Why is your “Why” YOUR “Why”?
Acknowledging the Status Quo in Your Band Program and How It Might Change Post-pandemic
written by Dr. John Franklin, Leadership Coach & Cultural Strategist for ||:Leaders Creating:||
The following is a general reconstruction of a recent conversation I had with some band director colleagues…
Band Director A (from New England): “It is going to take several years for band programs to recover from this year.”
Band Director B (from the Pacific Northwest): “I’m not sure we will ever go back to what it was.”
Band Director C (from the West Coast): “To be honest, I’m not sure that is a bad thing.”
Band Director A: “I think many of us have learned that we don’t have to do all the things we used to and still have a successful program as well as better work/life balance.”
Band Director C: “Yes, absolutely. We can have great programs but also better protect and promote the health and well-being of ourselves and our band members.”
Band Director D (from the Midwest): “I think many, if not all of us, are going to have to re-evaluate not just what we have normally done, but why we have done those things, and, perhaps more importantly, why and if we should continue to do those things.”
This conversation and similar sentiments have been swirling in my mind over the past few weeks as I have experienced and witnessed the effects of the pandemic shutdown on band programs across the country. I am fairly confident that many of us in the profession are thinking and feeling much the same way, based on a number of recent conversations and social media posts by others in my circle.
Much of the discourse across the “band world” leading into the 2020–2021 academic year centered on affirming and articulating our PURPOSE. These conversations provided a reminder that the band experience MATTERS for both our students, and frankly, for ourselves. It also served as a guiding principle for all of us asking ourselves, “How do we do ‘band’ in the middle of a pandemic???” For many, it was also an opportunity to either reaffirm, or perhaps even give new thought to the reasons why band programs exist and why our students participate. The rallying cry for this period has been the succinct but powerful, “REMEMBER YOUR WHY!”
The conversations during the spring and summer months of 2020 generated tremendous excitement and ingenuity within the band world in the face of great uncertainty and trepidation. Once we established our purpose, or our “WHY?”, our attention then turned to the pragmatic questions of “WHAT?” and “HOW?” (see my previous post entitled Diamonds or Dust?). In my experience, this is where band directors typically work their magic! They are the masters of grasping success out of certain defeat. Of fitting square, mostly broken pegs into round holes. Of stiffening their necks when it seems like they are alone on the top of the wall.
When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, band directors MADE. IT. WORK.
But…
We are in a new period now — one where the questions are starting to change. My usual comfort zone when writing these articles is to present a philosophical statement leading to practical application and at least one unifying “takeaway”. This article will not be so tidy. For one, these questions do not have “black and white” concrete answers. Secondly, there simply isn’t enough time or space in one article to fully contemplate such existential thoughts. My goal instead is to articulate questions that have been bantered about between my colleagues, friends, and me. I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim to even have the right ones. I also do not claim to have settled answers and therefore reserve the right to modify or even completely discard the ones I present here today. If anything, I am more certain that I am asking the right QUESTIONS than I am about having the right ANSWERS. If I am successful, then the “takeaway” for both of us will be more questions upon which you and I might ponder, and that you will join the conversation either by posting a comment on this article or sending me an email at johnf@leaderscreating.com.
These are not ALL the questions and, frankly, I am not sure they are the most important questions. But they are good questions and they are the questions that have been most recently present in my own contemplations. Perhaps, dear reader, you have more questions…or better ones…or possibly even more relevant ones as well. I would love to hear the ones that YOU are thinking about.
QUESTION 1 — Why is your “why” YOUR “why”?
My outstanding colleague Gary Rupert recently shared an article where he asks, “What is your WHY?” He discusses the three types of WHY which are our personal “WHY”, the “WHY” of our organization, and then the functional “WHY” which represents the various activities and performances we are required to do. I encourage you to read his words of wisdom if you haven’t already done so, but for now, I want to dig a little deeper regarding the personal “WHY”.
