An Old-Fashioned Education

An Old-Fashioned Education

And what shall be their education? Music for the mind and gymnastics for the body.

                                                                                Plato, The Republic

There is a revolution happening in the world of education. Schools  are finding that student success  increases when old-fashioned skills are taught. In an article by Peg Tyre titled “The Writing Revolution, “ in October 2012 The Atlantic,  the author looks at changes made at a public school in New York City. A failing institution, in 2009, New Dorp High School began to change the way students were taught. Using standards of Common Core (http://www.corestandards.org/), students were taught to write. According to David Coleman, the architect of Common Core, “…elementary students…will be required to write informative and persuasive essays….These standards are meant to reverse a pedagogical pendulum that has swung too far, favoring self-expression and emotion over lucid communication.” Students need structure, even formulas to organize their thoughts into lucid writing. “50 years ago teachers taught the general rules…”  Then 25 years ago, in an effort to enliven learning, students were encouraged to write about their feelings. Basic formal learning took a back seat to creativity. As a result, many students were not graduating with skills to succeed in the work world. This creative approach was based on the belief that students would “catch” the correct way of writing by simply finding fun ways to express themselves. While a small number of students did well with this method, many fell by the wayside and failed to graduate or graduated with minimal marketable skills. By implementing core standards and instructional fundamentals, students at New Dorp High School made huge strides as shown in graduation rates, performance on tests and college readiness.

What does this have to do with Ragazzi, you may ask? Well, first, let me ask who among us has not endured a performance by poorly trained but sincere musicians seeking to touch our hearts through their deeply felt emotional expressiveness? Remember how painful an experience that can be? Without the basics or the technique, that communication fails. We do not join the performers in their emotional release, but instead sit tensely feeling a combination of discomfort, embarrassment and sympathy for well-meaning kids.

As the pendulum swings back to traditional educational techniques, Ragazzi continues its “old-fashioned” commitment to vocal and choral technique, knowledge of music theory and excellence in performance. Yes, we want and expect our boys and young men to develop and express their emotional lives and we want to develop their emotional intelligence, but in order to succeed they need to be capable of critical thinking, self-evaluation, and be willing to work hard to develop their skills. Ragazzi boys take constant small steps toward excellence, sharing the fruits of their labors with our audiences.

Ragazzi has always stood firm, secure in the knowledge that what we do works, as the world of education now turns around and comes back to meet us.