How a Pre-School Of Rock Program Affirms CMA’s Investment in Music Teachers

A história principal da edição desta semana do Country Update explora Kids on Stage, o programa da Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School, no Tennessee, que ajudou Miley Cyrus e Kesha a dar os primeiros passos.

Quando a Country Music Association decidiu em 2006 destinar recursos do seu CMA Fest anual para a educação musical, a decisão parecia uma busca lógica para uma organização movida pela música.

It was, in fact, extending a tradition. Ten years prior, Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School in Leiper’s Fork, Tenn., outside of Nashville, had instituted Kids on Stage, a program that gave students a chance to create music, produce mini-concerts and do all the backstage work required to put on a festival.

A escola estava em dificuldades, não possuía programa de artes plásticas, e o Conselho de Educação do Condado de Williamson colaborou com a Kids on Stage quando o investidor Aubrey Preston prometeu arrecadar os recursos para impulsionar o programa.

Mais importante ainda, havia muito a ser ganho. As notas de teste da escola estavam aproximadamente no 15º percentil, observa Preston, mas após apenas o primeiro ano, o desempenho acadêmico dos estudantes disparou.

Kids on Stage arrived two years before School of Rock launched in Philadelphia; thus, Kids on Stage was pre-School of Rock. Several years later, it unwittingly passed the baton to the CMA.

The CMA celebrates music in schools when it honors 30 instructors on Oct. 7 with its 10th annual Music Teachers of Excellence at The Pinnacle in Nashville. The instructors represent 12 states, from Massachusetts to California, and one of its honorees has seen the growth of music education in Middle Tennessee firsthand.

Trevor Baxter, 49, played drums as a student at Columbia Central High School, and he’s now the head of the fine arts department at Centennial High in Franklin, Tenn.

When Kids on Stage emerged 30 years ago, it was little more than an experiment. Williamson County was growing, but the Hillsboro school’s enrollment was declining.

Pais que podiam arcar com isso colocavam seus filhos em escolas particulares, enquanto os que não podiam passaram a esperar pouco de Hillsboro. As crianças não estavam motivadas, e as desmotivadas não fazem o dever de casa.

A few of the local adults — including some members of the music industry — locked onto music as a tonic for the situation.

Preston fechou um acordo para adquirir dezenas de guitarras Epiphone — entre outros instrumentos — para os estudantes, e eles organizaram um festival que chamaram de Hillstock.

Music pros such as Michael McDonald, Deana Carter, John Hiatt, The Chicks and songwriter Trey Bruce (“How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “Look Heart, No Hands”) helped with fundraisers and/or served as guest instructors.

And the classes spanned an array of experiences, from a study of sound and lighting that was subtitled “So You Want to be a Roadie” to a songwriting class guided by Cotton.

A few of the students — Miley Cyrus, Kesha and at least two members of Paramore — went on to become nationally known artists, though that wasn’t the point of the program.

O objetivo era simplesmente fazer com que as crianças que não se sentiam recompensadas pela escola se entusiasmassem mais com ela, especialmente aquelas que não tinham o sempre popular lugar em um time de futebol ou um talento natural de nível A para aprender.

Os artistas que apareceram no evento Music Teachers of Excellence da CMA — incluindo Kix Brooks, Keith Urban, Sierra Hull, Marcus King e Tucker Wetmore — estão acostumados a receber aplausos por seus esforços.

He has a staff of 10 instructors who cover everything from vocal lessons to teaching music theory, and he’s watched his students grow over the years into professional touring musicians, band directors, orchestra members and music teachers.

They don’t have to be music-specific results, either. Playing in an ensemble — be it a rock band or a marching band — develops creativity, improvisation, cooperation with others, organization and planning skills, he says.

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