April 16
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How come nearly every student is on a sports team, even when the hours are long and there are other, easier ways to get exercise and play games?
Why does the entire state of Rhode Island think anything more than a 20-minute drive is just too long a trip?
Why do entire communities send their kids to private high school for $50,000 a year when a free public high school diploma checks the same box for college applications?
It all comes down to a simple explanation.
People like us do things like this.
This is one of Seth Godin's most powerful ideas, which he writes extensively about in his book, Tribes.
Communities ("tribes") are powerful things, and we are all wired to find our place in them. At our deepest, most primitive level, it's about survival and safety. In the moment, it's about friendship and connection.
One thing that occurred to us at SSPS is that music students (especially the young ones) are at a disadvantage when it comes to this idea.
People like us do things like this.
They may have a sense of "do things like this," because we give them the tools in their lessons. But, it's so easy to take it for granted that children are still very new to the planet. They don't see other music students regularly. Probably not at all.
With practicing generally being a solo endeavor, if there is no opportunity to connect with other music students, then there is no "people like us."
No wonder so many music students quit in middle school or high school. While at the same time, continuing on sports teams (that take up way more time than music lessons) all the way through college.
Sports teams have the tribal elements built in. Music lessons, not so much.
But that can be changed.
And so, we decided to experiment and held our first-ever Community Practice Club this past Sunday over Zoom.
The students met for an hour over Zoom, both kids and adults. We started with a 5-minute discussion about what everyone was going to practice. Then, we did a 25-minute practice sprint together, muted.
Everyone was doing their own work, but could look up anytime and see 26 other students working alongside them. Like the characters in the Wizard of Oz, they had individual goals but were on a journey together.
Next, we took a 5-minute break to talk about how the sprint went, then plans for the next one. Another 20-minute practice sprint.
We finished with a discussion about how it went, the good and the bad. Students shared their thoughts through the chat and "on mic." For many, it was the first time they heard another student talk about how they handle practice challenges.
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Students practiced for a longer stretch than they normally would have. Some students practiced on their own even after the hour was over. Some students were energized for the rest of the week.
We plan to make our Community Practice Club a regular offering for our students as part of our larger project of creating a new sense of connection, support, and belonging.
To create that tribe that music students need in a world that's getting faster and crazier.
In the hope that, over time, our students will be able to say those magical words that keep them going in music forever.
"People like us do things like this."
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For parents, students, and anyone else who believes that music can and should be a meaningful part of everyone's life.
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