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Growing Musicians
Growing Musicians
Teaching Music in Middle School
and Beyond
Bridget Sweet
1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Oxford University Press 2016
First Edition published in 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sweet, Bridget, author.
Growing musicians : teaching music in middle school and beyond / Bridget Sweet.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–937206–5 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978–0–19–937207–2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1.â•‡ School music—Instruction and study—United States.â•… 2.â•‡ Middle schools—United States.
I.â•‡Title.
MT1.S949 2015
780.71′2—dc23
2015017982
9â•‡8â•‡7â•‡6â•‡5â•‡4â•‡3â•‡2â•‡1
Printed by Edwards Brothers, USA
For Jason, Luke, and Evelyn
You are the absolute loves of my life.

CONTENTS
Prefaceâ•…â•…ix
Additional Voicesâ•…â•… xi
Growing Musiciansâ•…â•… xv
Acknowledgmentsâ•…â•…xvii
1. The Adolescent Musicianâ•…â•… 1

Characteristics to Considerâ•…â•… 3
Physical Nuancesâ•…â•… 4
Adolescent Emotionâ•…â•… 9
Brain Developmentâ•…â•… 12
Cognitionâ•…â•…15
Navigating Identityâ•…â•… 18
Self-Esteemâ•…â•…22
Digestâ•…â•…25
2. The Music Teacherâ•…â•… 27
Teaching Young Adolescentsâ•…â•… 29
Roles of the Music Teacherâ•…â•… 31
Music Educator Roleâ•…â•… 32
Leadership Roleâ•…â•… 44
Nurturer Roleâ•…â•… 50
Cautious Counselor Roleâ•…â•… 52
The Role of Teacher, Not Friendâ•…â•… 53
Resourceful Provider Roleâ•…â•… 54
☹ and ☺ Experiences with Teaching Adolescent Musiciansâ•…â•… 59
☹â•…â•…59
☺â•…â•…61
3. Cultivating Music Classroom Climateâ•…â•… 67
Acknowledging Student Diversityâ•…â•… 67
Safe Placesâ•…â•… 77
Deb’s Safe Placeâ•…â•… 83
Follow-up Activitiesâ•…â•… 86
4. Establishing the Framework for Successful Music Classesâ•…â•… 91
Flexibility within Structureâ•…â•… 91
Establishing Structureâ•…â•… 94
Classroom Management and Disciplineâ•…â•… 96
Classroom Managementâ•…â•… 97
The Influence of Physical Spaceâ•…â•… 98
Student Engagementâ•…â•… 102
Interacting with Adolescent Music Studentsâ•…â•… 103
Disciplineâ•…â•…104
Interacting with Parents of Adolescentsâ•…â•… 108
Preserving Student Dignityâ•…â•… 111
Bullying in the Music Classroomâ•…â•… 113
5. The Humanity of Teaching Musicâ•…â•… 117
S.P.A.M.: Singing Produces Awesome Miraclesâ•…â•… 118
Random Acts of Kindnessâ•…â•… 121
Empathyâ•…â•…126
6. Humor in the Music Classroomâ•…â•… 141
Humorous Peopleâ•…â•… 143
The Adolescent Sense of Humorâ•…â•… 143
The Lighter Side of Adolescent Music Teachersâ•…â•… 147
Humor as a Teaching Tacticâ•…â•… 149
Laughing at Ourselvesâ•…â•… 150
Humorous Interludesâ•…â•… 151
Sarcasmâ•…â•…152
Discussion Questionsâ•…â•… 154
Resourcesâ•…â•…157
Appendix A: Teacher Participant Extended Biosâ•…â•… 165
Notesâ•…â•…171
Referencesâ•…â•…173
Indexâ•…â•…179
[â•›viiiâ•›]â•…Contents
P R E FA C E
Even as kids reach adolescence, they need more than ever for us to watch over
them. Adolescence is not about letting go. It’s about hanging on during a very
bumpy ride. (Ron Taffel)
When I graduated from college with my bachelor’s degree and certifica-

tion in music education, I proclaimed, “I am going to be a high school choir
teacher!” To me, that was it—go big or go home. However, my intentions
fell victim to circumstance, and I found that my two choices for employ-
ment were either to build a K–12 music program from scratch within a
small, rural community or to work as a junior high choral music teacher
shared between two urban schools. In an effort to maintain the most sec-
ondary focus possible, I accepted the junior high choral position and kicked
off the school year two days later. No matter, as I would soon be a high school
choir teacher.
In the midst of my first year as a junior high music educator, my former
high school choir teacher encouraged me to apply for the posted middle
school position in my home district, placing me in alignment to succeed her
following her imminent retirement. It was perfect. I would bide my time in
the middle school until I could step into my dream job at the high school.
Therefore, my second year as a music teacher began at Kenneth T. Beagle
Middle School in Grand Ledge, Michigan. I can see the light at the end of the
tunnel! Soon I will be a high school choir teacher!
John Lennon wrote in his song “Beautiful Boy,” “Life is what happens
to you while you’re busy making other plans.” While continuing to teach
full time at Beagle Middle School, I began my Master of Music Education
degree at Michigan State University (MSU) and completed my degree over
summer and fall semesters. The combination of my class work at MSU and
my work as a middle school choral teacher resulted in a greater apprecia-
tion for middle school students. I found that I took pleasure in the stu-
dents’ goofiness and quirkiness, and how every day was different and
slightly unpredictable. I appreciated that I could be a powerful influence in
my students’ lives and reap the benefits of their youth and willingness to
be silly. I enjoyed not “living in a fishbowl” with regard to public perception
of my music program, as high school choral teachers sometimes experi-
ence. I immensely enjoyed how free I felt to be myself with middle school
students—my own goofiness and quirkiness fell right in step with theirs.
As a result, my interest in remaining with middle school students grew
stronger than my interest in eventually taking over the high school choral
position. Following graduation from the MSU master’s degree program in
2003, I was urged to pursue a doctorate in music education. However, at
that time I had no interest in leaving my position at Beagle Middle School
to be a full-time student.
In the winter of 2005, a conversation with a high school choral teacher
who had completed his Ph.D. in music education at MSU while teaching
full-time rekindled my interest to pursue a doctoral degree. I decided that
an eventual sabbatical from Beagle Middle School would allow me to com-
plete my one-year residency requirement for a Ph.D., from which I could
return to Beagle Middle School and continue teaching. The best of both
worlds! I began my doctoral degree at MSU in the summer of 2005.
For the first two years of my doctoral program, I continued to teach
full-time at the middle school. I found that my role as a middle school
teacher meshed with that of a doctoral student and developing researcher,
and I became strongly aware of a lack of research about, and advocates
for, adolescent singers. As a result, my research focus shifted from the
perspective of middle school students (as it had been throughout work
on my master’s degree) to the perspective of teachers of middle school
students. What could we learn from exemplary middle school choir teach-
ers to share with preservice teachers, developing teachers, and experi-
enced teachers to assist them in facilitation of student-centered middle
school choir classes based on democratic principles of music teaching and
learning? This question led to the development of my dissertation (Sweet
2008), as well as to my resignation as the choir teacher at Beagle Middle
School in order to complete my Ph.D. and pursue a collegiate music educa-
tion position. During the final year of my degree program, I embraced life
as a full-time doctoral student and prepared to answer this question in
order to promote awareness of middle school choir students and develop
advocates for this population.
Middle school students truly seem to be “my people.” I feel a strong
connection with their musical and personal needs and development, as
well as their sense of humor. As previously mentioned, throughout my
[â•›xâ•›]â•…Preface
undergraduate degree program I considered teaching high school to be the
pinnacle of the music education profession and anything else was, to my
mind, less prestigious. Today, as a teacher of music educators, I see that
version of myself in my students every semester of every year: young
adults completely fixed on their futures as high school band, orchestra, or
choral teachers. Regardless of where they land and whom they ultimately
teach, I am honored to support and teach them and to provide opportuni-
ties for growth and reflection as they navigate the transition from student
to teacher. However, I do find great enjoyment in educating my college stu-
dents in the ways and joys of working with adolescents, which includes
dissipating fears about puberty and fending off their own bad memories
from middle school.
There is no precise span of years to define “adolescence.” However, there
is general agreement that the emotional, psychological, and physical tran-
sitions of adolescence can span from upper elementary school through
high school and into adulthood. By looking beyond grade levels and focus-
ing on developmental characteristics, I have developed an affinity for ado-
lescents, whose unpredictability and sense of humor never fail to fascinate
and amuse me, and whose journeys from childhood to adulthood never fail
to intrigue and concern me. I recognize the potential power of middle-level
music classes, from general music to ensemble participation, and believe
that teaching methodologies and practices rooted in a safe and structured
learning environment truly allow students to empower themselves while
developing their musicianship.
ADDITIONAL VOICES
Although my middle school teaching background is rooted in choral

