Jacobs students teach middle school kids

Each Saturday morning from January through mid-April, a group of teen and adult students have gathered at the Musical Arts Center for IU’s Young Winds program.

“It’s an enrichment program for middle school students,” said William Perrine, the program co-coordinator. “Students can participate in a band experience with IU students who have a lot of experience with their instruments.”

Designed to supplement the musical instruction students receive during the school day, the program also helps undergraduates reach their requirements for a bachelor’s degree in music education.

This year, the Young Winds’ final performance will take place April 17.

“Every student who’s graduating with that degree has to take part in an instrumental group like this,” junior Abby Pratt said.

The program typically has an enrollment of around 50 young students, all in school between sixth and eighth grade. The instruction helps students learn a wide range of instruments, including bassoon, flute, percussion and trumpet.

Currently, undergraduate students and one graduate student help instruct the middle school students with various pieces of music, as well as perform alongside the students when there are not enough of a particular instrument to suit a piece.

In turn, IU students can fulfill their requirement to teach an ensemble, a requirement many students said is very helpful.

“In our classes we talk about strategies, so it’s exciting to put those into practice,” graduate student James Woomert said.

Student teachers take turns conducting the ensemble while being videotaped.
Students can later review and critique their teaching methods with Perrine.

“It’s as much of a learning experience for us as it is the students,” Woomert said.

Videotaping helps students improve and be as efficient as possible, Woomert also said.

However, conducting a class is not the last education IU students receive with the program.

In addition to mastering a primary instrument, students pursuing a bachelor of music education must learn the fundamentals for all other instruments in an ensemble in order to aid any student musician.

“It can be daunting, but the experience helps us to feel more prepared,” Woomert said.

While the path to earning the degree can have its challenges, the program allows undergraduates to further aid young students with their instruments as well as offer some assurance for their careers.

“It confirms for us the desire to teach,” Pratt said. “I can’t wait to be out on the field doing this.”