My personal letter to the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board
From: rydot
Date: March 2, 2010
To: SMMUSD Board
Subject: Preserving the elementary school music program
Members of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education:
I write to express my deepest concerns regarding the board's proposal to discontinue the entire elementary school music program as part of your attempts to bridge the current budget gap. As a former student who got his musical start on trumpet at Franklin Elementary school, and went on to first-chair positions at Lincoln Middle School and Santa Monica High School, I feel I am in a position to object to this strategy from an informed position.
Pride in the accomplishments of the Santa Monica-Malibu music program runs deep in the community. While most public schools strive for recognition in regional or statewide circles, Santa Monica's bands and orchestras break the "public school" mold as they continue to grace the world's stages. During my senior year at Santa Monica High School, I was privileged enough to perform in Valencia, Spain during the Symphony Orchestra's participation in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras. We were the ONLY non-conservatory "high school" in attendance; that we were from an American "public school" was even more extraordinary! While such an achievement could, in one's wildest dreams, be considered as a one-time talent "blip" for most school districts, a simple glance over the district's own press clippings reveals the 100-year history of excellence that is the Santa Monica music program.
Such talent does not simply manifest itself at the high school level. If there is any "magic" involved, it is that Santa Monica has maintained a robust and functioning music education program at the elementary school level. When I discussed this notion with my coworkers, I recoiled at their horror stories of spending "alternate thursdays" blowing desperately on recorders or learning scales from "the lady who played the autoharp" after lunch. We were so lucky at Franklin to have the opportunity to explore the classical instruments and to learn how to play them-- and, more importantly (although, at times, perhaps begrudgingly), how to practice!
I have a strong belief, however, that it isn't merely luck that enables music to flourish in the primary schools. It comes from the understanding that, by injecting newly-minted 6th graders with two years of trumpet or violin (or remarkably enough for my class, oboe!) into the middle school band and orchestra programs, musical AND academic potential rises with the level of talent. The newer players benefit from the experienced ones, and the whole program benefits from below.
The choice of the people of Santa Monica, made again and again by their elected representatives on the school board through all manner of budgetary crises, has been to continue the existence of this all-too essential first step toward a lifetime of positive achievement through music. To cut the roots off the tree that gives this gift would be devastating to future students and to the community.
rydot
Sound Engineer, at the place where I work
Santa Monica High School Class of 1995
Read also: Take action to save the SMMUSD Elementary Music Program!
Date: March 2, 2010
To: SMMUSD Board
Subject: Preserving the elementary school music program
Members of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education:
I write to express my deepest concerns regarding the board's proposal to discontinue the entire elementary school music program as part of your attempts to bridge the current budget gap. As a former student who got his musical start on trumpet at Franklin Elementary school, and went on to first-chair positions at Lincoln Middle School and Santa Monica High School, I feel I am in a position to object to this strategy from an informed position.
Pride in the accomplishments of the Santa Monica-Malibu music program runs deep in the community. While most public schools strive for recognition in regional or statewide circles, Santa Monica's bands and orchestras break the "public school" mold as they continue to grace the world's stages. During my senior year at Santa Monica High School, I was privileged enough to perform in Valencia, Spain during the Symphony Orchestra's participation in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras. We were the ONLY non-conservatory "high school" in attendance; that we were from an American "public school" was even more extraordinary! While such an achievement could, in one's wildest dreams, be considered as a one-time talent "blip" for most school districts, a simple glance over the district's own press clippings reveals the 100-year history of excellence that is the Santa Monica music program.
Such talent does not simply manifest itself at the high school level. If there is any "magic" involved, it is that Santa Monica has maintained a robust and functioning music education program at the elementary school level. When I discussed this notion with my coworkers, I recoiled at their horror stories of spending "alternate thursdays" blowing desperately on recorders or learning scales from "the lady who played the autoharp" after lunch. We were so lucky at Franklin to have the opportunity to explore the classical instruments and to learn how to play them-- and, more importantly (although, at times, perhaps begrudgingly), how to practice!
I have a strong belief, however, that it isn't merely luck that enables music to flourish in the primary schools. It comes from the understanding that, by injecting newly-minted 6th graders with two years of trumpet or violin (or remarkably enough for my class, oboe!) into the middle school band and orchestra programs, musical AND academic potential rises with the level of talent. The newer players benefit from the experienced ones, and the whole program benefits from below.
The choice of the people of Santa Monica, made again and again by their elected representatives on the school board through all manner of budgetary crises, has been to continue the existence of this all-too essential first step toward a lifetime of positive achievement through music. To cut the roots off the tree that gives this gift would be devastating to future students and to the community.
rydot
Sound Engineer, at the place where I work
Santa Monica High School Class of 1995
Read also: Take action to save the SMMUSD Elementary Music Program!