Mr. Holland Lives On

My workday routine generally begins like this: out the door, crawl through traffic, traipse into the office, fire up the computer, browse over my school district's web page. Two weeks ago the following article popped up at that moment, and it captured my interest:

Schuyler students receive $20,000 gift of music from Fidelity Investments 
The gift was music to the eyes and ears of students at Philip J. Schuyler Achievement Academy. Fidelity Investments provided $20,000 worth of new instruments to the school, marching in with the shiny donations to the surprise and delight of students who thought they had gathered simply for a preview of Tuesday night's spring concert. The gift was part of Fidelity's ongoing effort to support music in public schools nationwide.

I was thrilled to see that Fidelity was supporting creative arts in education. Music, drama, photography, painting are being cut from school budgets nationally due to dwindling government funds. It saddens me because it's like taking the heart and imagination out of schools and kids' lives.
The article reported that, Fidelity Investments partnered with The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. I hadn't heard about this organization, and needed to learn more so did a Google search. Here's some of what I found:

"The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation was inspired by the acclaimed motion picture, Mr. Holland's Opus, the story of the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students. The film's composer, Michael Kamen, started the foundation in 1996 as his commitment to the future of music education. We believe that kids thrive when given the chance to learn and play music. Putting an instrument into their hands improves the quality of their education and their lives. The window is brief and all kids deserve a chance to play music in school."

Wow, I thought.

You see, as a parent, I saw how music kept my teenage sons away from too much TV and too much mischief. It activated their imaginations and improved their ability to focus. As a speech-language pathologist who works for a public school, I see the positive impact music has on students all the time.

Does the research agree?

Yes. In a nutshell, here's the consensus:

Schools have fewer discipline problems, higher attendance and more kids graduate when they are involved in the music program. Kids learn a skill and  positive behaviors that will last well into their lives. 

I investigated The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation further, and fell in love with their mission: "...helping youngsters to be better students and inspiring creativity and expression through playing music." Since the main character in my soon to be released novel, A Stop in the Park, yearns to be part of a music initiative at a Boys and Girls Club, I decided to ask the foundation if I could put the following notation on the back cover of my book:

Ten per cent of profits from this novel will go to The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, an organization that keeps music alive in schools by donating musical instruments to under-funded music programs. To learn more, visit http://www.mhopus.org.


They said, "Yes." What a kick back moment it was to see that blurb below my bio. Stop by next week and I'll share the cover with you. Can't wait to get your opinion. Giving feels so good, and what a great way to add to the joy of releasing a novel.

KICK BACK BOOK OF THE WEEK:


Of course, it's a book with music as its main theme, and I chose one that will make you laugh too:

From Amazon:

"It had been said often enough that baby boomers are a television generation, but the very funny novel High Fidelity reminds that in a way they are the record-album generation as well. This novel is obsessed with music; Hornby's narrator is a thirty something English guy who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way—on vinyl—and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically adulthood. The book is in one sense a love story, sweet and interesting; most entertaining as are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music."

KICK BACK SONG OF THE WEEK:


Jam-A-Ditty performed by Roosevelt High School Jazz Band (Seattle); Originally performed by Louis Armstrong. These young people are amazing!

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA:


If you haven't seen Mr. Holland's Opus, check out this trailer. You can borrow the DVD from most libraries.