music, this book is intended for all disciplines of middle school music
teaching—choral, instrumental (band and orchestra), and general music.
Throughout the book you will find commentary from middle school music
teachers whom I interviewed about their work with adolescent music stu-
dents. A constructivist approach helped me to examine how these middle
school music teachers perceive and construct their own reality within a
variety of teaching settings. As defined by Michael Crotty (1998):
Constructivism points out the unique experience of each of us. It suggests that
each one’s way of making sense of the world is as valid and worthy of respect than
any other, thereby tending to scotch any hint of a critical spirit. (Crotty 1998, 58)
Prefaceâ•… [â•›xiâ•›]
I contacted colleagues at universities across the United States to gather
names of exemplary choral, general music, band, and orchestra teachers.
Colleagues provided a total of twenty-eight names and, following initial
contact, sixteen teachers agreed to participate in my research. I have also
included the insights of Deb Borton in this book, who was the primary
participant of my dissertation.
Interviews took place either in person, over the telephone, or via Skype.
Although each participant answered the same questions, interviews
ranged from fifty to a hundred minutes in length, depending on the time
each participant took to answer the questions. Each interview was digi-
tally recorded and then transcribed, with a transcription provided to the
respective interviewee to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness. The teach-
ers answered follow up questions via email.
It is important to emphasize that my sharing of these teachers’ per-
spectives and stories is not to claim their thinking as right or wrong, but
rather to provide a variety of perspectives from which the reader may
glean ideas, validation, and encouragement in working with adolescent
musicians. Professor Michael Quinn Patton wrote in his 2002 book
Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods that, through examination of
different perspectives, “the constructionist evaluator … would not pro-
nounce which set of perceptions was ‘right’ or more ‘true’ or more ‘real”
(Patton 2002, 98). Thus, as he suggests, it is up to the reader to decide
which of the discussed ideas, approaches, or philosophies best mesh with
their own.
At the time of our interviews, the seventeen participants primarily
taught middle school choir, band, strings, and general music; two of the
teachers additionally taught guitar classes and/or a guitar ensemble.
Because all of these middle school teachers differed in years of teaching
experience, school settings, and teaching responsibilities, the following
short biographies situate each person within his or her own teaching
context. However, please keep in mind that these details indicate where
each person was teaching at the time of data collection. Several of the
teachers are no longer currently working at the school identified below;
updated biographies can be found in Appendix A. Actual teacher names
and school names are used throughout this book, unless a pseudonym
was requested.
Deb Borton
Deb is a middle school teacher in Okemos, Michigan with a focus on

choral music.
[â•›xiiâ•›]â•…Preface
Bethany Cann
Bethany is a general music teacher at Penn Treaty Middle School in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Robyn Chair (a pseudonym)
Robyn is an orchestra teacher at two middle schools and two elementary

schools in Illinois.
Jay Champion
Jay teaches chorus, general music, and electronic music composition at

Lost Mountain Middle School in Kennesaw, Georgia.
James Cumings
James is the middle school choir teacher at Kidder Middle School in

Jackson, Michigan.
Matthew Dethrow
Matthew is a middle school teacher at Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle,

Illinois with a focus on band.
Jason Freeland
Jason is the middle school band teacher at Central Middle School in Tinley
Park, Illinois; he also teaches general music one hour per day.
Seth Gardner
Seth is a middle school teacher at Haverford Township Middle School in

Havertown, Pennsylvania with a focus on choral music.
Sean Grier
Sean is one of the two choir teachers at the Durham School of the Arts
(DSA) in Durham, North Carolina.
Prefaceâ•… [â•›xiiiâ•›]
Michelle Limor Herring
Michelle is a middle school teacher at Lamar Middle School in Austin, Texas

with a focus on choral music.
David Hirschorn
David teaches choral music and guitar at Durham Middle School in Cobb
County, Georgia.
Michael Lehman
Michael is the middle school band teacher at Edison Middle School in

Champaign, Illinois.
Marsha Miller (a pseudonym)
Marsha is a middle school teacher at Philip East Middle School in Illinois

with a focus on band.
Andrew Nickles
Andrew teaches at Gridley Middle School within the Tucson Unified School
District in Tucson, Arizona where he has integrated his string orchestras
with his guitar ensembles.
Gretchen Pearson
Gretchen is a middle school teacher in Illinois with a focus on orchestra.
Kate Tyler (a pseudonym)
Kate is a general music teacher in Illinois and also teaches a middle school
choir one day per week after school.
Tavia Zerman
Tavia is the middle school band teacher at Hayes Middle School in Grand
Ledge, Michigan.
[â•›xivâ•›]â•…Preface
GROWING MUSICIANS
More than anything, middle school pulls in children and pitches back teenagers.
It is a time of change, which means, at this age, many things. (Perlstein 2003, 6)
Each chapter in this book is designed to address different facets of working

with adolescent music students. As will be discussed throughout, there is
no single, clear-cut way to define or explain adolescent actions or think-
ing because each student progresses through adolescence at his or her own
pace; nor is there just one way to teach adolescent music students. That
said, this book will provide a variety of perspectives and considerations on
which to reflect with regard to your own work as a music educator.
Chapter 1 provides foundational information and focuses on charac-
teristics of young adolescents, ranging from physiological, emotional, and
social development to identity development and self-esteem. As Â�chapter 1
specifically focuses on the adolescent music student, Â�chapter 2 concen-
trates on the music teacher. Conversation in Â�chapter 2 addresses the
development of our individual philosophies of teaching adolescent musi-
cians and the varied roles that a music teacher plays in the lives of young
adolescents. Within Â�chapter 3, discussion centers on the music classroom
climate, including acknowledgment of student diversity and cultivation of
the music classroom as a safe place. Chapter 4 is focused on the equilibrium
of flexibility and structure in a music program, as well as matters of class-
room management, discipline, and bullying in the music classroom. Ideas
of humanity and empathy are explored within Â�chapter 5, as they are eas-
ily situated within the context of an adolescent music class. Humor is the
overarching topic of chapter six—specifically, humor as a teaching tactic
with adolescent musicians. When used mindfully, humor can be an effec-
tive and powerful teaching tool.
Prefaceâ•… [â•›xvâ•›]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The ideas within this book have been rattling around in my head, heart,
and soul for a very long time. It has been quite an adventure exploring
and embracing these ideas over the past years, and it is thrilling to see this
project realized. So many people have assisted me along the way—truly an
endeavor of this magnitude is never done alone. However, there are four
main people who influenced my contemplation of the ideas contained in
this book and, in varied ways, very much contributed to the formation of
this book. I would like to acknowledge them in chronological order.
I know the first moment that I ever contemplated the idea of empower-
ment of adolescent musicians was during a doctoral advising meeting with
my co-dissertation chairs, Dr. Sandra Snow and Dr. Mitchell Robinson, at
Michigan State University. As we hashed out topics for my dissertation
research, the two of them wholeheartedly encouraged me to study with
middle school choir teacher, Deb Borton. I distinctly remember them say-
ing, “If we could bottle and sell what Deb is doing over there with those
middle school students…â•›.” It took convincing for me to approach the
idea of studying the teacher’s perspective because I had been very inter-
ested in the student perspective for so long. But after my advisers lovingly
poked and prodded at me, I embraced the idea and have never looked back.
So, thank you Sandra and Mitch for starting me on this wonderful path
long ago.
I surely would not be where I am today if I had not started my research
project on Deb Borton, middle school choir teacher extraordinaire. She
completely took me down the rabbit hole of empowering adolescent musi-
cians; she taught me about Safe Place; and she embraced me as a colleague
and a friend. She inspires my work every day and (even though I’ve tried to
tell her) will have no idea of the magnitude of the impression that she has
made on me and so many other people. I am a better music educator and
human being for knowing her; the world is a much better place with her in
it. Thank you, Deb.
The fourth person who has been key in the creation of this book is my
editor at Oxford Press, Norm Hirschy. It was his vision to take the ideas
from my dissertation and put them into a book to share with the world.
He has been endlessly patient with me throughout this process—through
changing university positions and moving across the country, through
the arrival of both of my children—and has been nothing but 100 per-
cent supportive and encouraging. His feedback is elegant and insightful;
he is so good at helping me to see the forest for the trees. Norm, you have
strengthened my voice as a music educator and I cannot thank you enough
for believing in my work.
This project would not have been possible without the influence of the
hundreds of adolescents with whom I’ve worked over the years. I am incred-
ibly grateful to be a music educator and to work with so many remarkable
students—both in my past and in my present. Thank you to all of the
amazing middle school music teachers who shared their stories and love
of teaching middle school students with me during this project: Michelle
Barrientes, Bethany Cann, Robyn Chair (pseudonym), Jay Champion,
James Cumings, Matthew Dethrow, Jason Freeland, Seth Gardner, Sean
Grier, David Hirschorn, Mike Lehman, Marsha Miller (pseudonym),
Andrew Nickles, Gretchen Pearson, Kate Tyler (pseudonym), and Tavia
Zerman. I feel very fortunate to have crossed paths with you and am hon-
ored to share a bit of you with the music education profession.
I am especially thankful to Eve Harwood, who traded many hours of
editing my proposal draft chapters for breakfast at Panera—you are one
in a million. Thank you also to Janet Barrett and Louis Bergonzi, who have
encouraged me and stretched my thinking with regard to Safe Place, diver-
sity, and empowerment of adolescent musicians. I am so lucky to benefit
from your guidance, your “push” to better understand what I am passion-
ate about, and your incredible brains. Thank you to Eva Telzer and Reed
W. Larson for your conversation, as well as your important insight and
research on adolescents. Thank you to my students Katie Bruton, Meghan
Jain, Megan Warren, and Syrus White for allowing me to share a bit of your
personal insight. Thank you to Stacey Gross for all of your efforts to make
this world a better place.
I have many supportive friends and colleagues who have helped me
along this pathway. Thank you, especially, to Tami Draves and Mary Ann
Schmedlen, who have asked repeatedly about this book project and always
seem to supply the perfect encouraging words at the perfect time. I am also
very appreciative of the great support that I have received from Christine
Benway, Amy Davis, Kirstin Dougan, Doreen Earle, Lisa Koops, Adam
[ xviii ] Acknowledgments
Kruse, Jeff Magee, Laurel Miller, Jeananne Nichols, Elizabeth Cassidy
Parker, Heather Spitzley, Cynthia Taggart, and Sheri Tulloch.
Special thanks to my mom, Marsha Cosgrove, as well as my sister, Kate
Cosgrove, for their continued love and support during the completion of
this project. In addition, I am grateful for the love from Chris Tyler, Juniper
Tyler, Patrick and Patricia Cosgrove, and the entire Sweet family (Deb and
Tony, Abbey, Tiny and Erin, Sophia, Ava, and Vivian). A special note to my
grandmother, Lillian Miller, who passed away while this book was still in
progress at 100-1/2 years old: thank you for your unwavering love, sup-
port, and encouragement; you make me a better person.
To Luke and Evelyn, the greatest little people on the planet, I thank you
for providing me with unlimited love and encouragement through your
giggles, snuggles, spontaneous dance breaks, and silliness; and for allowing
me breaks in my professional life to just be Momma. I love you madly and
look forward to our time together when you are adolescents—it is going
to be so much fun! And lastly, and most important, I am humbled by the
unwavering love and support from my husband, Jason. I am not sure how
I could have completed this book without you by my side and I am forever
grateful for all of the kind and encouraging words, the hugs, and the Keurig
coffeemaker that I have used a zillion times while writing late in the wee
hours of the night or early in the wee hours of the morning. You have been
so unselfish in giving me the time and space necessary for this project to
come to fruition, always with a supportive or encouraging word. I love you
and thank you for everything.
Acknowledgments [ xix ]
CHAPTER 1
The Adolescent Musician
Bridget: What do you enjoy about middle school students?

