[TPIN] Educational double speak

[James Klages]

You have touched on one of my passions here:
The use of jargon and acronyms to obscure speech and render the simple
complex of esoteric.This is true of all bureaucracy's and almost all areas
of specialised endeavor. Not just education. I especially enjoyed the
military in ths respect. Consider S.N.A.F.U. and B.O.H.I.CA. (Look it up)

Last year at our university in OK we were treated to B.H.A.G. as such as if
these were actual words with subtle and important meaning. I have done very
beset to forget all this drivel.

Consider how much we could improve trumpet pedagogy by our use. Always
remember T.A.I A. (pronounced Ta hia!!!) and A.S.N.P.I.T.S.T.R. (an-
spitser),  and P.Y.M.B.T.R. (PM butter) and R.A..M.A.Y.P. (RA- mape) If we
used and said these words to all of our students and colleagues *what a
wonderful world it would be! *(WAWW  IWB) (pronounced Wow be!)
TTFN.
Jim



On 4/2/07, Vaxtrpts at aol.com <Vaxtrpts at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> Well, Rick, I have done something I don't usually do, but I have
> quoted  your
> whole message at the bottom of mine.  How do I say this to make sense  and
> not seem that I am completely putting you down for your very wordy
> message  that
> says practically nothing?  Your whole message smacks of  the "Educational
> Administrative BS double-speak" that I have heard many  times
> before.  They feel
> something like " Hey, let's talk in circles and  use terms that the others
> won't understand, and we will look like we are smart  and also completely
> confuse
> our adversaries."
>
> 1. Many people on this list have no idea what the NCLB tests are - so you
> should have explained that.
>
> 2. Just because the principals want to look good, so they force teachers
> to
> teach so that the students do well on completely meaningless tests,
> doesn't
> have  to affect the music teachers in a band rehearsal.
>
> 3. ANY band director who wants to actually TEACH music and not just learn
> four tunes by rote by playing them over and over again, so that they can
> win
> some contest, can take a little TIME in rehearsal to talk about the
> history of
> the music being played.  They CAN play a few tunes for the kids during
> rehearsal once in a while.  There IS time to do that.
>
> I do not go along with all your excuses as to why music teachers can't
> actually teach MUSIC.  The music class is nothing like the English or math
> classes.  There is SUPPOSED to be creativity.
> Mike Vax
> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>
> In a message dated 4/2/2007 9:53:04 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
> RickTrumpetMan writes:
>
>
> Yes, Mike.  It is sad.  But if somebody as motivated as I  am can't do
> anything about it inside my own "situation", you can bet  your bottom
> dollar that
> there is a ton of countervailing inertia working  against teachers.
> First, schedules have been gutted to apply maximum benefit to NCLB tested
> curricula with electives hanging on for dear life at the periphery.  (Not
> always with success.)
> In an act of desperate placation, the response has been (from many  arts
> directors) to teach NCLB requirements "through" the Arts.
> Now, I really like the sound of this and just like in ancient Greece with
> the original seven "Liberal" Arts (the Quadrivium and the Trivium)
> being  taught
> interdependently (as best as we can reconstruct history anyway) it  should
> work like a charm.
> But that presumes that they are given an at least  moderately equal
> foothold
> in the learning environment. (I.E., the  schedule footprint.)
> The present day reality in many (but NOT ALL) public school  situations
> I've
> had first hand experience with is that you will teach  READING-or
> math-from
> actual reading/math TEXTBOOKS and not having them do  independent research
> on
> their own that incorporate the principles and  history of the elective
> curriculum that you teach.
> (I.E., The flaw as stated elsewhere in the media.  "Teaching
> the  Test"....)
> Frankly, It reminds me a LOT of Gilliam's vision of the future
> in  "Brazil".
> At least in terms of the teacher losing control of the  teaching process.
> Do you think there is concern from above for the music curricula  that are
> thrown into these sausage grinders?
> Very often,  (But again, not ALWAYS): Not that I can tell.....
> At the private school I used to teach at (The one you came very close to
> being hired to play at, before the local micro-economy took a downturn) I
> was
> able to do all of those things.  The bulletin board in my band room
> had  no less
> than six or eight Mosaic Set cover photocopies along with  various covers
> from the Eastman Wind Ensemble Mercs and RCA Golden Era  recordings on
> it.  I
> used them because they're visually striking and  draw attention. (And I
> really
> like them...)
> I kept dubs of the CD's in my office with a system I brought from home.
> (This was in the days when you could find KILLER gear in junk stores for
> next  to
> nothing if you wanted to invest the time and bruised knuckles to restore
> it
> yourself.  Usually a couple of cold solder joints and some
> contact  cleaner...)
> It made a definite difference, but there is absolutely no room  whatsoever
> in
> my ensemble class schedules for that now.  ZIP.   The best I can do is
> mention it in passing and hope for the best.
> (Private Students are a different matter and were more what I had in
> mind  in
> my previous post.  Most of the private teaching I do now is free  except
> in
> the summers, which is off season....)
>
> ONCE AGAIN THE DISCLAIMER:  It's not all school systems and
> most  certainly
> not all schools within a given system.  It's largely a  matrix of
> Administrator/ School Board/Superintendent dependent  variables.  So yes,
> I agree that it's
> a sad state of affairs.   People get the quality of education they demand.
> But as well  pointed out when we beat this horse the other week, some
> of  that
> starts with the priorities that are set at home......
>
> My Brother-In-Law likes to say:  "It's broke.  And nobody can  fix it...."
> I'm not certain that it's true.  I just know that (from what I  can
> observe)
> it's not fixed YET and it's going (in large measure) in  the wrong
> direction,
> especially regarding the Arts.
> Excellence can be found, to be sure.  But it's usually in spite of
> institutional "inertia sinks" not because of the lack of them.
> ("Sweetheart"
> Shangrila type programs notwithstanding.  God Bless  Them Every One...)
> The only thing else to say comes from U.S. History class.  I  proffer it
> on
> behalf of the many educators that are too busy are unwilling to  defend
> the
> profession here:
> "Don't Tread On Me"......
> :)
> Rick Price
> Legacy Brass
> Charlotte, NC
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Dr. James L. Klages
Professor of Trumpet
School of Music
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK 73034