Technically I have already started my 35th year with a week’s worth of inservice. Tomorrow is the first day with children. I have taught 25 years in Illinois and I begin year 10 in the state of Iowa. I have taught music from age five through undergraduates in community college and university settings. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Music Education from Western Illinois University, and I have 36 hours or so toward a PhD from the University of Iowa. I’m a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. I used to have memberships in the National Association for Music Education, Illinois Music Educator’s Association, Iowa Music Educator’s Association, and Iowa Bandmaster’s Association. These are great organizations, but I needed something different…

My professional development has shifted away from music education. I’m looking into trauma based learning strategies from the core curriculum to influence my music teaching and I am constantly researching methods and strategies in the core curriculum for reaching children from at risk populations that I can adapt for music education. I also research multi-cultural resources that I can adapt for my students appropriately. I’m finding this new paradigm of active research has rejuvenated my spirit for the work I do. No offense NAfME, ILMEA, IMEA, and IBA. I’m entering into my sixth year in a Title One building and I can’t think of any other place to be towards the end of my career. I’m teaching general music after 29 years of being in front of an ensemble (primarily concert band.) I’ve been lucky to have experienced life in front of a choral ensemble and an orchestra. I’ve played more gigs than I can count in many different states. I have marched in more places than I care, and none of that matters to me accept for the children or students I serve now. I like this new purpose.

Why do I rhapsodize? Well a lot of things have changed in 35 years. I want to share some of the things I have observed and experienced. I want to share how the conservative paradigm has made teaching and learning harder. I want to share my reflections with the general masses of “fives” of readers. OK, maybe “tens.”

I began my teaching career in a sabbatical leave position in Sparta, IL. In the Heat of the Night starring Sidney Poitier was filmed in Sparta. My band marched behind one of the police cars from the film. Sparta had a race riot in the middle school following the Rodney King Jr. trial. Racism was rampant but hidden in the community. I heard there was KKK chapter in the district boundary. My band was reflective of the student body’s demographics and I made every effort to be inclusive and understanding, but I was a stranger in a strange land. I lived in subsidized housing as my first year teaching salary was under the poverty line. $16,800 was the salary with stipends. I was offered a restaurant manager training position for double that salary, but I wanted to teach. After all, my class was the one that ushered in the new certification testing in Illinois.

Inservice time that first year was one day of meetings. It contained policy changes, student discipline structure, and a brief ten minute meeting encouraging us to join the union. Half of the staff left before the meeting as they were not part of the union. George H.W. Bush was president and the tax cuts of his predecessor were having lasting consequence in the school district. They had cut one music teacher, and they cut another while I was there. I’m glad I was there as a sub.

Testing back then was a couple of days in March. No big preparations, speeches, motivation rallies, or anything. Just two days of testing and the results were never released until the following year. School improvement focused on graduation rates and absenteeism. The school had a tutoring program for athletic eligibility, and individual curriculums were completely free of government mandates. It was really nice to be able to select what I wanted to teach.

This changed by the mid-90’s. Testing and Government mandates increased during the Clinton administration in response to Republican pressure that they were weak on crime, education, etc. The mandates on testing developed into mandates on state and local standards in exchange for federal dollars. We all began to jump through hoops for money in the name of accountability and measured progress (Capitalism.) The Goals 2000 program that ushered a computer into the classroom required everyone to build technology plans to secure training funds for faculty. No money was provided for infrastructure (cabling and electrical) or computers. Schools around the country passed bond issues (raising taxes) to pay for the infrastructure. My colleagues began saying words like “Teach to the Test,” “No academic freedom,” and “Big Brother is coming.” Oh, did I mention I taught for nearly 10 years without the internet or a computer? Yes, we dinosaurs from the late 20th remember a time without the internet or a cell phone… The technology changes alone are overwhelming.

The malaise of the late 90’s and 00’s all revolves around the increase of technology in education that minimized critical thinking and reading in favor of finding information. When you found what you were looking for, one didn’t write about what it meant or how the information applied. One would believe the information as fact, regardless of the bias the information was presented. Practice testing increased in the schools throughout the 2000s due to No Child Left Behind during the George W. Bush administration. I was required to take the ACT practice test as part of school improvement at a high school I worked at. It was the English exam. I scored high enough to make the English department not talk to me. Pep rallies, and capitalistic rewards were presented to students for good scores. Our curriculums had to be mapped out by units. Lesson plans had to be turned in with our standards (state and federal.)

