TN Musician Vol. 71 No. 4

classes to get a head start for college. While
this level of expectation has some merits, it
also begs the question as to whether or not
the increase in academic rigor is healthy
for students. The educational-industrial
complex, with its special interest lobbyists,
have for years championed an increase in
higher and higher academic standards
for students and what they should know
upon graduation. Yet it seems unclear as
to whether or not any determination for
the developmental, social, and emotional
maturity and growth of students was ever
factored. Just because the standards have
changed to include skills once reserved for
high school or middle school students to
be taught to elementary school students
doesn’t mean they are ready for it.
This is where the importance of being
a music educator is ever so critical, today
more than ever. Our classes and those in
the other arts disciplines give students
a much-needed respite. Moreover, our
classes give students the tools to express
themselves in an appropriate matter
and to deal with adversity through
perseverance. It would be hard to imagine
if our profession was caught-up in
the current trends of education. If the
emphasis in K-12 music education was
simply all about the end product, perhaps
the landscape would be drastically
different. To think that middle school
students who are just being introduced
to performance ensemble classes would
be expected to master musical skills once
reserved for high school students would
have dire consequences. There would
only be a select few who could achieve
those skills, and the rest would fall by
the wayside.
As music educators, we seem to be
lucky in that we are masters of our own
fate. We have been fortunate that despite
all of the changes to our curriculum and
standards for music education, that our
standards are still grade-level appropriate
for students. Even with all of the changes
in technology and even the constant
evolution of arts education standards for
music, we have always managed to take
into consideration appropriate standards
for music education based on the grade and
developmental levels of the students.
There was once a time when students
learned more than just about the subject
matter that was being presented to them.
Schools were still charged with making
sure that students also had an education
in character, conduct, and civility. While
teachers of today are certainly as skilled,
and in some ways perhaps more prepared
to take on the task of education, than those
of their predecessors, they just are not
afforded the opportunities to instill the
fundamental values as they once could
because so much of the instructional
time has to be devoted to “the test.” For
better or for worse, that job now falls
We have always
managed to take
into consideration
appropriate
standards for music
education based
on the grade and
developmental levels
of the students.
onto the shoulders of music educators.
Our classrooms may be the last bastions
of hope for the many students that we are
privileged to work with. Today’s students
face an uncertain future in a drastically
changing and polarizing landscape.
Despite all of this, I believe that students
who participate in music classes will
ultimately have an advantage in the world,
due in no small part to some of the most
valuable skill sets that were instilled by a
music educator.
Michael Chester | Managing Editor
Tennessee Music Education Association | www.tnmea.org | 7