Kate (general music): Their sense of humor. (She has a huge grin
on her face as she speaks.) I love that they wear their heart on their
sleeves. And that they are just so ridiculously honest sometimes.
I love that they can be a different person from one day to the next
and when they appreciate something, they really appreciate it.
And when they don’t like something, they tell you! And they ask
very frank questions that sometimes are difficult to answer, but
they appreciate my honesty right back. So, in some ways, it’s a
little selfish of me because I get so much back from them, too. You
know, I learn things from them and I get so much love from them,
that it just comes full-circle and makes the whole thing worthwhile
on a whole other level for me.
Deb (choir): I got a chance to spend 24 hours with a whippet! Honest
to God they don’t even qualify as a dog—he’s like a cat in a dog
body! One of the funniest darn dogs! Their whole head is this
wide! (Deb holds up her thumb and pointer finger, just inches apart
from each other.) And his tail was like a possum! (grimacing) Ugh!
Ryker the whippet. (laughs) See, I’ll tell the kids about Ryker the
whippet. I think that’s a dog I can appreciate because that’s like
a middle-schooler. I mean this anomaly, this physical anomaly of
boobs and hair and impulse and childhood and the whole middle
school child just delights me. And they still love you. They are still
young enough to be able to love you openly, which I think is quite
delightful.
If you described the young adolescent music student, what words would
you choose? Emotional? Quirky? Irrational? Witty? Awkward? Funny?
Hormonal? Smelly? A whippet? All of the above and more? When work-
ing with young adolescents, music teachers may encounter a range of pos-
sible characteristics on any given day with any given student. The following
remark by Tim Gerber in his article “Nurturing the Young Adolescent: High
Stakes for the School and Social Environment” accurately describes
adolescents:
Young adolescents can switch from sweet to sullen in seconds. They can be
friendly one day and distant the next. They can go from being naïve nerds to
party animals in the same week. They seek attention for being weird or unique,
but then quickly conform to bathe in the security of peer approval. They wallow
in egocentric excess—only to snap suddenly out of it. (Gerber 1994, 7)
Unfortunately, research and writings have complicated understandings of

adolescents (and adolescence) by focusing on the age group with a defi-
cit viewpoint, highlighting instances of unpredictability, risk-taking, or
negative decision-making rather than on instances of ability, loyalty, and
humor. In his book Adolescence, Ian McMahan illustrates this point:
I dropped by a large bookstore and browsed in the Parenting department. The

books were arranged by age. On the first shelves, I noticed such titles as The
Magic Years, How to Raise a Happy Baby, and Kids Are Worth It. The covers featured
cute, smiling babies and attractive, smiling parents. Then I moved a few feet to
the right, to the Adolescence section. Some of the titles caught my eye: The Roller
Coaster Years, How to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble, How to Stop the Battle
with Your Teenager, How to Keep Your Teenager from Driving You Crazy, Yes, Your
Teen Is Crazy! Clearly, the idea that adolescence has to be a time of “storm and
stress” is alive and well and living at Barnes & Noble! (McMahan 2008, 156)
Along the same lines, in Teaching General Music in Grades 4–8, music educa-
tion professor Thomas Regelski discourages broad, negative assumptions
about adolescence: “â•›‘Storm and stress’ is not a universal experience of early
adolescence. Some individuals are (or seem to be) well adjusted” (Regelski
2004, 35).
I believe that early adolescence is a time of delightful and rocky indi-
vidual transition for everyone regardless of intelligence, ability, or popular-
ity level. I also believe that as music educators we are in prime positions
to provide safe places and experiences for middle school students to learn
about music and themselves, free from judgment. When adolescent music
[â•›2â•›]â•… Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

students sense less scrutiny from others and feel accepted for who they are,
students experience feelings of empowerment and are more willing to put
themselves out there with regard to their music and thinking.
My experience as an adolescent student was not overtly negative, but
also not great. What about yours? I encourage you to recall and reflect on
your own adolescent experiences to retain a personal perspective on the
age group. As a result, you will be better equipped to recognize and recon-
cile various characteristics of your adolescent music students. When con-
templating your own experiences, also recall the role that music played. In
my own adolescent reality, choir class kept me going throughout any minor
or major turmoil; similarly, for many of our students, music is an escape, an
adventure, a home away from home, and a bright spot in their days.
Focus of this first chapter is on key characteristics that should be con-
sidered by music educators working with adolescents, regardless of area of
musical concentration. The following discussions are based on the collected
wisdom of individual teachers and findings of scholarly research.
CHARACTERISTICS TO CONSIDER
Puberty refers to the onset of adult reproductive capacity. As a milestone in human

development, puberty is quite dramatic, involving a rapid transformation of anatomy,
physiology and behavior. Other than pregnancy, it is probably the most abrupt and
encompassing developmental transition that human beings undergo between birth and
death. (Ellison and Reiches 2012, 81)
There is no precise span of years to define “adolescence,” but teachers and

researchers tend to agree that this developmental period extends across
middle school and high school, perhaps into the early twenties. As a cho-
ral teacher, I have worked with students in the beginning stages of voice
change (signifying the start of puberty, often considered the official start
of adolescence) in upper elementary school as well as in early high school.
Therefore, discussion of the adolescent student throughout this book is not
strictly limited to students in grades six through eight. And, although gen-
eralizations may be made about adolescent characteristics and behaviors,
music educators must consider each student on an individual basis.
As mentioned earlier, although the word “adolescence” does conjure
negative feelings and/or images for some people, this is not the case for
everyone. While writing this book, I met with Eva Telzer, a developmen-
tal psychologist at the University of Illinois. Over coffee we discussed
the dominant perception that adolescence is believed to be a dark time
T h e A d ol e s c e n t M u s i c i a n â•… [â•›3â•›]
of depression and horribleness for developing teens. This widespread
bias has, in turn, influenced research on adolescents (and adolescence) in
that much focus is maintained on negative aspects of this developmental
period rather than positive aspects. Many people do have positive recol-
lections of adolescence, especially those involved with music. Because of
this, music teachers are encouraged to remember throughout this chapter
(and book) that adolescence is a time when music students are primed
to be influenced and to grow and contribute in all kinds of positive and
exciting ways.
Physical Nuances
At the onset of puberty, secondary sex characteristics begin to emerge. In

