Sorry for the slow response. Apparently tumblr had some server problems around the time we launched. Hope you’ve been reading it since.

Regards,
Nick Jaffe
Chief Editor, TAJ

This article was not meant to offend, apologies for that. Your points are well taken.

Because I was also deeply offended when I heard that specific comment from a colleague, I decided to write about this topic. In the context of this article, the comment was intended to be an example of a blatant stereotype to serve the argument that diversity training is exactly what we need, and as a program, exactly what we have planned for this fall. I am very hopeful that our program will become better from it.

My objective in this article is to suggest that it would serve our field well if cultural and class issues were brought to the forefront of the conversation as soon as any training to become an educator begins. Many of our teachers have performance backgrounds rather than music education, and are learning to be great teachers by simply doing it. I’m sure there are many on the east coast that I’m not aware of, but the programs I know of that are formally training Teaching Artists are mostly in beginning stages. For those who won’t have the foresight to seek it out on their own, I think it’s important to find a formal place for diversity training in these programs.

Best,
Paloma

This statement is why I wouldn’t want to bring my child to the program. This is racial stereotyping at it’s best/worst. Certainly, it clearly demonstrates the lack of sensitivity and awareness that an African American parent would certainly recognize and cause them to hesitate before allowing their child to participate. I realize that as the writer you are acknowledging the need for training in this area but there are organizations out there to provide it. Why hasn’t anyone been proactive about seeking a diversity trainer to come and work with the teaching artists? I’m concerned that this article sounds as if there is nothing the organization can do except wait for deliverance from ignorance.

I attended Oberlin Conservatory and never had an education class. I never intended to teach and scoffed at the thought. Even if they had offered a class like that, I wouldn’t have necessarily taken it at that time. However, as my life progressed, I CHOSE to seek out programs that offered diversity training for little or no cost. I CHOSE to actively seek ways to improve my methods of communication. In the African American community, nobody cares if your technique is flawless, they want to know that you care about them as a person. Ignorance of cultural and class issues is not an excuse.

I was so offended by that comment that I can barely contain myself. I am a professional teaching artist and actor, a trained opera singer and diversity workshop facilitator, and I am African American. It is the responsibility of each of your teaching artists as well as your organization to find a way to address the cultural and class issues that are represented by that phrase.

This is just a short note to say that I received notice of your new, “www.tajaltspace,” in a recent issue of ATA (online) newsletter. But when I clicked on it, my browser gave me a “…cannot find,” message. Any suggestions?

Best,
Alex Simmons

Your words continue to make me want to dance faster, sing louder, draw bigger, etc.!

Thank you for articulating the conscience and life-story of teaching artistry. You urge us to see our adolescence as a field and possibly begin to envision what we might look like when we grow up.

Teaching artists are working harder than ever in spaces that defy institutional limitations. They are acting out vital counter-narratives that dare to resist despair and mediocrity in the world right now.

I hope that the Artist-Teacher-Learner (ALT) space that we are opening up here with TAJ online is one of the broadcast sources for the “grown-up” TAs to use for sharing alternative stories of those “whole new worlds”.

See you in the future!