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Potsdam student issues letter to board of education; calls on members to keep full-time music position

Posted 4/11/13

To the Editor: This letter was sent to the four Potsdam Central School District Board of Education members who voted "No" to reinstating a full-time music position at Potsdam Central School. I am a …

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Potsdam student issues letter to board of education; calls on members to keep full-time music position

Posted

To the Editor:

This letter was sent to the four Potsdam Central School District Board of Education members who voted "No" to reinstating a full-time music position at Potsdam Central School.

I am a junior at Potsdam High School. I am actively involved in the music program here, participating in Band, Concert Choir, Canta Sera Select Choir, and Jazz Band. I am also very involved in the Drama Club, as I design all the lighting and sound for our various productions, as well as acting on stage. I was lucky enough to be involved in Community Performance Series' production of "Beauty and the Beast" this past summer through their summer internship program.

I have discovered that technical theater is one of my passions, and I am even considering making it a greater part of my life as I apply to colleges next year. However, I never would have discovered my love for it had I not been involved with music at Potsdam.

The music program has allowed me to explore my interests, not just musically, but in this aspect as well. This is one of many reasons why keeping the music program is important to me and the other students, both past and present, of Potsdam.

At Potsdam, I have had the opportunity to take part in a number of activities such as sports, music, and many other academic extra-curriculars like Speech and Debate and Model UN. We are lucky as students that we can take part in more than one activity, an opportunity of which many students take advantage.

This is good for us because it creates—to use the cliche—a well-rounded individual. While on a recent college visit, one of the things I noticed was that the admissions counselor stressed that the college in question "does not just look at academic data like averages and SAT scores". This is very true. Colleges (and to some extent potential employers) don't want a genius with poor social skills.

They want a person who has the ability to interact with the people around them, to work on a team, and work hard. The music program has taught me all of these things. Ms. Witmer, the band teacher, often compares the band to a sports team.

She poses the question "If none of the people on the soccer team worked hard and practiced, wouldn't the team fall apart?" The students in our music do work very hard at what we do and gain valuable skills from our musical endeavors that we will carry for the rest of our lives. 

In today's data-driven world of education, I think people are tempted to measure students based on tangible, numerical results. However, the fact remains that there are some things that just can't be expressed by filling in a bubble with a Number 2 pencil. Music allows students to gain the skills I mentioned before, but it also allows them to become part of a greater experience. Our culture is rich with all sorts of art, especially music.

I'm not just talking about playing notes on a piece of paper, either. Many vocal pieces are poems set to music. Practicing and performing those pieces allows students to expand their knowledge, not just of musical styles, but of poetry and history. Every student currently in any music class here at Potsdam knows that there is more to the world than "Jersey Shore" and the music of Snoop Dog.

If the budget stays as is and the full-time music position is not reinstated, students will suffer. This is not a matter of weighing the merits of any activity against another. This is a matter of what Potsdam should be as a school, and what is best for the students who attend this school. We are a musical community.

On any given street in the Village of Potsdam, there will be at least one person (most likely more than one) who has a connection with the Crane School of Music. With this school in our community, it makes no sense not to make music a priority. I have friends who want to make music a career.

They have undoubtedly been influenced by the proximity of Crane, but even more so by our music teachers. If the full-time position does not remain, I know that it will be more difficult for students to get the one-on-one guidance they need. Our music teachers are amazing at what they do, but they are still human. 

With the new APPR system, New York State says that teachers will be ranked in their performance from "Highly Effective" to "In Need of Improvement". Personally, I believe that it doesn't matter what that rating says. These teachers are going to be highly effective no matter what. But I would ask, with teachers spread over three buildings, constantly having to travel between each, are they as effective as they could be, were the full-time position to be added? 

I think that everyone probably know the answer to that. I deserve better, my fellow students deserve better, and the students that will come after us deserve better. Again, I hope you will reconsider and vote YES to reinstating the full-time music position.

Noah Chichester, Potsdam