007 Education Planning Guide: Students learn more than just songs in music class
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
By Tim Grant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Over the years, Karen Frederick has seen many students who signed up for her choir class at Shaler Area High School wanting an easy credit and ending up learning far more than music.
Karen Frederick of Shaler Area says music class teaches students more than how to sing.
They learn that an outstanding performance is possible only with the hard work that comes from learning the songs, attending rehearsals and practicing.
Some of them get their first glimpse into cultures that might be completely different from their own through studying various styles of music and traveling to competitions.
"I love using music to open up the world to kids, and expose them to different thoughts through American spirituals," Mrs. Frederick, 49, said. "They don't see a lot of ethnic diversity here. Through music, they get to see a lot more than Pittsburgh is able to offer them."
For 28 years, Mrs. Frederick has been dishing out life lessons along with music education in her popular choir classes at Shaler Area High School and Shaler Area Intermediate School.
With 220 students in the high school choir and 160 in the intermediate school choir, Mrs. Frederick teaches more students each year than any other Shaler teacher.
"Most kids in my class want to be here, which is a big part of being successful as a teacher," she said. "It's my job to make them understand it's actually more about discipline. In my book, you'll never be good at anything without discipline."
She comes across like a knowing parent, beaming with energy, quick to point out mistakes, lavish praise and offer tidbits of advice with her no-nonsense teaching style.
"I'm very upfront with my students," she said. "The very first day of eighth grade, which I call my farm team, I'm setting them up for what I need them to do on a daily basis.
"They need to come on time, have their sheet music and be in their assigned seats by the time the bell rings. If they learn that in eighth grade, I have no problems when they get to high school."
Mrs. Frederick has saved a file cabinet full of cards and letters from former students and their parents since she took over the high school choir program in 1986 with 33 students, only three of whom were boys.
"Other teachers are more concerned about teaching and grading tests," said Nicole Marchetto, a senior from Etna. "She does that, too, and does it well. But she goes beyond that. She extends herself outside of class."
Samantha Young, an 18-year-old senior, has been taking Mrs. Frederick's class since eighth grade.
"She has it down to a science," said Ms. Young . "She makes choir fun. ... She's like a mother. She sets down the rules, and everyone follows them. She demands respect, and everyone gives it to her."
Mark and Beth Nurnberger, whose three children have gone through chorus over the past nine years, have worked as travel coordinators for the spring trip.
"She's demanding of the kids," said Mr. Nurnberger of Shaler. "She wants them to experience music and the world. It's important to her that they do their best. She gives many kids a chance to be in choir who might not otherwise have a chance."
In hindsight, Mrs. Frederick can laugh now about the time she came dangerously close to giving up her dream of teaching early in her career.
She couldn't find a music teaching job anywhere in the state when she graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1979, so she took a job as an administrative secretary with the school district in her native hometown of Erie.
She had no skills as a secretary. She said the hiring manager chose her for the job because she agreed to come in five minutes early each day and make coffee for everyone in central office.
Before long, she spread her wings to the classroom.
"I substituted in the classroom one day and I knew I didn't want to be a teacher," she said. "The kids, the teachers and even the principal was rude. I almost didn't go into teaching after that."
With some encouragement from her friends, Mrs. Frederick continued to look for a music teaching job. "I felt I owed it to my parents," she said. "They paid for college and I didn't want to be one of those people who gets a four-year degree and never uses it for anything."
She landed an interview two years later for a job teaching music at Shaler Area Intermediate School.
Her husband, Ron, a retired secondary guidance counselor at Kiski Area High School, travels with her on advance trips to places the choir will travel, helping her make videotapes to give parents and students an idea of what to expect.
This year, her students will compete in New York City. In other years, they've gone as far as Europe for competition.
"I tell my students they're lucky because they are making music," Mrs. Frederick said. "There's nothing else in this world that goes with us from cradle to grave. Music is part of our lives from the day we are born until the day we die."
(Tim Grant can be reached at 412-263-1591. or tgrant@post-gazette.com. )