girls there is the rounding out of hips, breast development, appearance of
pubic hair, menstruation, and change of voice. In boys, there is a broaden-
ing of chest, appearance of pubic hair, facial hair, and change of voice. It is
also during this time that middle school students start to take precautions
about body odor and begin to (optimistically) use deodorant and (unfortu-
nately) much too much cologne or body spray.
Poor posture is often an issue with adolescents as a result of self-
conscious feelings about personal appearance and rate of growth. In addi-
tion, people commonly react to adolescents more on the basis of size than
age. Physically small adolescents may be viewed as immature or as less-
skilled musicians, even if these students have high intellectual abilities.
On the other hand, adolescents who are physically large for their age, even
though they are emotionally and intellectually immature, are expected to
act grown-up and to do or know more than what they are capable of.
The range of possibilities for adolescent physiological development is
very wide, and the bottom line is that nothing is predictable. Picture a
group of seventh grade boys. What do you see? A realistic vision would
be one long, lanky student who towers over the rest, standing next to a
tiny student who is easily mistaken for a fourth-grader, standing next
to a stocky baby-faced student who is standing next to the stereotypical
quarterback on the high school football team. Arms so long that students
can practically scratch the backs of their knees without bending over.
Incredibly long feet. Noses and ears and mouths too big for faces. Similar
contrasting descriptions could also easily be conjured for a group of ado-
lescent girls. Each student will grow at a different rate and, as develop-
mental psychologist Ian McMahan explains, some even with body parts
growing at different rates.

The growth spurt in adolescence does not go smoothly and evenly. Different
parts of the body change at different times and at different rates. Children who
have recently entered their growth spurt sometimes have the feeling their hands
and feet aren’t where they’re supposed to be. The reason is that hands and feet,
along with the head, are the first parts of the body to start growing faster at
puberty. The arms and legs follow soon after. Growth in the trunk and shoulders
comes still later. This asynchronicity is responsible for the “gawky,” “gangly,” or
“leggy” look that makes so many early adolescents self-conscious about their
appearance. (McMahan 2008, 72)
In addition, adolescents are clumsy, poorly coordinated, and often trip over
themselves purely because they no longer know how long their feet actually
are. Linda Perlstein beautifully describes this sporadic, erratic growth in
Not Much Just Chillin’:
It happens at different times for everyone, which is why there are kids in sixth
grade who look eight and kids who look eighteen. These physical changes are the
greatest they’ve experienced since they were babies. This mysterious force that
visits preteen boy’s bodies, which causes blond hair to darken and easy grace
to disappear in a tangle of limbs and skin to pock with pimples, is objectively
something wonderful—growth! change! maturity!—but it infuses them with
a profound, unidentifiable sense of loss, as they start to see their childhoods
fall. They’re not so cute anymore, and they know it. Their smells outpace their
awareness of them, feet and armpits and breath, such that sixth-grade teachers
wonder if they can tell their first-period classes to brush their teeth, or should
they have the nurse do it? Eventually muscles will form, visible through fore-
arms when fingers are flexed, but for now the bones come alone, and arms and
legs grow faster than the brain’s ability to track them. A boy hits himself on
corners of doorways, bangs his funny bone. So many times, as he races to get his
gym clothes off to catch the bus home, Jimmy gets his head stuck in his shirt,
the pants in the shoes, so he’s starting to wear his gym clothes home. Entering
puberty, a child grows so fast (three inches a year, on average, for boys) and
so unevenly that inactivity is actually painful. He squirms after sitting still for
fourteen minutes, which makes eighty-minute classes excruciating. Why do the
teachers make you sit up straight? They think you can learn only if your body is
propped a certain way? (Perlstein 2003, 61–62)
Sporadic physical growth presents potential challenges for our adolescent

musicians as they struggle to retain control of gross and fine motor skills.
With longer fingers and arms, students may have difficulty negotiating
their instruments in our music classes; with longer legs, activities such
T h e A d ol e s c e n t M u s i c i a n [5]
as dancing, movement, or marching can be quite challenging. All of this
should give you a whole new respect for well-synchronized middle school
marching bands. And speaking of marching bands:
Marsha (band): I had this one trumpet player who was marching
with his trumpet and, while playing [the music] memorized, bent
down at the same time, picked up a rock, and threw it at another
kid. And I was just like, “What are you doing?!” And I just wanted
to be so mad at him because he threw a rock at somebody else—but
at the same time I was like, “That was so impressive!” (chuckles) He
was able to do that … I couldn’t believe that the kid had enough
coordination to do this!
In the article “Physical, Motor, and Fitness Development in Children and

Adolescents,” authors Leonard D. Zaichkowsky and Gerald A. Larson discuss
the development of gross and fine motor skills of children and adolescents.
They organized their discussion by age grouping: early childhood, childhood
(6–9 years), late childhood (10–12 years), and adolescence (12–18 years).
Because adolescents will experience puberty at different rates, our students
will likely embody a combination of characteristics of both late childhood
(10–12 years) and adolescence (12–18 years) in our music classes.
During late childhood (10–12 years), children are especially full of
energy and experience their greatest changes in motor skills. In addition:
During this period children move from fundamental, transitional motor skills
to the development of specific skills, and more fine-motor skills. Major pubertal
changes occur; girls often experience an early growth spurt and surpass boys in
physical and motor development until the later adolescent growth spurt of boys
occurs. (Zaichkowsky and Larson 1995, 63; emphasis in original)
Consider students you know around this age. Can you think of specific
students who have largely mastered gross motor skills (such as playing a
percussion instrument on the beat or singing a processional while walk-
ing onto risers) but struggle with tasks that require more fine motor skills
(such as playing a cross-hand arpeggio on an Orff instrument, articulat-
ing a scale on the piano, or flawlessly demonstrating an intricate physical
movement sequence)? Does sex and/or gender play a role in student suc-
cess of some tasks over others?
All of your students will increase mastery of both gross and fine motor
skills to some degree during their time in your music classes, but it will take
some adolescents longer than others. Therefore, what are the implications
[6] Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

of this “skill transition time” for us as music teachers? First and foremost,
we must remain patient. There is no sense in being frustrated about some-
thing that is completely out of everyone’s control. What is within control
is careful and thoughtful planning of lessons that allow students to engage
with music and feel successful on some level, regardless of their develop-
mental stage. In addition, lessons and activities need to be sequenced in
such a way that students build and develop skills both within a single class
period as well as over several class periods.
As adolescents enter into seventh and eighth grades, characteris-
tics described by Zaichkowsky and Larson for the stage of adolescence
(12–18 years) will emerge, beginning with an early growth spurt that “is
so rapid that motor abilities lag behind” (1995, 64). This period of devel-
opment coincides with great motor awkwardness, as addressed earlier.
However, according to Zaichkowsky and Larson, alongside the significant
increases in awkwardness, physical strength, and size during adolescence,
students will also begin to experience a refinement of motor skills that
leads to a desire for specialization in activities. “The specialization stage
of motor development continues through adulthood. It is characterized
by the individual’s desire to participate in a limited number of activities
and represents a combination of all preceding stages” (ibid.). Therefore,
at this peak time of great physical awkwardness and unpredictability, stu-
dents start to make key choices about their musical involvement—largely
based on current perceptions of their abilities at musical tasks. Again, at a
time when they are the most awkward, students make big choices about their
future involvement in music. It is a dangerous intersection for us as music
teachers and we must proceed wisely to help our students feel successful
and understand that physical skills will catch up to cognitive learning in
due time, meanwhile keeping our music programs meaningful and relevant
for adolescent musicians.
During my years teaching middle school choir, adolescent male and
female voice change was commonly a fork in the road for students making
decisions about future involvement with singing, both within my choral
program and beyond middle school. But before I continue with this exam-
ple, I would like to briefly explain what happens during voice change. The
most simplistic of explanations is that voice change is a growth spurt of the
larynx. When adolescent body parts are growing sporadically, the larynx
also grows in size. The larynx is the walnut-sized house for the vocal folds
located in the middle of one’s neck as part of the trachea (also known as the
windpipe). In males, the larynx grows more posteriorly/anteriorly (front to
back) resulting in the protrusion of the Adam’s apple in the neck for most
young men. The female larynx tends to grow more in height or round out a
T h e A d ol e s c e n t M u s i c i a n [7]
bit, which is why females tend to not have an Adam’s apple after they pass
through puberty.
In addition to the overall larynx enlarging, everything within the lar-
ynx also grows, including cartilage, muscles, and the vocal folds. Female
vocal folds elongate approximately 3 to 4 millimeters, resulting in a singing
range extension downward one-third of an octave and up 3 to 4 pitches
when all is settled; male vocal folds elongate approximately 1 centimeter,
resulting in a downward-range extension of one octave and upwards 6 to 7
pitches. So all of the components of the larynx continue to operate as nor-
mal, but because muscles that control cartilage, which in turn controls the
vocal folds, are all growing at sporadic rates, the vocal folds cannot close
properly (or all the way) until this entire growth spurt is complete. As a
result, both male and female singers experience a lack of phonation on cer-
tain pitches or large “holes” in the singing range, cracking and fuzzy voices,
excessive breathiness (because vocal folds are not closed all the way and air
is escaping through the space between them), a thin or colorless vocal tone,
and great unpredictability during vocal production.1
I now turn back to the example introduced above. Because voice change
can be so personal and unpredictable, it can largely influence adolescents
to stop singing. Therefore, in my choir classes I employed key tactics to
keep students singing and feeling normal during voice change. First,
I made a formal presentation about what physiologically happens dur-
ing voice change, and I did this every year with every choir. So if I had
an eighth-grade student for all three years of middle school, that student
took part in my official presentation about voice change three times. This
is very important, because each subsequent time, the student was in a new
phase of voice change and interested in different aspects of my presenta-
tion. Beyond the formal presentation, acknowledgment of voice change
was woven into the fabric of our choral classroom and a common topic
of conversation. I hung posters of the respiratory system and digestive
system around the room and referenced them often; we watched videos
of laryngoscopes and people singing, as well as videos of middle school
students singing at different stages of voice change; students assisted in
their own voice testing at least four times per year; students constantly
sang different voice parts in the music so that no one was permanently
associated with a particular voice part (on this song you are singing alto
vs. you are an alto); students assisted me in rearranging their own vocal
lines according to the accessible notes; and we celebrated the little and big
successes of individuals (“I can sing down to an F below middle C now!”),
as well as the larger group (“That is the fastest that you have ever tuned
that chord! Bravo to you!”).

