For most of us, when we think of an Astrophysicist, we picture a super genius who spends her days using super-computers to model how galaxies operate. These are people who spend their days working on complex algorithms and theorems to describe how our universe operates, and the impact of two stars colliding in the Andromeda Galaxy.
People who excel in this complex field are considered rock stars and are revered by experts and laypeople alike. Giants like Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan have helped shape not just the way we view outer space, but the way we see our planet and ourselves.
These people work for the most forward-thinking organizations and are doing work that is critical to our safety and survival - places like DARPA, NASA, the Department of Defence... And Stitch Fix.
Stitch Fix? Yep, Stitch Fix.
Started in a Cambridge, Massachusetts loft in 2011, Stitch Fix is a personal styling service that has grown into a two billion dollar subscription service and is changing users closets in every corner of the United States and Europe.
Including mine!
For Christmas, in a thinly veiled attempt to update my style, my wife gave me a trial subscription. Now, I know what you are thinking, "But Scott, you are already my fashion icon and style maven!" (You thought that, right?)
And yes, while I pride myself on a dapper appearance, there are two unavoidable and undeniable things:
I tend to wear the same type of stuff all of the time.
An astrophysicist has never dressed me.
Yep, that's right. As we speak, I am personally styled by someone
much, much smarter than myself.
It turns out that more so than personal stylists, Stitch Fix has been on a hiring bender for anyone and everyone willing to abandon science for swag, and they are not alone. Netflix, Spotify, and Google are searching for the same type of people to help grow their businesses.
According to Wired Magazine, "Even at elite universities, fewer astrophysics PhDs go on to take postdoctoral fellowships or pursue competitive professorships. Now, more of them go straight to work in Silicon Valley."
These companies, and more, are looking for people who are well versed in predictive analytics in hopes that they can better understand and help with what people need and want.
The concept for Stitch Fix is simple, use the best and brightest to help you be your best and brightest.
I think we need a "Pitch Fix" for music education. Someone or something that could:
Hear your rehearsal and give you real-time feedback on issues related to pitch and rhythm.
Listen to your ensemble and recommend appropriate literature.
Study your recordings and provide relevant technique building materials.
Read your memos/documents and recommend better voicing.
Analyze your storage facility for optimization.
View your profile and guide you towards jobs best suited for your skill sets.
Push you towards taking more risks in programming.
Recommend rehearsal pacing based on the day, week, or month.
But more than anything, music educators could use someone to objectively view you as an individual, and help YOU see YOURSELF in a new and unique way.
Setting aside National Standards and best practices, teaching music is a HIGHLY personalized activity. Our ability to choose our literature, and set our scope and sequence sets us apart from most other curricular areas. Add to that the highly subjective and artistic nature of our curricula and the uniqueness of each school community, and you find yourself with an activity that is taught nationwide, but seldom in the same way.
Is this good or bad? I could argue either way, but I will say that it creates a very unique set of challenges to address and obstacles to overcome. More importantly, it makes the activity more dependant on the teacher than the curricula, which makes teacher development critical to the success of our profession, and most districts and schools lack the resources, personnel, or time to do this.
Which means as a profession, we are in a Fix, with no one to Stitch.
Listen, we all need a set of fresh ideas, someone to show us our blind spots, and help us avoid the potholes of our profession. But perhaps most important of all, after years (and years) in the same space, with the same kids, teaching the same subject, we need someone to help us see OURSELVES anew. We need someone to challenge our old ways of thought and help us grow as we grow older.
Who is that for you?
If you need someone, let me be your guy. Today at 1:00 pm MST, I will sign onto a Zoom chat roomand do two things:
Open up my new Stitch Fix box live and let you determine what I keep and send back.
Listen to anything you want to share and answer any question you have.
Come see me and let's chat.
I am certainly no Neil deGrasse Tyson, but then again, what does he know about music education?!
See you in a couple of hours. Join me, it might be fun.
p.s If you want to try Stitch Fix, you can use this unique url to get a free $25.00 credit.
p.p.s I reached out to Stitch Fix to see if they wanted to offer an additional coupon or prize. They declined. :(