Test scores went up, but the NCLB was a bust. ESSA came next. Curriculums had to have a scope and sequence in order for children that move schools could be at the same place from building to building. Meanwhile mass defunding of schools started to take place in the $45 administration. Yet, we teachers have answered the call for our students. Research from various outlets has demonstrated how neoliberal economic policy within education has eroded public confidence in education, hurt the most vulnerable populations, and damaged fine arts programs around the nation. I have dozens of research studies on my laptop to prove this. I can’t share the studies… only the bibliography…

Then came the pandemic. Overnight we (all teachers) made every attempt to rewire our instruction over the internet. We answered the call and then when we came back to the classroom we took those skills and put them to use with the post – pandemic children. The trauma these students received is astronomical and it will affect them the rest of their lives. Our society has not been very kind to them…

Budgets for my music program back in 1991 was a little over $1,000 for materials, contest fees, and supplies. In 2000 my budget at a similar high school at the North end of Illinois was $1,200. In 2017 my budget at a smaller Iowa High School was around $1,500. Very little growth over nearly a 30 year period. Three schools all with different demographics and tax bases. My first budget went a long way. My last band budget did not go very far as costs for music had tripled. Fees had increased exponentially. Thankfully transportation was a different budget table. My budget at my current school is $0. I don’t get to spend any money. Instead I ask my principal for a piano/equipment service or music and if it can be prioritized within the building budget they approve it. I actually find this arrangement less cumbersome as the paper trail for expense has been reduced. I do not need much for elementary music as many resources have been moved online or can be found online. Having 30+ years of experience gives me some creative solutions for problems that stalled me early in my career. I borrow, borrow, borrow… Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Do I have the academic freedom in the classroom as I did back in 1991? No, I do not. I have to follow a scope and sequence, and teach particular concepts a certain way based on group consensus. Is there some flexibility? A little. I use it when I can. I participate in curriculum discussions. I take whatever I can get from the process and use it. I call it adding a tool to my toolbox. There is some good to this, as well as bad…

Is there more scrutiny on education than in 1991? Absolutely!!! All of us are under fire all of the time by politicians, parents, and community. Some of it is good, but a lot of it has been negative and demoralizing. The pandemic made me consider retirement multiple times. The trauma of it all, ate a hole in my soul. I know I wasn’t the only one. The transactional treatment of education as a whole is misplaced…

My salary has increased over the years. I’m no longer under the poverty line. I am compensated fairly. I also get credit for 30+ years of teaching and a Master’s +20 on our negotiated salary scale thanks to our union. I still carry considerable financial debt from the advanced education. I would not argue if student loans were forgiven. After all, our system of education is based on capitalism. It shouldn’t be. It is a social system. When you run a social system by capitalist means dysfunction follows. It is the same argument against socialism by the capitalists, but they can’t see beyond their own greed.

The next objective by government leaders in defunding education is the dismantling of the Department of Education, School Vouchers to steal public tax funds to give to private enterprise, and crush the teacher’s union. It will not improve our social fabric of society by destroying education. It will only lead to indoctrination and darkness for all except the privileged few.

Now a big positive. I think teacher’s, support staff, administrators, and school boards are more united in the service of education for our students than ever before. The mandates have made us collaborate in ways I never saw 30 years ago. We do everything we can to help our students. I really see this in the vision of my employer at all levels. It inspires me. Now if politicians could do that with us… how would it be??? for students?? for community? as a measure? What could we do to turn the negative free will into positive free will?

Despite all of the negative change I have seen over my career, I have hope and vigor. I see our younger teachers with their idealism and love making a difference. I see policy changes make positive change on discipline, poverty, homelessness, and health. I watch my colleagues in their 20th year or so finding the grit and tenacity to keep advocating for their students. Then there are the smiles, hugs, fist bumps, and high fives. I’m ready for year 35. My tank is full. I’m ready to meet the challenge before us with my community. What we do makes a difference… Let’s believe…. So it goes….