Standardized testing and what it can learn from the arts

After wrapping up with music directing four different shows for our summer theater workshops, I find myself, once again, going back to thinking about process and product when putting on a production. This also throws me back to my complicated feelings on how we are “testing” our students “to see what they have learned.”

I know that I am not alone in my thinking, but I am one who completely disagrees with the concept of standardized testing. It is impossible to create a singular test that can accommodate every individual and is capable of evaluating exactly what each student knows. It is important to note that even if a student doesn’t have an issue with the structure of the standardized test itself, there can be myriad external events unrelated to the standardized test that directly affect how a student performs (no pun intended) on said test.

When having such strong feelings about the importance of not basing the value of a student’s culmination of knowledge on one single day, I often feel like a hypocrite since my career often feels like a multitude of performances (“tests”) that I am responsible for. An extra stressful aspect is that these productions are public and families definitely feel like they know what their child got out of the rehearsal process based on how they performed. So we get back to that one moment on stage representing their entire experience leading up to that one moment, which is not fair to the program or the student. But, as I think about standardized testing versus public performances, the differences can fall under two categories:

• The amount of organization that occurs before and throughout the rehearsal process; and

• Our ability to differentiate our curriculum to cater to the individual. Although we work as a team (an “ensemble,” if you will), the strength of our team would not be effective if we had even one individual who was struggling within it

In the arts, there is a debate about which to prioritize; the process or the product. I am going to go the diplomatic, and probably boring route and say that for a successful performance program, a balance must be struck between both. I have participated in programs where they say, “it’s all about the process, don’t worry about the end result!” I believe the intention behind this is to not stress out the creative team or overwhelm the performers. However, the reality is is that if a creative team puts on a show where the overall quality is poor, the caregivers that are there to witness the performance are not going to care if their performers had fun in the rehearsal process. I can say from personal experience that me simply having a friend or family member performing in a bad performance does not take away the awkwardness of watching said production.

The great news is that high quality production doesn’t have to have experienced and naturally talented performers! I am of the mindset that everyone should get to have the opportunity to perform on a stage if that is what they want to do. If you have a similar philosophy, this means that everyone (regardless of ability) will come out of the woodworks to participate in your program. When you have a group of students who need some - or a lot of - support to put on a production (take for example, a musical that consists only of 7-year-olds), the organization and all the behind-the-scenes work needs to be of the highest caliber. Here are some qualities of a great performance that doesn’t include the talent of the individual.

• The performers and ensemble are able to say all their lines and sing all their songs so that they can be understood by the audience - this may mean the program may need to invest in some quality amplification!

• Entrances, exits, and movements are clear and understood by all the individuals (including the crew)

• Memorization and flow of the lines, songs, choreography, and transitions are consistent

• Performers remain focused through the entirety of the performance

• The creative team and crew were clearly unified in their vision and fully involved in supporting their performers

• And, most importantly, the performer is obviously enjoying their time on stage and is proud of their performance after it is over!

These characteristics of the performance product would not be possible if the rehearsal process was not successfully coordinated. Consistent transitions and performers remaining focused means that there needs to be adequate time to run through the show from beginning to end, sometimes multiple times. The creative team being unified in their vision involves communication not only before rehearsals start but during the process (sometimes we bite off a little more than we can chew and need to pivot). This even applies to the performer’s ability to enjoy their time on stage! If the rehearsal process is chaotic and unpredictable, that disorganization is going to translate on stage in the form of anxiety from the performer. While some “butterflies” are normal, the fear of going onstage comes from not knowing what is going to happen or what is going to come next. Even if the student is able to push through and complete the performance, they’re not necessarily going to be happy with their performance at the end of it. This is because the anxiety far outweighed the relief you are supposed to feel once you’ve completed the difficult task.

