first entry

Today I visited the school I have passed by over the past year on my commute to UCSB campus. Back in spring, glimpsing a chalk mural on the Isla Vista Elementary School grounds got me to stop and admire a nicely drawn Monarch butterfly. In today's meeting, the principal, Ms. Maglione, let me explain my interest in sharing my enthusiasm for music and art with students. Her eyes sparkled, and she called up the Music Room. She gave me a map and sent me to speak with the Art and Music teacher, Ms. Looker. She said this would be a superb match, an apprenticeship, that would allow me to learn a great deal--especially if I want to be an art teacher. Right on!

Ms. Looker boasts two ~6x7 m rooms. When I entered the room facing the playground, my jaw dropped. On the left, I registered three stacks of djembes; cubbies filled with percussion instruments, including cow bells, maracas, and guiros, among others; and two large surdo drums. On the south wall, at least eight guitars in cases. In the closet, more strings: violas, cellos, violins; and woodwinds: flutes, oboes, clarinets. Ms. Looker sensed my awe. She wore a welcoming smile, laughed, and showed me the adjacent art room. A totem pole built from papier-mâché animal faces occupied the northeast corner of the room. Cubbies filled with colored pencils, colored sand, stencils, and paper lined the windowed wall. A cart of at least five massive blocks of terra cotta clay made me wonder if the school had a kiln. They do. It's one of those electric kilns that fire efficiently on a timer. My mouth still agape, I uttered some words like "beautiful," "excellent, " and "how?.." Ms. Looker laughed, she also had sparkling eyes. She claimed herself the "Queen" and knew she had a good gig. She also worked for it. Did I mention they had two standard upright basses?!

Four years ago, the state targeted Isla Vista Elementary in need of Program Improvement. In education lingo, and in our era of the No Child Left Behind Act bullshit, this is not good. It means the students are lagging behind in test scores. The state throws money. The principal chose to continue to allot money for fine arts, to educate holistic students.

Next Tuesday, I'll start as the Music Helper with second grade.