My friend Bill Carozza writes a great blog over at Principal Reflections. Here he discusses the differences between jazz and classical teachers.
I find that adults fit along this both musical metaphor spectrum. We all know colleagues of ours who prefer to know the script to life and yet others who would rather chart their own course and not be told too many rules.
Jamie McKenzie in the Summer 2008 edition of The Educational Technology Journal quotes Paul Berliner’s book Thinking in Jazz (1994):
“Ironically, the thinker must usually acquire a solid foundation in the thinking of the sages, the theories of the experts and the beliefs of the academy in order to build something new and worthwhile…In the world of jazz, young performers must master a repertoire of chord progressions and harmonies so that they can count on them as structures around which and through which they might weave more magical variations.”
I do appreciate the jazz educator and those that work hard to increase their ability to improvise. There is great comfort in a classical approach but educators who can extemporize are invaluable in moving a school forward. Yet, to some degree, school leaders simply have to accept their colleagues for who they are and modify their practice accordingly. While everyone would benefit from understanding their own “musical genre” and perhaps stretch a bit, the reality is that every institution benefits from a diversified faculty.
I will continue to lean toward a jazz approach. But I will always want some Bachs and Beethovens to balance out the staff.
