| Contributing Author - Wendell Weaver (I) |
| Friday, 11 January 2008 | |
Chicago Music Association poet laureate Wendell Weaver shares his memories in an introspective piece entitled Music Education I.I am appalled at what St. James does not know about music, but I am not surprised. The music teacher had to teach the Chicago Board of Education about that also. They believed that music was a frill. Children were only to learn English, Math and Science, but what about people like me? I wanted to learn music also. They thought about music only when they needed a program. Then the bands and choirs had to perform like experts. After all, that is what they were paying the teachers for. The strikes that teachers had were not just about money and benefits, as was told by the media many times, but for education that children needed also. Do you know when I got my first teaching assignment I had 60 students in my classrooms? I had no desks, no books, no pianos, no record player and no records-just chairs for my students. I had to complain over and over until I got desks, an old ragged piano and a few books-just a few of those too. Later on... That was what the Board expected of music teachers all the time. We perform at a moment’s notice. We were miracle workers, but I know better than that. So when the teachers struck, I struck too – for lower class size, books, record player, records, better pianos and desks. Even though we got higher salaries and good benefits, we got some of the things I needed too. The music class size dwindled down to 34 per classroom, but I never got my phonograph and records. I had to buy my own. Yes, the children are people, but teachers are people too with children of their own. We did not only fight the city of Chicago, but we fought the state of Illinois also, until we got where we are now. We did that for ourselves, the children, the parents and all the citizens of Illinois too. So St. James, don’t forget what I said about music. I could preach a sermon on this and notice what I had to do to get a good sound. I had to audition my members, blend the tones, harmonize with them and arrange the music when I needed to because a few of my sopranos could not make the high notes in the music. Eventually I could say to myself, “A job well done, well done, well done.” |
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