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
When elected to this office, he gave his friends a dinner. The table
was set without one wine-glass upon it. “Where are the glasses?”
asked several of the guests, merrily. “Gentlemen,” said Mr. Wilson,
“you know my friendship and my obligation to you. Great as they are,
they are not great enough to make me forget the rock whence I was
hewn and the pit whence I was dug. Some of you know how the curse
of intemperance overshadowed my youth. That I might escape I fled
from my early surroundings. For what I am, I am indebted to God, to
my temperance vow and to my adherence to it. Call for what you
want to eat, and if this hotel can provide it, it shall be forthcoming;
but wine and liquors can not come to this table with my consent,
because I will not spread in the path of another the snare from which
I escaped.” At this, three rousing cheers rent the room for the man
who had the courage to stand by his noble convictions.
BE A TOTAL ABSTAINER.
It pays to be a total abstainer. “Abstinence,” said Bishop Spalding,

“is but negative, a standing aloof from what hinders or hurts.” The
tendency of drink is to deaden the moral sensibilities. It weakens the
nerves, impairs the brain, feeds disease and at last “bites like a
serpent and stings like an adder.” On the other hand, “temperance is
a bridle of gold, and he who uses it rightly is more like a god than a
man.” Nothing is so conducive to one’s happiness and success in life.
Burdette said, “Honor never has the delirium tremens; glory does not
wear a red nose; fame blows a horn, but never takes one.”
There is a story told of Hannibal, the great Carthaginian, who
fought so long and so successfully against the Romans, that when he
was still a boy of nine years, his father Hamilcar asked him if he
would like to go to the wars with him. The child was delighted at the
thought. “Then,” said his father, “you must swear that you will, as
long as you live, hate the Romans and fight against them.” Young
Hannibal took the oath, and all through life was the bitter enemy of
Rome. He took sides with his father and his country against the
proud foes. The boy who wishes to succeed in life must incorporate
“no liquor” in his resolutions, and under all circumstances refuse it,
choosing rather to be an advocate of ennobling temperance.
It pays to be a total abstainer, because it is right. It is not so much
a question of dollars saved or happiness promoted as a question of
right. Said Amos Lawrence, “Young men, base all your actions upon a
sense of right, and in so doing, never reckon the cost.” In the army,
drinking and treating were common occurrences. One noble captain
had the heroism to decline the oft-proffered treat. An observer asked,
“Do you always reject intoxicating liquor?” “Yes.” “Do you not take it
to correct this Yazoo water?” “Never.” “You must have belonged to
the cold water army in your youth.” “Yes, but I learned something
better than that; my mother taught me that what is right is right, and
coming to Mississippi makes no difference. It would not be right for
me to accept an invitation to drink at home, it is no more right here;
therefore I don’t drink.” Some time after an officer met a lady who
wanted to see one who had met her boy, naming his office and
regiment. He told her of the noble examples of piety which were
found in the army and related the case of the captain. She exclaimed,
“That’s beautiful! That’s beautiful! His mother must be proud of
him.” “Yes, she is, and you are that mother.” Amid grateful tears she
exclaimed, “Is that my boy? Is that my Will? It’s just like him; I knew
he would do so. He was a good boy. He told me he always would be
and I knew he would.” Beautiful trust. Excellent commendation.
Would that it could be said of every boy.
It pays to be a total abstainer for the sake of those who suffer
through intemperance. The good and wise Governor Buckingham, of
Connecticut, gave as his reason for being a total abstainer, “If I
indulge, I am not safe. There is no degradation so low that a man will
not sink to it, and no crime so hellish that he will not commit it,
when he is drunk. But if it could be proved conclusively to my own
mind that I could drink and never be injured, yet I could not be
certain but others, seeing me drink, might be influenced to drink
also, and, being unable to stop, pass on in the path of the drunkard.”
Were many more as considerate there would be less drinking
husbands, and less despised and taunted children because of
drunken fathers.
TWO SAD CASES.

Who would ever think of a two-dollar bill relating a sad story and
giving a pathetic warning? Yet such a bill was brought to the office of
a Temperance Union recently. Written in red ink a poor man told
what liquor had done for him, and what it would do for others. Here
is what it said, “Wife, children and $40,000 all gone. I alone am
responsible. All have gone down my throat. When I was twenty-one I
had a fortune. I am now thirty-five years old. I have killed my
beautiful wife, who died of a broken heart; have murdered my
children with neglect. When this bill is gone I do not know how I am
to get my next meal. I shall die a drunken pauper. ’Tis my last money
and my history. If this bill comes into the hands of any man who
drinks, let him take warning from my ruin.”
When Colonel Alexander Hogeland was sitting in his room at
Louisville some years ago, a lame boy knocked at the door. Said he,
“My father is to be hung to-morrow. The Governor will not pardon
him. He killed my mother when he was drunk. He was a good father,
and we were always happy only when he drank. Won’t you go and
talk and pray with him, and then come to our house when his body is
brought to us?” The Colonel did as requested, and found that the
demon drink was the sole cause of that family’s ruin. The father was
hung, and when the body was taken to the home, he was there. Six
worse than orphans were curled up on a bundle of straw and rags,
crying with a grief that would make the stoutest heart quail. The
crippled boy but fourteen years of age was the sole support of the
little family. The father’s body was brought in by two officers. The
plain board coffin was rested upon two old chairs, and the officers
hurried out of the room and away from the terrible scene. “Come,”
said the crippled boy, “come and kiss papa’s face before it gets cold;”
and all six children kissed the face of that father, and, smoothing the
brow, sobbed in broken accents, “Whiskey did it. Papa was good, but
whiskey did it.”
My boy, be temperate. Do your best to stop another such scene.
Sign the pledge. Talk against, work against, and when able, vote
against the liquor interests. “Woe to the man or boy who becomes a
slave to liquor,” said General Phil. Sheridan. “I had rather see my son
die to-day than to see him carried to his mother drunk. One of my
brave soldier-boys on the field said to me just before a battle, ‘Tell
mother, if I am killed, I have kept my promise to her. Not one drink
have I ever tasted.’ The boy was killed. I carried the message with my
own lips to the mother. She said, ‘General, that is more glory for my
boy than if he had taken a city.’”
CHAPTER IX
Be Free of the Weed
INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER IX
By Asa Clark
The influence of example is always a powerful one. With such wide-
spread habits as those of tobacco smoking and chewing it is little
wonder why so many boys indulge. They see only the pleasureable
side of these habits; but it devolves upon us, from our daily
experience with “the ills that flesh is heir to” to make known to you
young friend the dangers lurking in these seductive vices. We doctors
are often consulted by victims of these habits, who are quite
surprised upon stopping the use of tobacco to find to what a degree
they have become enslaved. That the baneful effect from the use of
tobacco is universally recognized is evidenced by the fact of its
prohibition in schools and naval academies, and by the laws now in
force in several of the States and also in Germany, making it illegal to
sell tobacco to any under sixteen years of age.
Tobacco is especially injurious to those subjected to severe mental
strain or physical training, and to such as are engaged in delicate
manual work. The symptoms are many. Digestion is sometimes
greatly impaired. On the heart the effect is very noticeable. My advice
to boys is, not to use tobacco in any form.
CHAPTER IX
Be Free of the Weed
An old monk was once walking through a forest, with a scholar by his
side. He suddenly stopped and pointed to four plants that were close
at hand. The first was just beginning to peep above the ground, the
second had rooted itself well into the earth, the third was a small
shrub, while the fourth was a full-sized tree. Turning to his young
companion he said: “Pull up the first.” The boy easily did so. “Now
pull up the second.” The youth obeyed, but not so easily. “And now
the third.” The boy had to put forth all his strength, and use both
arms, before he succeeded in uprooting it. “And now,” said the
master, “try your hand upon the fourth.” But although the lad
grasped the trunk of the tree in his arms, he scarcely shook its leaves,
and found it impossible to tear its roots from the earth. Then the
wise old man explained to his scholar the meaning of the four trials.
“This, my son, is just what happens with our bad habits and
passions. When they are young and weak, one may, by a little
watchfulness over self, easily tear them up; but if we let them cast
their roots deep down into our souls, no human power can uproot
them. Only the almighty hand of the Creator can pluck them out. For
this reason, my boy, watch your first impulses.”
ORIGIN AND POISON OF TOBACCO.
Tobacco-using is frequently the beginning and stepping-stone to

