Mike Huckabee: Art and Music Education

As part of an interview with The Des Moines Register, Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate, discusses his views on the need for art and music education in the schools...

The Future of the Arts

The education world is in turmoil, and change is imminent. It is no secret that the current accepted methods of teaching are due for an update, and that truth is causing unrest and lively discussion among educators at all levels. Add to that the financial difficulties that local districts, states, and even countries are experiencing and it is evident that a crisis is at hand.

Unfortunately, as changes are being discussed and financial decisions are being made, the fine arts curriculum seems to be one of the first areas that is deemed expendable. As you might guess, this bothers me...a lot.

I understand and support learning in all areas. I think our citizens young and old should have an insatiable hunger for knowledge. I believe the more knowledge you have in different areas, the better you are at communicating with and relating to the world around you. However, to remove or limit opportunities to experience and study the fine arts cripples the individual's ability for self-expression, creativity, and aesthetic appreciation.

I just finished reading words by Bob Bryant, who is the Executive Director of Fine Arts for the Katy Independent School District. His writing, "The Importance of Fine Arts Education," is on the district web site, and is an excellent explanation of the necessity for continued education in the visual and performing arts.

Whether you are a student, parent, educator, or community member I encourage you to stand up for fine arts education. As John F. Kennedy said, "Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people." Let's not allow our creativity to be stifled.

The competitive edge....

This year, in preparation for our annual UIL marching contest, I decided to take the Mighty Roughneck Band to two Pre-UIL contests. I debated the value of doing this, but after one contest I see the advantages to them.

While the band did have some struggles at last week's Buccaneer Marching Festival in Brenham, I believe that the group learned some things. We received great comments to help in improving our marching and especially our music. We have begun to polish the musicality of our performance as a result. Learning how to make the music "come alive" is one of the most important lessons we can gain.

We also watched the performance of several bands in our 3A level and above. We saw some great performances, and some that were just average. We got to see the commitment and hard-work of other bands. Hopefully that was an inspiration and motivation to us, to continue to work hard toward our goals.

Another aspect of the festival that I thought was helpful is that the percussion section and color guard received comments and ratings from judges as well. It comes as no surprise that both groups received superior ratings from the judges. The recorded comments have already helped these hard-working groups improve.

I am looking forward to this weekend and the Edna Marching Festival. We will see how far we have moved forward in our rehearsals as we chase after our goal of marching in the Alamodome at the UIL State Marching Contest.

BTW...the picture at the top was taken by Mikayla...pretty cool!

The Escape

First day of Spring Break!!! Headed to San Antonio and of course had to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants - Mi Tierra. The video above shows some of the musicians performing there.

Continued on to Boerne where we are staying. We plan to hangout in downtown Boerne and Fredricksburg, see my dad, and go to a couple of other of our favorite places. Should be a great week!


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Day 3 of TMEA

Day 3 is over...spent a lot of time listening to various performing groups. It is amazing to hear the level of musicianship from elementary through college age students. It is inspiring and it helps me to formulate a concept of sound that I can take back to our groups a imitate.

The conferences I attended reinforced what I heard in live performances. I have a better understanding of the teaching techniques that can be used to create the sounds I heard.

I won't be blogging day 4 because I will be coming home. But I am most excited to hear Sebastian's group perform. I listened to rehearsals today and they are amazing.

Have a great weekend...and I look forward to seeing you on Monday.

M


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Day 2 at TMEA

Long day and didn't get to write last night. There is so much to see and do here at the convention. In the picture you see an instrument I had not seen before...a contrabass flute! It really is an interesting instrument.

I was also in two interesting conferences. The first was about the teacher and how it is more than the teaching ability, it is who you are as a person that often communicates loudly. I want to teach well, but more importantly I want to be a good example and role model.

The other conference dealt with the inner game of music...www.theinnergameofmusic.com. It is about learning to ignore the critical voices that shout at you while you perform, and often make you perform poorly. One must learn to focus on aspects of the performance and not listen to the commentary going on inside one's head. This will help us as an ensemble and as individual performers to play more skillfully.

Well, it is time for another clinic......

M


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Day 1 of TMEA

I just finished the first day of my trip to the TMEA convention. Actually, the convention really doesn't start until tomorrow, with seminars and conferences, concerts and meetings, and lots of opportunities to talk to friends and colleagues.

Today I went to a conference on judging marching contests. I am on the judging list, but I mainly went to get a better idea of how I can help our band improve our marching show. I learned a lot of what to look for and work on, and how to design and execute a show that will be successful. I am excited about the possibilities for next year, and I am motivated to see us make it to the state level. In fact, looking out the window of my hotel, I see the Alamodome, and it is a reminder of that goal.

I also got the opportunity to judge the alto, bass, and contrabass clarinet All-State students for their chair placements. It helps me to hear how the students at this level perform so I can be a better teacher of those instruments. But honestly, our students are just as talented as these I heard tonight.

Finally, I am proud of Sebastian Guerra. He is a great example of the talent and hard-work that is a part of all the Roughneck Band members, and you should be proud to have him represent you here in the ATSSB All-State Symphonic Band.

Well, that's all for tonight...stay tuned for more insight into tomorrow's activities.

M