I recently stumbled across a feed on social media where parents and educators were drawing conclusions about the value (or lack thereof) of certain activities in school. At first, I was intrigued by the comments and what people felt had an impact on their future and what they felt was absolutely unnecessary in the educational landscape. Here are some of the things they listed as having absolutely no value:

-Playing the recorder in elementary school

-Cursive writing

-Physical education (all of it!)

-Memorizing the state capitals

-Making dioramas

-Spelling

The list went on, and these are some of the ones that I remember. When I really started digging in to the comments, I came away with a feeling that we, as educators, don’t do a very good job of explaining the “why” of some things to our students or our parents/community. That seems almost inexcusable in today’s world, given that teacher preparation programs and professional learning experiences across the board that asks teacher candidates and current teachers/administrators to focus on relevance and authenticity in the real world. Yet, if we really dissect the aforementioned activities and their relevance, we just might be missing the boat on educational value.

Surface level explorations of learning to play the recorder certainly might lead one to believe that there is only value in introducing instrumental music to students and, if one is not interested, there is little value after this realization occurs. Further, there are some who follow that basic musical skills do contribute to mathematical abilities, and, indeed, the research supports this. But, authenticity? Relevance? Not unless the child is going to pursue music in intermediate, middle, or high school, and possibly beyond.

Skimming the top layer of authenticity, we could find meaning that unless something is to correlate directly to day-to-day operations, or life outside of the school walls, there is no authenticity to be had. If we examine the definition of the word “authentic” closely, we will find that it has both practical and philosophical meanings. The first, the practical, defines something as authentic if it is genuine, or based on facts; reliable. While we can speak to education as being genuine, especially in its efforts with children (and adults), we cannot really apply this practical definition in discussing the benefits of playing a recorder, or in the requirement for physical education. The philosophical definition offers that something is relating to an emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human life. This definition makes me think this is far more relatable to the struggles we have in finding value in certain educational activities. But, it takes a process of discussion and thought to get to a “why” that really explicates on how playing a recorder is purposive, significant, or part of a responsible mode of human life. Let’s go deeper.

Take all of the components of playing the recorder into account: the finger placements necessary to yield a note and the dexterity to swap placements in a time set by an external force (the teacher/conductor, metronome, or other source); the posture, breath, and support needed to extend a note, or play one of quality and/or in tone; the synchronization of playing notes and beats with others around you who need to play the same notes and beats, or at least follow at the same pace; the hand-eye coordination needed to watch the teacher/conductor and, at the same time, focus on the finger placement; and the knowledge of music, possibly reading music or memorizing the tune and requisite finger placements, rhythms, etc., including dynamics and types of rhythms. There is so much that goes into one so-called useless task of what constitutes school for our children. But, let’s continue examining this in depth.

While playing the recorder might not, at first glance, fit the mold for authenticity, it is clear that the skills embedded within the process of playing the recorder are absolutely entrenched in authentic facets of the world external to school. We can take any number of career focuses and hone in on how these skills contribute to, if not success, at least an entry level of performance that, with practice, can enhance any student’s ultimate performance in their future path. Take the dexterity of learning different finger placements and fast forward to 10 key-stroke skills for an accountant, or a financial auditor, or a bank teller. Or, compare it to a potter’s ability to mold clay while spinning on the wheel and deftly focus in on a small piece of the larger work and hone it to the slope or curve desired. Or, how about a surgeon wielding a small tool in the maxillary facial bone during a reconstructive surgery? What about cabinet makers etching shape into the face of the wood?

We could dive into all of these skills and really address their authentic value and their relevance for students. Sure, it would be easy for schools to eliminate the required playing of a recorder in elementary school and have students only build dexterity within their career choice, either by waiting, or by having them start that particular choice young. And, for dabbling in it at a young age, not a problem. But imagine what thirteen years of school would be like focusing on developing skills like dexterity in only one lens. It seems more appropriate skills like dexterity be developed using a variety of activities, such as playing the recorder to cursive writing to trying out a sport in physical education class to making a dustpan in technology class to becoming a really quick typist in either library media class or keyboarding.

The authenticity of some of these activities is more readily seen than others, but it is how we share this with our students, with our families, with the community at large, that will garner us buy in at the end.