Average Joe

When I first met Joe, he was surrounded by a group of high school teens, laughing and joking as if he was one of them. I acknowledged his sense of friendship, especially with his students, which he claimed to be his key to success. Joe was the director of bands at a well-established high school. He made sure to emphasize how much he loved his job and enjoyed his students’ love and passion for music. He was a middle-aged man, balding (but managed to keep the shine) with hair located mainly on his chin for a goatee. He smelled immensely of cologne, and dressed as if he were going out to eat at a nice restaurant or to a formal party, with his button-down, collared royal blue shirt that brought out his baby blue eyes and went perfectly with his blonde hair, or what was left of it. He was a friendly man and very easy to talk to, and I’m glad I chose to interview Joe for my LSU English 1001 student interview.

He was the leader of one of the finest bands in the state. In the fall his days were booked with two wind ensemble classes, two percussion classes, and two music appreciation classes. In his limited spare time, he had to organize and Xerox music and drill charts, which were lists of field locations of individual musicians for the halftime marching show, paint yard lines on the practice field, organize after school band rehearsals, schedule the marching festivals for the band to participate in and arrange for busses to bring them to and from the event, prepare lessons and homework for his music appreciation classes, and keep up with over 180 students as his own children. Even when Hurricane Katrina hit, the new band members from New Orleans, and surrounding areas, were like his own. He took great pride in his relationship with his students. He treated each of them as his own, loved them all equally, respected them as musicians, and treated them like adults. “The absolute best part of what I do is the chance to work with future adults.” His job wasn’t the easiest, claiming that he hardly had breaks for himself. He was constantly organizing and preparing itineraries for rehearsals, trips, football games, and pep rallies. He would get to school around 6:30 a.m. to teach the fifth through seventh grade students from the high school’s elementary feeder schools and wouldn’t leave the band hall some nights until 8:00 p.m. after marching rehearsals in the fall. He would never complain, however, because he loved every minute of it.

He has played the trumpet his entire life and loves to play it for himself and for others. Joe loves teaching music, “The reason I chose to do what I do is because I thought I could do a good job at it. I can't say it's because I had a life long desire to do it, but I thought I could do it, and do it well. I wasn't attracted to anything other than being successful and giving myself the chance to do something significant. I wanted to be a sportswriter, or have some role in a medical field, and I thought I could learn to do that, but I didn't know if I would be really good at that. When I was looking at things, I tried to look at what I thought I could be good at, instead of doing something I could do. I think that's a big difference.” The gift of music is truly that – it is a gift to be shared and embraced as a natural bond between even the most diverse people. This gift is not one to be kept hidden, but should be given to the public and shared with people, because it’s the only cultural barrier that can be easily surpassed. Anyone can enjoy music, no matter where they are from or what they do for a living.

About a year ago, he was offered a promotion at the school to Assistant Principal and Disciplinarian. Although he loved his music teaching job, he decided to take this position because of the raise in salary. With this came a real job. “It wasn’t fun anymore. I missed teaching and interacting with students.” To him, his job as director was not a job at all, but more of a fun activity that he could play at everyday. Now, he felt trapped in the corner office, with a telephone line and a computer and loads of paperwork. He had to attend all the important meetings because he was the fourth person in-charge. “The meetings I had to sit through all seemed to be related in some way and seemed to never end. They weren’t fun at all.” Consuming the most part of his day, he had to write detention and Saturday School slips and walk around the entire building and hand them out to the students. He began to find his job less and less interactive other than the times when he would be visited by the rule breakers. To add to his new “fun” duties, he was in charge of the discipline. When a student was sent to the front office for acting up in class, they were sent to him. He would constantly listen to the “I didn’t do anything wrong,” and “the teacher doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” He claimed to feel like a police officer questioning the guilty criminal. He quickly got tired of dealing with the trouble-makers of the school, and severely missed his band students. He misses his job so much, that next year he will return as band director. “I love it that much!”

Music is a job that relates to anyone, anywhere. Everyone listens to music and everyone has a style that they enjoy. “I don't think music changes the world, but I think it changes people, and changes people for the better. Therefore, my job is important and is vital to society.” It shapes who we are and has dramatic affects on the culture. Especially in the Louisiana community, music is the root of tradition. Music can influence all personalities. Without music, life would be bland and most would lose their connection to the world and their outlet to express themselves.