September 2012

During my early school years I mastered the rules of measurement called the English system—inches, feet, miles, etc., for length, and pints, quarts, gallons, etc., for liquid volume, and ounces, pounds, tons for weight. Then in high school I was introduced to the Metric system. As I grew older it was easier to comprehend but did require my use of parallel equivalents. I’m never quite sure which system to use for what. But even this confusion did not properly prepare me for the complexity of mastering a foreign currency. I’ve been embarrassed, yelled at, profusely thanked, and laughed at any number of times because of some simple misunderstanding of the local means of exchange.

When Barb and I go on a trip I make sure I have a little bundle of ones and fives in United Stated dollars on me. I started this practice a few years ago to save me some confusion. Whenever we arrive at a hotel in a new country I pretend I haven’t had time to pick up local currency and sort of apologize, as I tip the porter in United States currency. It wasn’t always like that. There have been a few times in my past where I made a fool of myself trying to look like I knew what I was doing. I either shorted the local or paid for a year of his college education.

One balmy evening in Bangkok, Thailand I settled on a fare on one of the three-wheeled monstrosities they call tuk-tuks. As neither the driver nor I spoke one another’s language, the negotiation was done by holding up fingers and then either nodding or shaking one’s head. I accepted the price of 300 baht only to find at the end of the ride the tuk-tuk’s operator had agreed to take me to my destination for 3000 baht. A local bilingual citizen at the destination settled our dispute by pointing out to me that my offer would hardly pay the driver the price of a bottle of soda.

On another occasion, I felt an obligation to tip a porter in India. I selected some paper currency I thought about equal to a dollar and handed it to this helpful young man. His eyes widened in total disbelief. He quickly grabbed the paper and showed it to the other porters standing nearby. They in turn began jabbering away at a serious level. After a few seconds, the porter came back and returned about half of what I’d given him. He explained my error to me in a language I was unable to understand. We both seemed pleased with the final results, and I resolved never to calculate the tip that I had given. It might embarrass me.

When Barb and I flew into Bali, Indonesia years go we headed directly for the ATM in the airport. We were going to spend five days there so our hope was to get enough local currency to tide us over. If we got more than we needed, we could always apply the extra to our hotel room.

The ATM machine obliged us by having the operating instructions in English, so we proceeded quickly to the point where you choose the amount you wish to withdraw. There were a lot of zeroes at the end of each number, so we picked a nice mid-sized withdrawal. We later found out we had received the equivalent of $8.00. Our bank charged us $3.00 for the privilege. All in all, not too practical.

So there you have it—my reason for using United States dollars whenever I can. My explanation may seem weak, but in the end it proves to be quite practical.

We can all remember sitting in class daydreaming about other things rather than listening to the teacher lecture about a subject we found uninteresting. Kids today really haven’t changed. They are the same everywhere. Maybe they need to find a subject they can not only learn but where they can interact—how about waking them up to music!

Why indeed, should kids take music classes in school? There are so many reasons that it would take this entire article to enumerate them all. Besides being fun, one of the most significant aspects of taking school music classes is students who enroll in music classes do much better in other academic courses than students who do not take school music. This fact is proven and replicated numerous times in scientific research studies and should not be ignored by parents.

We are fortunate indeed that our local Tri-Valley school districts offer a full range of music courses in the elementary, middle and high school grades. These courses are both for the nonperforming, and performance oriented student in band, orchestra or chorus. Also many surrounding communities offer community bands where one can continue to play music for a lifetime.

My own experience with school music really changed my life due to Richard Hansen, my high school band director at Acalanes High School. He was such a positive role model and made music come alive for me. He encouraged me to seek a career in teaching music.

Because of my experiences in school music, I gained the most rewarding career a person can have—teaching high school and college classes as a music educator and band director.

In years past, school music has been justified on non-musical extrinsic values rather than on its own intrinsic merits and worth. Citizenship and character was at one time a primary goal of music education. Its function was to create moral, upright children who evolved into productive citizens. A favorite saying was: “Teach Johnny to blow a horn so he won’t blow a safe later.”

