24 The Queens Courier • jUNE 11, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com St Francis Prep Students Teach Teachers for a Day St. Francis Prep is the largest private Catholic secondary school in the United States . This year, we celebrated our 156th year. We’re proud of the fact that we continue to reach so many students in a positive way. We’re certainly very proud of our Music Deaprtment, and the fact that nealry half of our school’s students study Music. We’re the fi rst school ever to earn the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Music Credential. So with all of that, coupled with an effort to try to get as many of our school’s faculty in a place where they understand what we do, I decided I’d turn my kids into teachers and my colleagues from all over the school into students. So each year, teachers from departments like English and Religion, to Math and Computer Science will visit beginner string classes together and become students, while my students teach them from scratch for 40 minutes…no small task for sure! Another impetus came from our Principal, Patrick McLaughlin. Pat had become enthusiastic about brain-based learning a number of years back and, in speaking to the faculty, said that kids learn best by teaching. Boy, did that come back to haunt him! We teach a full range of beginner Music classes at Prep, and by the spring semester, the kids are pretty far along, and things like open strings and basic hand position are old stuff. To bring in adults with a high level of trepidation is exciting for them. They get to see their teachers in a different light, they’re charged with the responsibility of imparting the correct tools, and they have to be patient. That last one is the kicker, and one of the commonalities I always hope that both teachers and students will realize almost immediately. So each year, I begin the process of talking to the staff, and inviting them to class. My colleagues, as I mentioned, usually epitomize the defi nition of trepidation, “A state of alarm or dread; apprehension.” Some of them are a little cocky…I can do this, this will be easy! Some of them are worried how the students will perceive them. Some of them worry about messing up. Many of their own children play instruments, and that adds its own issues. Ultimately, lots of good things happen for these “students.” First, they fi nd things interesting, and challenging, and are presented with lots of goals. Usually when I follow-up, they talk about how important it was for them to attain proper intervals, or to negotiate the right thumb, or to play a particular song. Almost all of them talk about just how patient the kids were with them, especially given that as adults, the traditional roles were reversed in confronting their self-esteem. In preparing my (teenage) students, after we get over the initial, “can we give our teachers detention, can we yell at them?” we’re able to refl ect on the year so far. This is a great opportunity to look at the broader issues of what they’ve learned, especially since we all know what the right thumb does and what a whole step is. The big thing we arrive at is again, patience. Given the intensity of standardized testing in New York State, many of my colleagues are under a great deal of stress to get as much done in as little time as possible, and by many accounts, just have too much to teach. So when they get to class, and an exorbitantly patient freshman is teaching them about the importance of not looking ahead too far, and believing you can do something, it’s refreshing for them. Then of course, there’s the other end of the spectrum. We’ve been very lucky at Prep. One of the shining moments for our Chamber Orchestra was when we were invited to perform for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI at the Formal Diplomatic Departure Ceremony at John F. Kennedy International Airport in April 2008. We basically spent two days at JFK, and the event was televised internationally. Of that 22-piece “Papal” orchestra, 7 started in a beginner class at the school. So when our volunteer “students” arrive, being very aware of that other end of the spectrum, they’re fl oored that with some patience, dedication, and organized time, the sky is the limit. Thanks to Tim Lautzenheiser and his book, The Art of Successful Teaching, and specifi cally the chapter, “Benefi ts Beyond Review via Fund Raising and Thank-Yous,” the next step in the process is the kids writing the adults thank-yous for taking the time to come to class. That has really sealed the deal the last few years, and gives the kids a life lesson, and oftentimes is the most meaningful part of the process for the adults. Prep’s Chair Person of English, Dr. Stephen A. Marino remembers receiving a thank you letter from his sophomore “teacher.” The student, who also played footbal for the school, made Marino realize that even though the student physically overshadowed him, he was nothing but gentle in his approach with Marino, now a 39-year veteran of the school. Marino kept the letter on his desk for many years. So what’s the goal? What’s achieved? The kids realize just how much they’ve learned in a short time. They accomplish this by having to teach it. They’re put in a position to organize and prioritize information. They’re able to think about what they need to be doing all the time, and in the end, when they realize how far they’ve come, they feel pretty good about themselves. It leaves them in a place where they’re excited about playing and progressing, and they have a new respect for their “students” that had the courage to visit their class. In the many years I’ve been doing this, I’ve even had a number of students turned onto Music Education as a major. Currently a freshman at Prep, Aaron Sheridan was excited at the chance to switch roles and teach. It was important to to get a sense of the teacher’s perspective. For Aaron, who began playing in September, it was a chance for adults to experience what it’s like to be a beginner. When refl ecting on his experience he was quick to say that he really liked it, and that his “student” seemed into the experience and was excited to learn. Aaron felt he was driven to teach as much as he could in the fortyminute Prep Assistant Principal Joseph Castellano with students Felicia Annino and Sabrina Shi period. The best part was Aaron hearing his student playing and realizing what he was able to accomplish. That, and it was a lot of fun. The adults amplify that. When they see their “teachers” afterwards, they’re very respectful and communicative of the hurdles and rewards learning an instrument presents. They form new bonds with kids they now have a different and perhaps better understanding of. They most certainly have a new respect for our Music Department. Most, if not all, ask to come back, and the kids usually ask to “teach” more classes. Prep President, Brother Leonard Conway, O.S.F., was one of the fi rst people to participate well over ten years ago, and has been a regular visitor since. He really enjoys the experience, and for him, it’s great to see the talent our students are cultivating. For him personally, he sees what a challenge it is for the students to teach him, someone who is self-professed as struggling to play the radio. He was most impressed with the patience that the students approach teaching their “students” with. Assistant Principal Dr. Joseph Castellano went so far as to actually take a beginner class, as a real student for a year a number of years ago. When asked to refl ect the idea of switching roles for a day, given his role as Assistant Principal for Curriculum, he immediately responded, “brilliant.” Students learn when they teach, whether it’s in a cooperative learning situation, group projects, or oral presentations. In this role-reversal setting, students are no longer passive recipients, and have the opportunity to do something with what they’ve learned. Castellano went on to say that he himself knows things because he’s taught them. He feels it’s a good experience for teachers to become students for a day, and to experience the feeling of, “I can’t.” The adults then empathise, given they are at “square one.” For the teenagers, Castellano feels it’s helpful for students to be in a position of encourgement, where they need a great deal of patience. It allows them at that point, to tell themselves the same thing relative to their own playing. In closing, Castellano was sure to point out that we are all still learning. Bottom line, all-encompassing learning and advocacy all tied up into one neat little package. After a few years, of running this little enterprise, I was able to merely get everyone started and leave. When I came back to check, it was like I wasn’t even there. The level of focus and fun was high, and everyone in the room was feeding off of it. It was thrilling to see two or three students huddled around a very awkward adult in an affi rming, supportive, and here’s that word again, patient way. My goal is by no means to ensure every one of my students becomes a Musician or Music Educator. And certainly, I have no allusions to ensuring every single person at Prep believes in what my colleagues and I do. My goal is to produce “consumers of the arts.” Well-rounded and culturally excited people, who will at best, enjoy and respect music and the arts. Robert L. Johnston is Director of String Studies at St. Francis Preparatory School, where he directs a program of three orchestras and beginner classes consistently numbering over 150 students. He holds degrees from Lehman College and the Manhattan School of Music.
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