Field Observation #2
October 18, 2004
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Reflective Essay

On Monday, October 18, 2004, I had the opportunity to observe one of Indiana’s best middle school band directors for the day. I spent the day, from 10:15 in the morning until 2:15 in the afternoon, with Mr. Jim Perry, at Northview Middle School in Washington Township, in Indianapolis. I observed both seventh grade ensembles (one of brass and percussion, the other of just woodwinds), the eighth grade band, and lunch duty. It was very encouraging to see what can be done in a school the may not have a terrific performing arts reputation – or a terrific reputation at all. His years of practice and expertise were apparent the whole time, from the moment I walked in; he had prepared for me a folder full of information about NMS, the band program, instrument rental/purchase opportunities through Paige’s Music, private teachers, student handbook, and even fundraising opportunities for the students. He was obviously doing his best to provide me with some ideas to use someday as I begin to prepare my own program, handbook, fundraising, etc.

As far as content goes, it is very apparent that Mr. Perry is very knowledgeable. Admittedly, it is only middle school-level content that he really needs to know for his job, but, aside from the fact that knows a lot more than that, he knows what he needs to know thoroughly. During warm-up, he hardly ever even glanced at his score; he was very well prepared and knew what he wanted to do with the kids. In a middle school band setting, a lot of time is spent just making sure the kids can play the notes; therefore, there is not a lot of time (or attention span, for that matter) for cultural connections. However, he did tie a Robert Sheldon piece that they were about to play to King Arthur and the surrounding myth. After a short class discussion of King Arthur, Mr. Perry then read the old poem on which the Sheldon piece was based.

Throughout the course of the class periods, Mr. Perry treated the students like young adults as long as they didn’t give him reason to treat them otherwise. He was very professional with them, yet had a little fun as appropriate. When a student started to get out of line, though, he was quick to be kindly stern and correct them. He obviously had spent time at the beginning of the year laying down the rules and classroom conduct guidelines, because not only did they all respect him, but when class started they automatically came in, sat down with their instruments, and started warming up on their own. That was pretty impressive.

The only cultural diversity exemplified on the day I was there was the simple fact that the school in which Mr. Perry teaches is very diverse. But Mr. Perry was very good at relating to and dealing with all the students equally. During lunch duty, a couple sixth grade students of his sat at a table near Mr. Perry and myself and began talking to him. He chatted with them some. None of them were the same race as him, but that didn’t matter. The kids obviously all have a great respect for him.

One of the first days for playing tests was the day I observed was over. These tests were over scales – circle of fifths, from Ab Major around to F Major. I was very impressed that nearly the whole band of seventh graders was able to play high Ebs and Fs – and that they knew all the key signatures and major scales from Ab to F! He also had volunteers demonstrate various passages of music, to try to find an example for the rest of the class. When none could be found for that particular passage, he sang the part himself and then worked with individuals. All the while, though, he was balancing individual help with ensemble time so as to not bore the students into have time to relax and get silly. This, too, has come with his years of practice, no doubt.

All in all, Mr. Perry was a great help to me. I learned a lot about how middle school band can be run (I don’t remember too much from middle school because, back then, I wasn’t paying too much attention to my band director’s teaching styles). He will undoubtedly be a great resource to me in the future.

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