In 1991, the US National Junior High Chess Championships in Detroit gave birth to one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.
The elite team from Dalton, a private school in New York, was the prohibitive favorite, as they had won the title in each of the previous three years. In contrast, their upstart opponent, the Raging Rooks from a public school in Harlem, New York, had never even attended before, much less won.
The Rooks surprised everyone with a strong start but soon crumbled, falling to fifth place. Sensing declining morale, the team's coach, Maurice Ashley, gathered his team and reminded them that the game was won and lost in their head and not on the board and that strategy and discipline would beat talent and experience. Kasaun Henry, the team captain, went on to beat Dalton's best player, giving the Rooks the tournament trophy and the title of United States School Chess Program Champion.
"How could a team with barely enough players that practiced in parks where drug dealers did their business beat experienced and highly trained chess professionals?" author Adam Grant questions in his book Hidden Potential.
Grant asserts that everyone, not just geniuses and superstars, can achieve great things. In his book, he provides a three-part framework for developing character skills, sustaining long-term motivation, and designing opportunity systems that allow anyone to grow, learn, and reach their highest heights.
He states:
"People who achieve great things are rarely freaks of nature - but are freaks of nurture."
He believes learning how to grow is more important than the growth itself. To prove his point, he traces the income earnings of a control group based on the experience level of their kindergarten teacher. The more experienced kindergarten teachers didn't necessarily give kids better skills in reading and math, but they instilled the character skills to help kids be proactive, prosocial, disciplined, and determined.
In short - good teachers develop good people who go on to do good things.
I doubt this will come as an epiphany to any of you.
But it probably is to the rest of the world.
We all know the power of music and the importance it holds in a child's life; however, for most people, music is no different than math, science, or foreign language.
As an industry, in my view, we have not done a very good job of educating parents about the profound and long-term benefits of music. They see the "what" but not the "how." Much like any other curriculum, parents see the grade, attend the concert, and understand that their child has had some mastery of playing their instruments. What they don't understand are the character traits and cognitive skills that are developing as a part of the process.
Compounding the problem, we (music education) do a poor job of explaining the long-term growth trajectory associated with music - that this is a step in a six-to-sixty-year journey that could change the trajectory of their child's life.
You know who does this really well? Youth sports.
When a parent puts their child on a sports team, they understand that their child will not hit a home run, master the underwater flip turn, or run a 4.7 forty-yard dash on day one. They walk in the door (or on the field), knowing this is a multi-year or even decade-long process that will not have any shortcuts.
As long as we're being honest, deep down inside, most parents know that the probability of their child becoming a professional athlete is minuscule, but they encourage their kids to pursue it anyway. Why? Because parents see the ancillary benefits associated with being on a team: dedication, commitment, selflessness, overcoming obstacles, pushing oneself, etc.
In short, they see character-building activities, and the potential it creates for their child on and off the field.
Music does all of this and, frankly, does it better (in my opinion). Better because, with time, sports separates based on athletic ability and body development, both of which are largely not within a child's control.
Music has a place and space for every child - regardless of their circumstances, genetics, size, or ability. A place and space that will help them find and develop their life-long potential, by building character, all under the watchful eye of a caring and experienced educator.
It is as true for music as it is for athletics or chess. We just don't frame music in that way. If we did...
It would be checkmate.
Have a great week.
Scott