other vices. Many who have hesitated in entering a saloon or
gambling place have not done so in the use of tobacco.
The origin of tobacco is shrouded in mystery. Mezen was of the
opinion that the Chinese used it from antiquity. Dr. Lizards says it
existed in Asia from early times. Columbus in his discovery of Cuba
tells how he found the natives “carrying with them firebrands,
puffing smoke from their mouths and noses, which he supposed to
be the way they had of perfuming themselves.”
An ancient tradition relates that there was once a Mohammedan
passing along who found a viper lying in his path, almost chilled to
death. In pity the Moslem stooped, picked up the serpent, and put it
into his bosom to warm it. After a while the viper fully revived and
became aware of its situation. He said to the man, “I’m going to bite
you.” “O, no! please don’t,” said the man. “If I had not taken you up
and warmed you, you would even now have been chilled to death.”
The viper replied, “There has been a deadly enmity existing between
your race and mine ever since the world began, and by Allah, I am
going to bite you.” “Very well,” said the man, “since you have sworn
by Allah I will not prevent you, but bite me here on my hand.” He did
so, and the man immediately placed the wound to his lips and sucked
the venom out and spit it on the ground; and from the place where he
spit the poison a little plant sprang up which was—tobacco.
Though this story be not true, yet true it is that tobacco contains a
very strong poison, known as nicotine, supposed to be “the juice of
cursed Hebanon,” referred to in Hamlet. In one pound of Kentucky
and Virginia tobacco, there is, according to Dr. Kellog, an average of
three hundred and eighty grains of this poison, which is estimated to
kill two hundred and fifty people if applied in its native form. “A
single leaf of tobacco dipped in hot water,” said Dr. Coles, “and laid
upon the pit of the stomach will produce a powerful effect by mere
absorption from the surface. By being applied to a spot where the
scarf skin, or external surface of the skin is destroyed, fearful results
are liable to follow, and no man can use it without being affected by
it.”
HOW TOBACCO INJURES.
Tobacco injures physically. “No less,” said Dr. Shaw, “than eighty
diseases arise from it, and twenty-five thousand lives perish annually
from it.” A young man asked Wendell Phillips if he should smoke,
and that statesman answered: “Certainly not. It is liable to injure the
sight, to render the nerves unsteady, to enfeeble the will and enslave
the nature to an imperious habit likely to stand in the way of duty to
be performed.” Many professors of leading colleges have asserted
with figures to prove that boys who begin the tobacco habit are
stunted physically and never arise to the normal bodily development.
Tobacco injures mentally. Beecher said, “A man is what he is, not
in one part, but all over.” And to have a strong mind, one needs a
strong stomach. By the use of tobacco, the stomach is outraged and
the brain becomes narcotized, “the intellect of which,” said Prof.
Gause, “becomes duller and duller until at last it is painful to make
any intellectual effort and one sinks into a sensuous or sensual
animal, whose greatest aspiration is to benumb the nerves and befog
the intellect.” Such assertions may be ridiculed, but as two and two
make four, they are facts. The French government prohibits its use
by students in the public schools. The Swiss government prohibits its
sale to juniors. During the last fifty years no user of it has graduated
from Yale, Harvard or Amherst at the head of his class. Professor
Seely, of the Iowa State Normal, said, “I have not met a pupil who is
addicted to the habit who will go through a single day’s work and
have good lessons. I have had numbers of cases in which they have
remained in the same grade for four successive years and then they
were not ready to be advanced into the next higher grade.” Dr.
Herbert Fisk, of the Northwestern University, Chicago, declared, “A
somewhat careful observation of facts has convinced us that students
who get low marks do so through the use of tobacco. Last year not
one of the boys who used tobacco stood in the first rank of
scholarship. This has been the usual rule. One year, out of thirty-
three pupils in the first rank of scholarship, there was but one user of
tobacco.” Dr. Charles A. Blandchard, President of Wheaton College,
said, “Among our former students who are now physicians, the one
who has the largest income never touched tobacco. Two are now
judges of courts in large cities, with salaries of six or seven thousand
dollars. They do not and have not for years used tobacco. Other men,
who after graduation, became smokers, do not exhibit the same
mental ability. They are, some of them, very able men, but they suffer
in mind from the use of tobacco.”
Tobacco injures morally. It heads the list of vices. It is the first step
to bad companionship, lewd conversation and liquor drinking. The
latter and tobacco-using are twin habits; and do you wonder at it
when tobacco is saturated with Jamaica rum; while “plug” tobacco
which is composed of licorice, sugar, cabbage, burdock and the
refuse of tobacco leaves and other weeds, is often found nailed at the
bottom of whiskey barrels? Said Horace Greeley, “Show me a
drunkard who does not use tobacco, and I will show you a white
blackbird.” Many medical witnesses testify that tobacco using and
drinking are kindred habits. When an investigation was made in the
State prison at Auburn, N. Y., some years ago, out of six hundred
prisoners confined there for crimes committed when they were
under the influence of strong drink, five hundred testified that they
began their intemperance by the use of tobacco. “In all my travels,”
said John Hawkins, “I never saw but one drunkard who did not use
tobacco.” “Pupils under the influence of the weed,” said Professor
Seely, “are not truthful, practice deception and can not be depended
upon. The worst characteristic of the habit is a loss of personal self-
respect and of personal regard for the customs and wishes of ladies
and gentlemen, especially when among strangers.”
HOW TOBACCO IS USED.
Tobacco is used in two ways, smoking and chewing. Both are filthy,
sickening habits, the latter being the more disgusting. For any boy to
chew is to exemplify bad manners doubtless influenced by bad
morals. A few years ago a call was issued from London, to the
scientists of the world to assemble for the discussion of whatever
scientific subjects might be presented, every statement to undergo
rigid scrutiny. One member said: “Tobacco is not injurious. I have
chewed it for fifty years, and my father for sixty years, without
perceptible damage. All this cry about it is nonsense.” The chairman
answered: “Step forward, sir, and let us canvass this matter
thoroughly. How much do you chew?” “I chew regularly three quids
per day, of about this size,” cutting off three pieces from his plug.
One of these was given to a Russian and another to a French chemist,
with “please return the extract.” Then the presiding officer said, “Will
any young man unaccustomed to the use of tobacco, chew this third
quid before the audience? Here are four pounds ($20) to anyone who
will.” A young man stepped forward. The audience was requested to
scan his looks, cheeks, eyes and general appearance, before he took
it, and closely watch its effects. He soon became pale from sickness,
then vomited and fainted before the assembly. The extract from one
quid was given to a powerful cat. He flew wildly around, and died in
a few minutes. The other extract was put upon the tongue of a
premium dog, which uttered a yelp, leaped frantically, laid down and
expired.
PIPE, CIGAR AND CIGARETTE.
Smoking tobacco is used in three ways, in the pipe, cigar and

cigarette. Neither adds beauty to the face or is conducive to health. It
is stated on good authority that Senator Colfax was stricken down in
the Senate chamber as the result of excessive smoking and from that
time smoked no more. It caused the death of Emperor Frederick
through cancer of the lip, killed Henry W. Raymond, of the New York
Times, through heart failure, and struck President Orton and
General Dakin down with paralysis of the heart. Rousseau says,
“Excessive smoking cut short the life of the poet Berat through
nervous effect.” It wielded its sceptre over Royer Collard who died in
the dawn of a most brilliant career through his loved cigar. It
produced cancer of the throat, which ended the life of President
Grant and Robert Louis Stevenson. “Out of one hundred and twenty-
seven cancers cut from the lips of persons in a short time,” says the
Medical Times, “nearly all were from the lips of smokers.” What a
dangerous luxuriant weed! How quaintly yet truthfully “Billy” Bray,
the Cornish miner, said: “If God intended a man to smoke, He would
have placed a chimney at the top of his head to let the smoke out!”
Tobacco smoke is poisonous. It contains one of the deadliest
vapors known to man, which so frequently injures the throat. It has
also a poisonous oil which secretes itself in the stem of the pipe. Dr.
Brodie says that he applied two drops of this oil to the tongue of a
cat, which killed it in fifteen minutes. Fontana made a small incision
in the leg of a pigeon and paralyzed it by applying a drop of this oil.
The reason for so many pale-faced, nervous men can be traced to this
cause.
But supposing that smoking a pipe is not injurious, is it not
unbecoming a gentleman? Napoleon said, “It was only fit for
sluggards.” Gouverneur Morris, being asked if gentlemen smoked in
France, replied, “Gentlemen, sir! Gentlemen smoke nowhere!”
Horace Mann when addressing the teachers of an Ohio school, said,
“The practice is unfit for a scholar or a gentleman.”
To smoke a cigar may be considered more refined than the use of a
pipe. But whoever heard of refining a vice? Horace Greeley, when
addressing a class of young men on the subject, said, “A cigar is a
little roll of tobacco leaves with a fire at one end and a fool at the
other.” At which end should refinement begin? The cigar is more
directly injurious than the pipe because the user inhales more of the
smoke, sucks the weed, and a greater proportion of the poisonous
substance is drawn into the mouth and filtered through the system,
causing dyspepsia, vitiated taste, congestion of the brain, loss of
memory, nervousness and many other diseases.
THE CIGARETTE.
The worst of all, however, is the cigarette. Sometime ago in New

