A Mistake in a Major Key (03-09-09)

About half way through last week, I had a sudden and terrible realization. I had made a major mistake in my column last week. A major omission. A major error in proofreading. A major lapse in judgment. A major problem.

What was this mistake in a major key? In my praise for Mrs. Potter and the junior high music program, in my reverie for all the excellent ratings they had earned at league music, I had forgotten to mention one very important person. I had forgotten to mention Jessica Shank.

In my defense, I will say that the omission was not intentional. In fact, for several days, I didn’t even realize I had left out her important contribution to the success of the junior high musicians at league. It was a simple oversight. This was Mrs. Shank’s first year to work with seventh grade vocal, and thus her first year to prepare students for league music. In my haste to write my article last week, I only mentioned the name of the more experienced junior high teacher.

The reason I consider my simple oversight to be a major mistake is that I inadvertently perpetuated the misconception that Mrs. Potter is the only music teacher in our district. Mrs. Shank is also doing wonderful work with our music program, and I felt she deserved a column of her own.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sub for Mrs. Shank several hours one afternoon. I could not believe how tired I was when it was over! She has non-stop students, coming every twenty minutes, all afternoon. She has them sing, play percussion instruments, and play games to learn music theory.

But more than anything, Mrs. Shank has to smile. A lot. Her job requires her to be positive and patient, encouraging while realistic. She spends every day listening to hundred of kids sing and play, and somehow in the midst of all that energy, she has to find a way to transform the students from mere singers into capable musicians. It is a delicate and demanding task, and I think Mrs. Shank does an amazing job each and every day.

This year, she was given the extra job of preparing over thirty seventh grade vocal students for league music. This daunting challenge was made even more difficult when Mr. Jackson left, and we combined the junior high sections into one large vocal class that meets every day.

Now, a lot of teachers would have complained at this predicament. Trying to teach such a large class in a small room might have been too much for an ordinary person.

But Mrs. Shank is no ordinary teacher. Instead of looking at the change as a problem, she saw it as an opportunity. Instead of just having half the class, and seeing each student every other day, she was thrilled with the prospect of getting to teach all the students every day. Instead of worrying about the size of the room or the number of students, she saw the opportunity to direct a full choir and to use the empty art room as a practice space for the solos, duets, and small ensembles she so lovingly prepared for league.

So when you think about the high marks our students earned at league music, it is no longer enough to just recognize Mrs. Potter. We must now acknowledge the amazing contribution of Mrs. Shank. In the past, she has toiled in relative anonymity preparing elementary students, providing Mrs. Potter a strong foundation to build upon. And this year, she was also responsible for leading a choir of her own. We owe Mrs. Shank a great deal of gratitude for the good showing at league. After all, with so many seventh grade singers, it was her kids who earned so many of the “I” ratings.

I only hope that Mrs. Shank realizes just how vital her teaching is to the health and future of the Hill City music program. I hope she knows just how much we all appreciate her efforts and acknowledge her success. I also hope that she will accept this principal’s apology for making a mistake in a major key.