It’s not about the product… It’s about the process!
It’s concert season and I have to continually remind myself that “It’s not about the product… It’s about the process.” As I press on towards my middle school concert date, I find myself pushing for the product and allowing some of the process to slide. In my rehearsals, I try to make band about striving excellence and showing how accomplishing your goals can be enjoyable. I know not every one of my middle school kids will become a music educator, few will play beyond high school, and even fewer will continue past college. So then, why do we teach what we teach?
To say I teach band is a great underestimation of my actual purpose as a teacher.
Some think I teach a hobby, however making music is…
more than just learning musical terminology
more than just practice,
more than just performing…
making music is about teamwork,
it’s about discipline,
it’s about responsibility,
it’s about the journey,
it’s about learning who you are,
it’s about learning how to work with others,
it’s about determination
it’s about striving for excellence and realizing that you can achieve it, and…
it’s about who you become along the way.
Therefore, the benefits of making music…can last a lifetime!
I know this… I know I teach more than “band.” Sometimes though I focus so much on “band stuff” that I don’t allow the students to see the connections between hard work and success. I don’t take time to point out that if your practice chart was full of minutes this week, that you were most likely very successful in class. I forget to focus on the “team” and then I see students getting frustrated with each other – frustrated with the ones who don’t work hard or physically can’t play perfectly and then I get frustrated myself. It’s not about perfection… it’s about learning how to put your strengths together and work with others towards a common goal and striving for excellence. I have to refocus on my true goals as an educator in order to succeed. It’s not about the product, it’s about the process.
