Can anyone hear how bad the music at Eckstein sounds?

I have hope,

However, the idea that no one in the the Seattle area is outraged by Eckstein, the flagship of a horribly mismanaged and segregated school district, is anathema to me.

Both Eckstein and Washington have failing music programs by national public standards. These standards are defined first by inclusion and ethical practice, not by showboating and the extolation of a few privilaged kids - much less trophy accumulation.

Exclusion, segregation and remunerative practices mark the poor and cheating programs of the Seattle Public Schools.

Trophies are paid for, in that the schools pay fees to attend events that cater to them because they have bought into a scheme over time. Many of these "jazz" events take place in cities like Las Vegas and Reno at casino's. Wealthy parents can pay for private lessons during public classroom hours, and kids are allowed to leave general band rehearsals with private contractors during public instructional hours. This is illegal. Do the competing schools know that the Seattle Public Schools are getting away with this?

The presentation of a facade of accomplishment is foisted upon the public by an incopetent administration and a horribly mismanged district. This district goes so far as to give "jazz" instructors credit cards- credit payed for by you.

Has anyone reviewed the demographics in the Eckstein building over the last 10 years? If you have, you tell me what you think is happening to students of color in that environment.

In terms of the music, does anyone think about the fact hundreds of band students not only never get the opportunity to participate in the illegally funded "Jazz Band" program, but are also constantly bullied in a hostile and reified environment; an environment that is established upon inherently exclusionary and emaciated musical practices?

Did anyone notice the favors that kids who are "soloists" or "featured" performers in the "jazz" bands and musicals get while the others are shouted at and told to be quiet?

Did anyone stop to listen to how awful the large choirs and bands sound at Eckstein this year, or is everyone mesmerized by the "jazz" doodle-ings of about 14 privately instructed rich kids?

Shouldn't we consider the fact that even these wealthy students only mimic the starving music of an oppressed people from 70 years ago? Is this ironic?

The facade of accomplishment is perpetuated by privately sponsored "musicals" in a public space.

Worse, the featured performers are tricked, by selfish and slow music teachers, into believing that the hours they spend serving the teacher might result in playing with a "traveling big band" or getting a "star role". No real discussions about options in the work force, such as military service or the realities of college and orchestral auditions for winds and brass, are clearly addressed.

Does anyone want to talk about the lives of traveling musicians? It is wonderful to be a traveling musician if it is a choice the individual makes and they know how to support themselves. Why, however, would middle schoolers, in Seattle, be tricked into believing that playing instruments is a viable career path outside of academic participation in their schools, or a few narrow real world possibilities. This mystification can only occur if adult self interest is being served.

I dare any informed parent to attend a meeting facilitated by the semi-illiterate principal of the institution at Eckstein. See if you can follow anything she is saying, much less ask yourself weather or not you can be honest about how poorly prepared she is, or how unorganized her work appears. Alarmingly, she now has even further evaluative and executive powers over her teachers, many of whom are far more intelligent and professional than she is.

Also, what middle school band teacher (especially one with as much experience as the one who heads the program now) takes middle schoolers to Vegas? He also takes pictures with 14 yr old girls dressed like they are 25 year old lounge singers, either holding instruments they can barely play or with their arms wrapped around him, then posts those photos in his classroom, pretending the girls were having an educational  experience. What kind of teacher? A teacher with a problem; a teacher who has a principal protecting that problem.

Finally, Eckstein is a throw back to an era in American History that makes most of us weep. How on Earth does this building continue to be toted as a flagship, when it is so clearly segregated? How is it that Sue Wong, a volunteer in the office, has more control over financial documentation for the programs than the principal or any of the teachers?

What about teachers of color? There are none. They have been systematically bullied out through illegal process over the last 10 years. Does no one see this, or is it just OK because the needs of the wealthy are preeminent, even in the public space?

PLEASE WAKE UP! Stop supporting failing schools and cheating music programs with your time and money. Stop buying into cheating and mismanagement. Stop supporting incompetent and racist district employees. Recognize that music in this district is not what it is presented as.

Ask real questions of the graduates who have been on the road for 15 yrs after the trauma of drug filled high school "jazz" trips to Amsterdam, most of whom are just trying to hold their lives together. Then ask yourself, "Did that concert actually sound good?" 

I am sure it probably did if it was the most privileged 14 out of 800 kids who are supposed to be getting a music education in a public school, and if the concert was at an adult performance venue like "Jazz Alley" where the parents can drink and gobble down some shrimp cocktail while their children entertain them.

Also, who chooses the leads in the "musicals"? Should this be what public programming looks like? Is it that the teachers are good at finding the few mystically endowed music students and presenting them? NO. It is that rich parents pay to have their kids promoted in what is now an unequal space and administrators have bought into making students earn extra money for them through performing.

Say something - recognize the poor and exclusionary music programs for what they are. Don't be mystified by the mediocre execution of a few privileged kids and push for inclusion programming. Larger, more inclusive concerts are much less boring anyway.

If remuneration, exclusion, racism and undue focus upon pretentious music programs in the Seattle Public Schools concern you, please respond and help me to continue this discussion.  

-Former Teacher
 Concerned Citizen