York, an Italian boy was brought before a justice as a vagrant. He was
charged with picking up cigar stumps from the streets and gutters.
To prove this the policeman showed the boy’s basket, half full of
stumps, water-soaked and covered with mud. “What do you do with
these?” asked his honor. “I sell them to a man for ten cents a pound,
to be used in making cigarettes.” This is not all. In the analysis of
cigarettes, physicians and chemists have been surprised to find
opium, which is used to give a soothing effect, and creates a passion
for strong drink. The wrapper warranted to be rice paper is
manufactured from filthy scrapings of rag pickers, and is so cheap
that a thousand cigarettes can be wrapped at a cost of two cents. By
the use of this dangerous thing, thousands of boys have been
mentally and morally ruined. A distinguished French physician
investigated the effect of cigarette-smoking in thirty-eight boys
between the ages of nine and fifteen. Twenty-seven presented
distinct symptoms of nicotine poisoning. Twenty-two had serious
disorders and a marked appetite for strong drink. Three had heart
affection. Eight had very impure blood. Twelve were subject to
bleeding of the nose. Ten had disturbed sleep and four had
ulceration of the mouth.
Several years ago Representatives Cockran, Cummings and
Stahlnecker, of New York, petitioned the Government to suppress
cigarettes by imposing an internal revenue tax upon them. During
one year they cut clippings from the papers concerning one hundred
young men, mostly under sixteen, who died from the effects of these
murderous things, while another hundred were consigned to insane
asylums for the same cause. Because of such harmful effects
Germany has legislated against it. France, West Point and Annapolis
have closed their doors to the boy that uses it and more than a score
of States in the Union have prohibited their sale.
WHY HE FAILED.
A young man who had failed by only three points in an

examination for admission to the marine corps appealed to his
representative in Congress for assistance, and together they went to
see the Secretary of the Navy, in the hope of securing what is known
as a “re-rating” of his papers. “How many more chances do you
want?” asked Secretary Long. “This is your third time.” And before
the young man had a chance to answer, the Secretary continued,
“How do you expect to get along in the world when you smoke so
many cigarettes? Your clothes are saturated with their odor. Pull off
your gloves and let me see your fingers. There, see how yellow they
are!” pointing to the sides of the first and second fingers. Before the
young man found his tongue to offer an explanation the Secretary
asked if he drank. “Only once in a while,” was his sheepish reply. Mr.
Long then invited the Congressman into his private office, and while
offering to do everything that he could added, “I am sick of trying to
make anything of these boys that are loaded with cigarette smoke
and ‘drink once in a while.’ They are about hopeless, it seems to me.”
As they left the department building the young man, half apologizing
for his poor showing, remarked, “Drinking, my father says, is the
bane of the navy.” “I guess it is,” replied the Congressman. “It is the
bane everywhere else, and I should think quite likely it would be in
the navy.”
My boy, let tobacco in any form alone. It is a dirty, dangerous,
expensive habit. It costs this country six hundred and fifty million
dollars annually. Worse than the cost, however, is the injury to body,
mind and soul. Figures cannot enumerate nor scales estimate the evil
it produces. A story is told of a giant who fell in with a company of
pigmies. He roared with laughter at their insignificant stature and
their magnificent pretensions. He ridiculed with fine scorn and
sarcasm their high-sounding threats. When he fell asleep they bound
him with innumerable threads and when he awoke he found himself
a helpless captive.
My boy, ridicule not the contents of this chapter. They are all
important. Heed the warning cry and shun the weed. Many a fair lad
has been stunted in development, lost to ambition, sunk to all
appeals to honor when once in its grasp; therefore let it alone. The
God that made your mouth made the weed, but He did not make the
mouth for the tobacco, nor the tobacco for the mouth. If addicted to
it, I charge you stop right now.
“To do so, is to succeed—our fight
Is waged in Heaven’s approving sight—
The smile of God is victory.”
CHAPTER X
Be Persevering
INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER X
By Marshall Field
A boy should carefully consider his natural bent or inclination, be it
business or profession. In other words, take stock of himself and
ascertain, if possible, for what he is adapted, and endeavor to get into
that vocation with as few changes as possible. Having entered upon
it, let him pursue the work in hand with diligence and determination
to know it thoroughly, which can only be done by close and
enthusiastic application of the powers at his command; strive to
master the details and put into it an energy directed by strong
common sense so as to make his services of value wherever he is. Be
alert, and ready to seize opportunities when they present themselves.
The trouble with most young people is, that they do not learn
anything thoroughly, and are apt to do the work committed to them
in a careless manner; forgetting that what is worth doing at all is
worth doing well, they become mere drones, and rely upon chance to
bring them success. There are others who want to do that for which
they are not fitted, and thus waste their lives in what may be called
misfit occupations. Far better be a good carpenter or mechanic of any
kind than a poor business or professional man.
CHAPTER X
Be Persevering
“All things come to him who waits,” is a pretty sentiment, but

practical application hews the way. No great book was ever written at
one sitting. Edward Gibbon was twenty years composing “The Rise
and Fall of the Roman Empire,” and Noah Webster was thirty-five
years in producing the dictionary that bears his name. No great
address was the result of a moment’s inspiration. When Dr. Lyman
Beecher was asked how long he was preparing a certain speech which
had electrified his audience, he answered, “Forty years.” No great
invention sprang from a dream. George Stephenson was fifteen years
making improvements on his locomotive before he won the victory of
Rainhill, and when asked by a company of young men how they
might succeed, answered, “Do as I have done; persevere.”
“Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt;
Nothing’s so hard but search will find it out.”
THE CHIEF FOREMAN.
One of the great manufacturing firms in Glasgow, Scotland, owes

its prosperity largely to a boy whom they engaged. The story runs
that thirty years ago a barefoot, ragged boy presented himself at the
desk of the chief partner and asked for work as an errand boy.
“There’s a deal of running to be done, and you will need a pair of
shoes first,” said Mr. Blank. The boy, with a grave nod, disappeared.
He lived by doing odd jobs in the market and slept under the stalls.
Two months passed before he had saved money enough to buy the
shoes. He then presented himself to Mr. Blank and held out a
package. “I have the shoes, sir,” he quietly said. “Oh!” the proprietor
remarked, “you want a place? Not in those rags, my lad. You would
disgrace the house.”
The boy hesitated a moment and then went out without a word. Six
months passed before he returned, decently clothed in coarse but
new garments. Mr. Blank’s interest was aroused. For the first time he
looked at the lad attentively. His thin, bloodless face showed that he
had stinted himself of food in order to buy those clothes. On
questioning him, the manufacturer found to his regret that he could
not read or write. “It is necessary that you should do both before we
could employ you in carrying home packages,” he said. “We have no
place for you.” The lad’s face grew paler, but without a word of
complaint he left. He now found employment in a stable and went to
night school. At the end of a year he again presented himself before
Mr. Blank. “I can read and write,” he joyfully said. “I gave him the
place,” the employer remarked, years after, “with the conviction that
in process of time he would take mine, if he made up his mind to do
it. Men rise slowly in Scotland, but to-day he is our chief foreman.”
How true as St. Paul says in Myer’s poem:
“Let no man think that sudden in a minute
All is accomplished and the work is done;
Though with thine earliest dawn thou shouldst begin it
Scarce were it ended in thy setting sun.”
WHAT IT MEANS.
No word should be more prominent in any boy’s vocabulary than

