMA level 2 after a year. That would be about the level of most of our middle schoolers who go through the traditional program.

I think it would work. Because these kids might be:
- More motivated by coming to this and finding success as more mature beginners.
- High aptitude. Yes music aptitude is real. Yes, it can be measured. And high aptitude kids get frustrated by slow-paced 4th grade lessons ...

- Whatever has stopped them is gone. This is a liberating feeling
- They are seen. They know that they are in a special program designed for them that puts faith in them. Powerful
- Goal-setting and other intentional buy-in steps work well at this level

Ancillary program benefit:
- Fix balance concerns. Need trombones? Try to recruit second chance band students.
- Infusion of new students at times of traditional decline. Students who are already friends with band kids... how exciting for them to join up later on

What is the cost to the school?

1 period every day. 1 essential elements book per kid. Booster club. PTO.

The class works with 3 kids, probably up to 15 or 20.

Imagine your 8th grade band picks up 15 capable, dedicated kids in September, fixing balance issues. What a dream.

And back to where we started- this SERVES OUR STUDENTS.

I've been framing it at the MS level, but it could work at High School, too.

FWIW, I have tried to sell this to my school before. Like many schools, we are already spread unreasonably thin and adding program is a "no"

I haven't given up on this idea. I'll try to sell it again in the future.

If serving a larger population of our school- particularly a marginalized population- really matters, we might not be able to do it within the framework of what has worked for the majority they're not in

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