To bring it back to the ethics of standardized testing, I think the large issue that I have with this culture is that there is a ton of disorganization within our governmental system and they are not able to differentiate their tests to accommodate the needs of every individual. If we are going to “teach to the test” (which I disagree with, but let’s continue with the parallel for now), there needs to be adequate “rehearsal time” leading up to the test. It has been proven time and time again that these tests aren’t working (especially for lower income schools and school districts) and teachers are saying that they do not have enough time and resources to support their students. I also don’t believe the “creative team” is doing their due diligence to communicate with as many professionals as possible to try and make these tests accessible. There doesn’t seem to be any communication throughout the process to identify why a population may not be successful with these tests and taking that information to make adjustments for later. I can also safely say that the anxiety of these tests consistently outweigh the relief that students feel once they have finished the tests. I always know when the standardized testing season is happening because they either flat out tell me how stressed they are about these tests or their focus is out of whack for those couple of weeks. I can safely say they’re not necessarily proud of their work or even relieved that it’s over. They know that they’re just going to have to go through the same, painful process again the following year.

The most successful performance programs that I have been a part of have the ability to evolve each year. They listen and take feedback and add it when it can reasonably be incorporated. The federal government and each state’s Department of Education needs to be looking at the systems and editing and adjusting if things are not working. Officials need to be making these accommodations because unlike our fun and enjoyable musical performances, these students, teachers, and schools can’t opt out of these tests.

The pedestal of the “full-time job"

In the arts, few people are considered “lucky” enough to have a full time job through an employer with benefits that is fully connected to our primary interest. Even fewer of those full time artists do not need any sort of supplementary income (aka, they don’t need to engage in the side hustle).

As I have wrapped my first week of summer theater workshops, I have been reflecting on the various and sundry jobs that I have had in my life: Babysitter, camp counselor (for generic camps, theater camps, piano camps, and music camps), student worker for the English department at my college, personal care assistant (PCA), music director, choral conductor, actor (touring and non-touring), paraprofessional, paid alto ringer and sub alto for many choirs in many locations, audition pianist, church pianist, rehearsal pianist, one-on-one virtual math and literacy tutor, choir section leader, public school music teacher, and even the really random couple month stint as a bartender at a Chinese food restaurant while I was in college in rural New Hampshire (I needed some extra money, but the few tips that I got went right back to the restaurant since I always got an order of crab rangoon immediately following my shift).

Currently, I work as a private voice, piano, and group voice teacher for two studios, I work as a private lesson booking coordinator for one of said studios, and I continue work as a PCA for two families, one whom I have been working with about 10 years. The other family I am incredibly fortunate enough to be employed by, is my own. Since COVID, the agency that my parents get funding from have allowed siblings to be employed as PCAs. This means that my 30-year-old autistic brother is able to visit me in Boston and we are able to go out and do fun activities together. This is something that we have always done and enjoyed anyway, but now I get paid for the time we spend together. While doing all of the above consistently, I take on singing gigs and fit them in whenever they are offered to me and when I have the availability and energy to take them on. During the summers, I work as a music director and counselor for one of the studios I am employed by during the year, continue my booking work, and then I fill in the rest of the time with PCA work. If I need extra financials, I am able to add on sporadic private lessons throughout the summer.

With the massive paragraph above, I am only talking about “paid time.” I haven’t even gotten into the prep work and professional development that goes into the above jobs (don’t worry that’s a topic that will be saved for another time).

When people ask me what it is that I do for the purpose of small talk, this makes my answer very complicated. I do say that I’m a music teacher, but then I have to specify that I’m a private music teacher, but then people get confused about that being “all I do.” Which results in me stating that I work for multiple studios, have about 40 students on average, and clarifying that I also do other work (but I don’t necessarily get into what it is I do, since people were already confused enough about what I do as my primary job). Even though I don’t have an easy full-time position that I can cleanly put on a resume, trust me, I am working full-time.

This leads me into the problematic nature of how the general public views self-employment, part-time work, and the gig economy as “not being real jobs” (unless you are famous - friendly reminder that all celebrities take part in the gig economy). Even though I don’t have a singular full-time job, I do have a common through-line through all my jobs; music and education. However, having these various experiences have allowed me to take bits and pieces from each of those not seemingly real “jobs” (even from my past employment) and given myself a focus on building my career as a musician and educator.

Regardless of what a person’s day-to-day job actually is (if it even is day-to-day), it is unnecessary and unkind to judge a person’s current situation and their choice of employment, especially if you don’t know them very well. A person’s employment is not an indication of their worth. This is why I try and avoid the question of “what do you do?” as being one of the first questions that I ask upon meeting someone. It is also incredibly diminishing to follow up with what they plan on doing for their future if you consider their current employment something that’s not desirable. The United States is an expensive place to live and recent inflation trends have been making it worse. If you’re making your living situation work in whatever way you’re able, huge kudos to you.