perseverance. Industry is a good word, but one may be industrious,
without being persevering, but he cannot be persevering without
being industrious. Perseverance means persistence in any design,
steadiness in pursuit, constancy in progress. It is the bending of all
energies in one direction till the thing is accomplished. Demosthenes
was a stammerer. He would be an orator, and with pebbles in his
mouth walked the seashore articulating, until when Philip
threatened to invade Athens, he with matchless oratory so appealed
to the Athenians that they cried, “Let us fight Philip.” Fight they did,
and Greece was saved. James Watt was poor and unlettered. He sees
the lid of the kettle rise and fall by the power of steam, and from that
day bends his mind and hand until in after years he creates a steam
engine. Gutenberg beholds the coarse types of Lawrence Coster and
declares he can do better. After much persecution by superstitious
persons, he shuts himself up in a cell of St. Arbogast monastery and
works early and late till he has carved lead type, made an ink roller
and built a printing press. Marcus Morton wants to be Governor of
Massachusetts. Seventeen times he runs for the position and at last
succeeds. Cyrus Field spends eleven years before he succeeds in
designing and laying the Atlantic cable. Edison makes eighteen
hundred experiments before he discovers the proper substance for
the incandescent light, and six thousand before he solves the
problem of preparing the products of the great iron mills for the blast
furnace. The boy who expects to succeed may have to try many times
and face many opposing forces, but as adverse winds aid the kite to
fly, so difficulties are usually blessings in disguise. To climb Alpine
peaks “will put to proof the energies of him who would reach the
summit.”
PERSEVERANCE A NECESSITY.
Nothing guarantees success like persistency; it is more effective

than brilliancy. The faculty of sticking and hanging on when
everybody else lets go is one of the secrets of success. When Congress
and the country were excited over President Johnson’s effort to drive
Mr. Stanton from the Cabinet because he opposed the President’s
policy in the South, Charles Sumner sent the Secretary this message,
“Stanton stick.” He did so to the benefit of the nation. The boy who
expects to make his mark in the world must be a “sticker.” He must
“keep everlastingly at it.” With determination he must conquer
opposition and annihilate obstacles. With Pitt he must trample on
so-called impossibilities. “Impossible is not found in the dictionary
of fools,” said Napoleon, when told that the Alps stood in the way of
his conquest. “Impossible,” cried Chatham, when confined to his
room with gout, “who talks to me of impossibilities?” Lord Anson
had sent word that it was impossible to fit out a naval expedition
within a prescribed period. “Tell him that he serves under a minister
who treads on impossibilities.” When Daniel Webster was speaking
at Bunker Hill, the crowd became so large and pressed so near to him
that he shouted: “Keep back! Keep back!” “It is impossible,” cried
some one in the crowd. The orator looked at them a moment and
then said, “Nothing is impossible at Bunker Hill.” And few things are
impossible to persevering lads.
Tamerlane was once forced to take shelter from his enemies in a
ruined building, where he sat discouraged for hours. His attention
was at last attracted by an ant that was carrying a grain of corn larger
than itself up a high wall. Sixty-nine times did the grain fall, but the
insect persevered, and the seventieth time it reached the top. That
sight instilled courage in the bosom of Tamerlane. Robert Bruce, of
Scotland, had a similar experience. On one occasion he was so
harassed by the English that he was compelled to take shelter in a
barn over night. In the morning he saw a spider climbing a beam of
the roof. Twelve times in succession did it fall but the thirteenth time
it succeeded in gaining the top. The object lesson impressed Bruce.
Rising, he said: “This spider has taught me perseverance. I will
follow its example. Twelve times I have been beaten, and the
thirteenth time I may succeed.” He rallied his forces, met and
defeated Edward and was crowned king.
Christopher Columbus conceived the idea that undiscovered
continents existed west of the Atlantic, and he determined to test the
truth of his theory. He had many difficulties to contend with, such as
poverty and repeated discouragements. The Court of Portugal
disappointed him, his native city of Genoa would not render him aid,
and the city of Venice refused him. At last he laid his cause before
Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain, and he was about
to give up and repair to France, when the Queen sold her jewels to
defray the expenses of the expedition. Thus assisted, he turned his
ships westward and started. On board his vessel he had ignorance,
superstition and mutiny to contend with, and this continued until the
cry of “Land! Land!” came from the lookout at the top of the mast;
then a new world and a glorious triumph crowned his efforts.
PERSEVERANCE IS REWARDED IF PATIENTLY

PURSUED.
Great results are not accomplished in a moment. Sowing precedes

reaping. The wheat must first be sifted and crushed in the mill before
it is baked into bread. The railroad that runs from the Atlantic to the
Pacific coast is but numerous steel rails placed one before the other.
The President in the White House, the general in the army, the judge
on the bench, the orator on the platform reached their positions, not
by a hop-skip-and-jump manner, but by perpetual pushing and
concentration of their energies in one direction. There might have
been times when these were side-tracked and their procedure
necessarily slow, but as soon as the main track was clear, or as soon
as they had cleared it, they went forth with undaunted persistence
realizing as the Italian proverb reads: “Who goes slowly goes long,
and goes far,” and contentment was not theirs till the goal was
reached. To such of like determination, in Richelieu’s words:
“Fail! Fail!
In the lexicon of youth, which Fate reserves
For a bright manhood, there is no such word as fail!”
True, many persevering persons fail as men call failure, but it is

only like the tiger’s crouch before a high leap. Discovering the
bounds through a sense of such, life thenceforth turns all its
capacities into right and effective uses. “To change and to change for
the better, are two different things,” says an old German proverb.
Pestalozzi, the great educator, made several failures in early life,
which he made stepping stones to success. Washington’s military
career was a series of failures. He shared in Braddock’s defeat at Fort
Duquesne. He was beaten at Long Island, driven from New York and
forced to retreat through New Jersey and across the Delaware, when
he suddenly turned like a lion at bay, recrossed the icy stream and
overwhelmed the Hessians at Trenton. This rapid movement and his
attack at Germantown first led observers like Frederick the Great to
recognize his military genius. Peter Cooper failed in making hats,
failed as a cabinet maker, locomotive builder and grocer, but as often
as he failed he tried and tried again until he could stand upon his feet
alone, then crowned his victory by giving a million dollars to help
poor boys in time to come. Horace Greeley tried three or four lines of
business before he founded the Tribune, and made it worth a million
dollars. Patrick Henry failed as merchant and farmer, but resorting
to law and politics was a brilliant success. Stephen A. Douglas made
dinner tables, bedsteads and bureaus many a long year before he
made himself a “giant” on the floor of Congress. Abraham Lincoln
failed to make both ends meet by chopping wood, failed to earn his
salt in the galley-slave life of a Mississippi flat-boatman; he had not
even wit enough to run a grocery, and yet he made himself the
grandest character of the nineteenth century, an emancipator of four
million slaves. General Grant failed at everything. At the age of
thirty-nine he was obscure, at forty-three his picture hung in the
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Teaching Secondary and Middle School Mathematics 5th

Teaching science in elementary and middle school a project

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching

Elementary and middle school mathematics teaching

Teaching Music in American Society A Social and Cultural

Pedagogy and Content in Middle and High School Mathematics

My After-School Tutor: A Sweet YA Romance (Sweet Mountain

Teaching and Learning About Whole Numbers in Primary

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

© Oxford University Press 2016

First Edition published in 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

You must not circulate this work in any other form

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

You are the absolute loves of my life.

1. The Adolescent Musicianâ•…â•… 1

When I graduated from college with my bachelor’s degree and certifica-

Although my middle school teaching background is rooted in choral

Deb is a middle school teacher in Okemos, Michigan with a focus on

Bethany is a general music teacher at Penn Treaty Middle School in

Robyn Chair (a pseudonym)

Robyn is an orchestra teacher at two middle schools and two elementary

Jay teaches chorus, general music, and electronic music composition at

James is the middle school choir teacher at Kidder Middle School in

Matthew is a middle school teacher at Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle,

Seth is a middle school teacher at Haverford Township Middle School in

Michelle is a middle school teacher at Lamar Middle School in Austin, Texas

Michael is the middle school band teacher at Edison Middle School in

Marsha Miller (a pseudonym)

Marsha is a middle school teacher at Philip East Middle School in Illinois

Gretchen is a middle school teacher in Illinois with a focus on orchestra.

Kate Tyler (a pseudonym)

Each chapter in this book is designed to address different facets of working

The Adolescent Musician

Bridget: What do you enjoy about middle school students?

Unfortunately, research and writings have complicated understandings of

I dropped by a large bookstore and browsed in the Parenting department. The

[â•›2â•›]â•… Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

Puberty refers to the onset of adult reproductive capacity. As a milestone in human

There is no precise span of years to define “adolescence,” but teachers and

At the onset of puberty, secondary sex characteristics begin to emerge. In

[â•›4â•›]â•… Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

Sporadic physical growth presents potential challenges for our adolescent

In the article “Physical, Motor, and Fitness Development in Children and

[6] Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

[â•›8â•›]â•… Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

It pays to be a total abstainer. “Abstinence,” said Bishop Spalding,

TWO SAD CASES.

ORIGIN AND POISON OF TOBACCO.

Tobacco-using is frequently the beginning and stepping-stone to

HOW TOBACCO INJURES.

HOW TOBACCO IS USED.

PIPE, CIGAR AND CIGARETTE.

Smoking tobacco is used in three ways, in the pipe, cigar and

The worst of all, however, is the cigarette. Sometime ago in New

A young man who had failed by only three points in an

“All things come to him who waits,” is a pretty sentiment, but