Health was another reason for teaching music in schools. Musicians develop lung-power through proper breathing. At one time schools gave Physical Education (PE) credit for Marching Band—marching up and down a field is good exercise equivalent to strenuous exercise in some PE classes.

As a result of Sputnik, in 1957, American education was thought to be behind the Russians, especially in math and science. Almost immediately, new programs in math, science and language were being developed and adopted in American schools. The arts were left behind in the mad rush to catch up to the Soviet Union. Music as an academic discipline became the new rallying cry to justify music in schools.

Music courses were restructured to be more academic in nature and reflect what is really important in a child’s education. One of the goals of this new approach to music education was to “teach students to perceive expressive elements in a wide range of musical genres and styles,” from, Foundations and Principles of Music Education by Leonhard and House.

Today, teaching music in the schools is accomplished by teaching music history and music literature. Very important in the learning process is developing skills, including listening; responding; singing; playing instruments; reading and writing music. The development of attitudes and appreciation and the ability to decide the worth and value of music are essential in teaching music. “Music, like language, is an accomplishment that distinguishes us as human,” writes J. Vudkin, in his book, Understanding Music.

A resolution adopted by the American Association of School Administrators said: “It is important that pupils, as part of general education, learn to appreciate, to understand to create and to criticize, with discrimination those products of the mind, the voice, the hand and the body that give dignity to the person and exalt the spirit of man.”

“The primary purpose and goal of music education is to develop aesthetic sensitivity to music, that is, to heighten the quality and impact of musical experiences,” originally adopted from (in 1971 and again in 1989) the Visual and Performing Arts framework of the California State Department of Education. Also, music in the schools was recognized by law as a core subject along with math, science, language and history in both the Educate America Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, in 2001. It has been said that, “It is evident that education without the fine arts is fundamentally impoverished and subsequently leads to an impoverished society.”

After retirement from teaching, my wife and I started the Danville Community Band that now has a roster of 90 volunteer musicians ranging from ages 15 to 80 plus. One is never too old to enjoy playing music and the younger one starts, the better. Each year, the band donates a musical instrument to local deserving students in middle and high schools.

Please call your local school and speak to the teachers, both instrumental and choral, about music classes your child can take. It many cases it can be a life changing experience and can be enjoyed way beyond the school years. Don’t let your child miss out—awaken them to the world of music! They will thank you for years to come.

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net

Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band.

Facebook. Where does it stand as we measure things in terms of quality? Does it have the attributes that will make it something of lasting value? Will Mark Zuckerberg be spoken of in years to come as a prodigy or giant of industry, or will he be known as a “one hit wonder”—little more than a flash in the pan?

Technology, fashions and times change but when it comes to character, integrity and honor; to quality, precision and stability, there are some things, and people, that you can count on—they have been proven over time.

This month we are pleased to pay homage to two stalwart icons of the American experience that fully express the aforementioned qualities—the members of our military, and the incomparable singer and movie star, Pat Boone.

In our first article, beginning on page eighteen, author Bob Fish and photographer Susan Wood give us a look at what to expect at the upcoming Fleet Week activities that will be celebrated in the Bay Area, beginning October fourth. This traditional event is much more than a display of our nation’s military hardware—it is an opportunity for all of us to learn about and appreciate the extraordinary individuals in our military who serve and protect us. And while the Navy’s Blue Angels’ performance is certainly a reason not to miss Fleet Week, an even better reason is the opportunity to say “thank you” to our men and women in uniform.

Then, in an article beginning on page twenty-four by Joe Redmond, and a follow up exclusive interview by Antonia Venezia on page twenty-six, we catch up with legendary singer / actor, Pat Boone. We featured Boone in the May 2006 issue of ALIVE, and he was the first celebrity to appear on an ALIVE cover. As you’ll read, after a 50-plus year stellar career, Pat Boone is still going strong, working in show business, producing new records and being actively in supporting political candidates and causes he believes in.

The men and women of our armed forces and Pat Boone have much in common. They represent the best that America has to offer in terms of steadfast character, proven over time. Solid and committed to being the best, by any measure, they are Patriots we can be proud of.