Music a hit at Walker

While Robert Moore School has been offering an instrumental music program for many years, parents and teachers at J.W. Walker School agreed it finally was time they extended the same opportunity to their students.
Principal Bill Daley noted they felt it was important for the school to offer an instrumental music program, but explained it was difficult to find someone who could teach it.
“We have no teachers in the school who are in a position to do the program—none qualified in instrumental music,” he said, adding they then began to look for an instructor outside the school and came upon John Faith.
Faith, a retired teacher and professional musician from International Falls, was willing to take on the task of teaching the program to the Grade 7/8 students twice a week.
With the help of their parents, the students who were interested in the instrumental music class arranged to either purchase or rent their own instruments.
Daley explained the school wasn’t able to buy the instruments for the students, but they did purchase a few of the larger pieces, like the drum and tuba, so the students could rent them from the school.
“We’re hoping to purchase and rent out the cheaper instruments in the future, as well, to encourage more kids to participate,” he noted.
He said about 34 students—around half of the Grade 7/8 class—are participating in the instrumental music class while the others focus on music in other ways, such as through music appreciation, theory, or choir.
“We’d like to see all the students take part in instrumental music, but you can’t force them to—not everyone wants to,” Daley remarked.
Now in their fourth week of lessons, Daley is quite impressed with the students’ progress.
“They’re very keen, coming on their own at recess to practice,” he noted. “It’s amazing how quickly they have picked it up. They had no training prior to this and they sound good already.”
Since it is an actual class in the school, the students will receive a report card mark. They have group lessons with the instructor, in addition to spending time playing as a band.
They also are planning on playing in the school’s Christmas concert, as well as the July 1 parade here and the Fourth of July 4 parade over in International Falls.
Faith stressed the students have a good attitude toward the program.
“I feel it’s a great opportunity for the kids. If it were up to me, they’d be playing all day,” he chuckled. “I believe in music—it’s one of the neatest things in life.”
Faith said there are no rivalries in music, like there are in sports, and that participating in music is “a great way to have a good time.”
“They can expend a little energy,” he noted, adding the students come to realize that it is difficult to learn to play an instrument and they have to put a lot of work into it.
Daley, meanwhile, is hoping the instrumental music class will improve student achievement at the school.
“Maybe without this, some would otherwise have not been excited. It might be a hook,” he reasoned. “It’s for the betterment of the school and the kids. Music is another educational experience they are going through that they might never have had.”
Daley said they plan to continue to offer the instrumental music class as long as possible, and perhaps eventually would move it into the junior grades.
He’s pleased with how the program is running so far and would encourage all other elementary schools to look into offering similar classes.
“It’s very important to have instrumental music in the schools and if every school could make it work, they probably should,” he remarked.