Assuming you have at least a general idea of what your WHY is, my first challenge is for you is to take some time to think about those factors that are the ingredients mixed together to become your “WHY” souffle. I mean exactly that. Take some time. This question requires deep contemplation, vulnerability, and time to really begin to understand. As we all know, our choices are influenced by many different variables — our personalities and proclivities; tradition; our mentors and heroes; social norms and expectations. All mix together to eventually become the status quo. This status quo is fantastic when it keeps us grounded and focused on what should be, especially in times of turmoil such as this pandemic. Yet, the status quo can also limit our vision of what could be. It can also make us feel too comfortable to the point that we are unable to determine whether there is something better than what we are accustomed to.
Perhaps this doesn’t matter most of the time as the status quo DOES give some purpose and provides momentum to justify the existence of whatever our current WHY might be. But, when that momentum is dramatically or suddenly interrupted, it sometimes behooves us to deeply reflect upon who we are, what we believe, and why we do the things we do. Another way to look at it is to understand that uncertainty can be the catalyst for growth and purer altruism, if we have the courage, humility, vulnerability, and honesty to allow it.
As the saying goes, in times of strife, we may not have but one choice and that is to become either bitter or better.
So how do we choose better over bitter? Or even better over familiar and comfortable? Or, my toughest battle, better over good? This is a question for the ages and contains enough pontification to fuel a thousand different articles. To be frank, I’m often overwhelmed with the enormity of this type of question. So, to help both of us, I’m going to narrow it down to just a handful of ideas for the remainder of the questions.
QUESTION 2 — What is the status quo in current band culture and practice?
I confess, dear reader, that I wrote this question a few days ago and found myself feeling so overwhelmed with trying to answer it, that I am only now attempting to do so. The turmoil I felt was two-fold: 1) “How can I really articulate a status quo that is universally applicable to every band director and program?”, and 2) “What if I’m wrong?” The short answers to both questions are 1) “I can’t”, and 2) “I might be”. I am now comfortable enough with these realities that I can finally answer the question based on one premise: these are merely observations that I have personally made and which more than a few of my band director friends and colleagues have agreed. I’m certainly not claiming any strong measures of validity or reliability, but rather just a presentation of ideas that are certainly open for deeper discussion and debate.
One of my favorite Monday morning rituals is to read a weekly article entitled Football Morning in America by sportswriter Peter King. One of the trademarks of his article is to conclude with his “10 Things I Think I Think” which I am now going to appropriate:
1. I think that the strongest influence on the WHY of many band directors and programs is tradition.
2. I think that the second strongest influence on the WHY of many band directors and programs comes from their own high school and college band experiences and mentors.
3. I think that for many band directors and students, the WHY has more to do with extra-musical purposes such as providing a sense of community, opportunities to develop character, and engaging in competition.
4. I think that these particular purposes are fantastic and noble but are not always sufficient for justifying the existence of band programs in education, particularly if there are struggles to be successful in any one of these areas and/or educational leadership determines there are more efficient (read “cheaper”) ways to achieve these outcomes
5. I think that the most influential model for the WHAT and HOW of many inexperienced band directors starts with their college band experience but soon becomes more like their high school band experience.
6. I think that the greatest influences on the WHAT and HOW of some experienced band directors are conformity and competition.
7. I think both items 5 & 6 explain why the band culture and experience in education has changed very little since it began a century ago.
8. I think that current band culture defines success much more by the product vs. the process.
9. I think this has detrimentally affected both the pedagogy of teaching band as well as the richness of the student experience.
10. I think that the events of the past year provide our profession an opportunity to reflect on what both our students and our art needs to better thrive and stay relevant and to set a new course for how we will “do band” moving forward.
QUESTION 3 — What parts of the status quo might exist because of comfort, conformity, competition, complacency, conditioning, cowardice, or cockiness?
This is the one question I am presenting without extensive discussion because the question itself is more important than any answer I might attempt to provide. In some regard, this question is the most important one of them all. How we approach it individually and collectively within the discipline of band education will have direct impact on our ability to thrive, improve, and stay relevant in the decades to come.