COVID also revealed that full-time employment is not necessarily more stable than self-employment. Companies will not, and did not, hesitate to lay people off regardless of how long they worked there. I am willing to bet that part-time and gig workers were more successful in their ability to pivot during such an unpredictable time, since that is the nature of our career. On Jameela Jamil’s podcast, iWeigh, I heard a recent quote from her interview with Cindy Gallop that resonated with me. Gallop was talking about how “evangelical” she has become since working for herself in her mid-40s. After all, “whose hands would you rather place your future in? Those of a large corporate entity who doesn’t give a s*** about you? Or somebody who will always have your best interests at heart, i.e. you?”

There are absolutely skills that full-time workers gain when operating for a singular company for a significant amount of time, but it’s also important to recognize that people that engage in the gig economy also have a multitude of skills, albeit different ones. Everyone is needed and should be appreciated with all the diverse work that is out there and available. There wouldn’t be enough room and positions available if every single person worked towards the job that society deems the “best” and most “successful.” Everyone should work where they best fit in terms of their strengths, works for their family unit (which could be themself as a single person), and is ultimately happy, fulfilled, and paid a fair and living wage. That is how living in a society works.

Nasal Breathing

A couple of nights ago, I had an impromptu conversation with a friend who is a speech language pathologist. The conversation began with her asking me how singers are typically trained to breathe (if it is through the nose or the mouth). I responded saying that the end goal is to be able to breathe through both the nose and mouth, but typically we start off with the mouth. She was surprised and let me know that she has been studying about all the benefits in regards to nasal breathing and how it actually allows more ease of movement in the diaphragm. Of course, I tried this and realized that that was true. The thing I couldn’t get past was that I couldn’t inhale with the same speed and “ease” that I when breathing through the mouth. I had done alternate-nostril yoga breathing in the past and found that there was a lot of resistance, to the point where I was debating that there was something abnormal about my nasal cavity. After bringing this up to her, we decided to FaceTime later that evening to check in and talk more.

When FaceTime-ing, here were some main takeaways from my conversation:

• Nasal breathing should be slow and gentle and it doesn’t need to be loud “sniffle” sound (take away the concept of breathing in on 4 and breathing out on 8, etc.). Let the air simply “enter” the same way as you would when breathing through the mouth.

• The nose serves as a filter. Simply breathing through the nose will help with many things, especially managing allergies!

• There are strategies to encourage nasal breathing even while sleeping! You can use a small piece of medical grade tape to keep the lips closed while you sleep (only enough to encourage the muscle memory of the mouth to stay closed during the night, you are not forcibly taping your mouth shut).

• The Breathing Cure was recommended reading and was encouraged to learn more about the Buteyko Breathing Method.

• An interesting nose-clearing method! Breathe in through the nose, plug your nostrils with two fingers, gently bob your head forwards 10-15 times (or however long that you can comfortably hold your breath for), then breathe out through your nose. It is recommended to do this repeatedly (with breaks in between) and then you will feel clarity in your nasal passages! Click here to see this in action!

Another big takeaway (something that I am familiar with about myself and something I will tackle in another post) is my fast talking. My friend recommended that since nasal breathing encourages you to slow down the breathing, then maybe it may also slow down my pace of talking. She also mentioned that this was something she has had to work on as well and when working with her patients, she also slows way down and breathes through the nose so that she can model to them what she is looking for.

That evening, I had a young family friend stay with me during the week and part of our routine is that I read to him before he goes to bed. I decided to try putting the nose breathing in practice. I don’t really breathe mindfully when I am reading and just try and cram as much as possible in one breath. Unsurprisingly, I took the punctuation as the note to breathe as a starting point. Surprisingly, although I was nose breathing, my old habit of trying-to-fit-as-much-in-as-possible-in-one-breath stuck with me for quite a bit. This resulted in very long run-on sounding sentences with a long pause at the end to account for the gentle inhalation, which, I’m sure, sounded very weird.