The best way to begin to answer this particular question is for each of us to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and courageous enough to look at it through our own personal lenses. Only then will a larger communal discussion be both possible and fruitful. I will say that upon my own self-reflection, I have found instances of all of these in my own status quo. This is the hardest question to answer of the four presented in this article.
QUESTION 4 — How might the status quo be changed due to the circumstances of the past year?
If QUESTION 3 is the hardest question to answer, then QUESTION 4 is probably the most difficult. In my most recent experiences, it is also the question that elicits the most debate and differences of opinion. Some of the most intriguing ideas I have encountered are as follows in “10 More Things I Think I Think”:
1. I think that there will be stronger commitment to making the musical experiences of band more relevant and reflective of the diversity of students in our ensembles. Much work on this was started before the cultural and viral pandemic of recent months and years, but more people are understanding the importance, and frankly, the excitement of a fresh perspective on programming and experiences. Just a few of the resources I recommend related to this include the following:
a. Composer Dr. Jodie Blackshaw’s ColourFULL Music initiative
b. University of Georgia Director of Bands Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner’s interview on the Ic2us: The Evolving Conductor podcast
d. Institute for Composer Diversity
2. I think there will be a remarkable period of new wind band compositions that reflect a new generation of composers who will bring a personal style that is unencumbered by expectations.
3. I think both items 1 & 2 will bring more harmony between traditional and progressive music educators as new music and music-making will blend both old and new in authentic, artful ways.
4. I think music education will begin to be more process-oriented than ever before as band directors work to rebuild programs that have not had meaningful ensemble experiences on a consistent basis for at least a full year.
5. I think band programs will become more engaged with creativity to bring more meaningfulness to their existence. This will inspire completely new ways of “doing band” such as Dr. Jodie Blackshaw’s Teaching Music Through Composition project. (Listen to Dr. Blackshaw discuss this in a recent podcast hosted by the Band Aides podcast group.)
6. I think music education training programs in colleges and universities are going to be forced to better prepare students to be process-focused educators. A great example of this is the work on bringing creativity and entrepreneurship together by Kent State University Director of Jazz Studies Bobby Selvaggio (check out a podcast interview HERE hosted by JimJim’s Reinvention Revolution podcast)
7. I think band programs who built their community upon excellence and making music will strengthen and grow while others who built their community on other band activities may struggle to bring students back, especially if those activities are slow to return.
8. I think many band directors are going to be more committed to better balance between work, relationships, and self. I am not convinced, however, that this will be a permanent change in our culture.
9. I think these same band directors are going to be more sensitive to providing higher quality, less quantity musical experiences for their students.
10. I think the most successful band directors will be those who are great artists AND great teachers who balance their programs between musical excellence, creativity, and human and social development.
What changes would YOU like to see to the status quo?
What needs to happen NOW to give those changes the best opportunity to happen? What do you agree or disagree with in what I have shared? What would you like to discuss more?
I hope that at least some of what I have posited has elicited both emotional and intellectual responses from you. Moreover, I would love to hear your own thoughts and opinions either in support or argument against. There is a lot to chew on in what I’ve laid out and I have purposely refrained from digging deep into any of these existential questions. Perhaps I will write more on some of these topics in a future post. What I would love more, though, is the opportunity to discuss these ideas with you. So please feel encouraged to post your thoughts in the comments and/or send me an email at johnf@leaderscreating.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We at ||:Leaders Creating:|| value the opportunity to engage with our readers, clients, colleagues, and friends. Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments section!
John is an educator in music and leadership who also happens to be a band director, a role that he has served for 22 years in a variety of settings including middle school, high school, small college, large state university, and both private and public institutions. His diverse experiences in developing and growing band programs have provided opportunities for John to learn from his students how to help them become effective peer leaders in order to create positive, intentional, and goal-driven band cultures. John’s work as a leadership clinician ranges from self-development and improvement, effective communication and pedagogical skills, and the application of servant leadership in the music ensemble setting. His materials are adaptable for a variety of settings including large and small groups, one-on-one coaching, virtual and in-person clinics, and for both students and educators of all levels.
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