I then decided to take the on the tactic that I use when teaching voice and “refuel the tank” whenever I have the opportunity. Instead of fitting everything possible in one breath, take the opportunities to breathe when they are offered to you! I breathed through my nose at every comma, period, question mark, colon, and semi-colon. I found that I didn’t have to breathe as long this way and the tempo of my reading improved. Most importantly, I also found that I was much less out of breath when reading. Although it will be difficult to fully replace my voice training breathing with nasal breathing (especially in quick breath moments), there are definitely many more opportunities that I can incorporate nasal breathing in my singing, my teaching, and my day-to-day routines.

Recital Season!

Personal Experience Disclaimer: I currently work for two fabulous studios where I am employed as one of many music teachers. Since I am one of many teachers, we have dedicated administrative employees so I am actually not super involved in the logistical aspects of putting on a recital (advertising, ticket sales, set up/strike, etc.). I am lucky in this way since it allows me to simply show up and give full focus to my students and their families (not just during recital season). I understand that my experience is not the same as other teachers and studio owners, so some of my experiences below may not be applicable or relatable to some.

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After wrapping up a fabulous recital season and a traditional school year, I am reminded and validated about my choice to become an educator, albeit an unexpected one. Although I have been teaching since 2013, I moved to Boston in 2017 and this is the first time that I have worked with multiple students for this significant length of time (over six years at this point). I am finally starting to see the long term effects of my teaching and that is electrifying for me.

I have a student that I worked with starting at the age of six where her first recital piece was “Hush Little Baby.” Today, she sang Taylor Swift’s “Out of the Woods.” I have a student who I started with when she was eleven, and now she is graduating high school and getting her degree in musical theater at a school in New York City. I also have many students who choose not to perform in recitals and, yet, I am so proud of all of the work and effort that they put into their instruments. Those students still put in the same dedication to their craft as the ones that dedicate a noteworthy (pun alert) amount of time into their one recital piece.

Another amazing thing that I enjoy about recital season is being able to connect with other teachers. Being a private teacher, you don’t necessarily have opportunities to check in with other teachers because of how isolating the profession can be. Today, since we had a two-hour break between two of our recitals, I was able to chat and catch up with a variety of teachers with vastly different backgrounds and experiences. One of whom is a percussionist getting their master’s in music education, one who is a guitar player in a band that is consistently gigging around the Boston area, and one who has their doctorate in jazz composition. All three of whom are super passionate about music teaching, their instruments, and music theory! It was so refreshing to have the time to nerd out with like-minded folks who are not judgmental or critical of one’s knowledge and desire to learn more.

These recitals are also a time to come together not to simply “show off” our highest level students (and I have the culture of the studios that I work with to thank for that), but to give an opportunity for all students to perform publicly, socialize, and see the potential of the musician they could grow up to be. Seeing these students receive the full, undivided attention of their parents, siblings, and caregivers for a full minute or two and the joy that student has after completing their piece and looking out and making eye contact with those family members is something that can’t be matched.

I hope to look back on this if I am ever feeling burned out or after a not so “successful” recital (whatever that even means) and refuel with this reminder of the bittersweet closure of a year paired with the thrilling unpredictability of what is coming next!

What are some validating experiences that you have received from successful recitals? Put all of the self praise and love in the comments!

We have to start somewhere

Hello! I am Hannah Judas and I am a private voice and piano teacher primarily, but education and music has been a constant thread that has connected every phase of my life. Although I am currently private music teacher, I have had experiences in the public teaching sphere, the performance world, music direction, special education, mentoring, advocacy, parent relations, and customer service. I believe in the power of shared knowledge and information and my goal is to post about everything ranging from successful tactics that I have come up with or encountered, to thoughts about what happens in day to day teaching life, and even frustrations that I may have with certain systemic obstacles or expectations as a performer or a teacher. I want this information to be free and accessible in the hopes that teachers, students, parents can use this material for whatever they need, even if it is simply validation for feelings they may be having with this wonderfully complex profession.

I’m not going to lie, I have also started this blog to hold myself accountable. One of my professional goals this year is to engage in more professional development. My intention is to share take aways and give credit and visibility to these various forms of professional development that I am excited to dive into.

You can easily learn more about my professional life and experiences through the various tabs on my website, but the purpose of this blog is to document the more personal side of me, my career, and my learning. Don’t worry, this will not go into “secret diary” territory, but I am excited for the potential for people to be able to learn from my experiences as a teacher.