Meet Philip Walters, a band instructor in the Anchorage School District. Philip plans on running the Iditarod.
Why I Compare My Middle School Band Students to My Sled Dogs by Philip Walters
As a public middle school band teacher, there are few things I enjoy more than a fun and energetic rehearsal, the type of rehearsal where you are truly making music, everybody is working together, and time passes so quickly that you don’t realize you’re out of time until the bell rings. These are the moments that band directors live for.
As a musher training for Iditarod qualifying races, there are few things I enjoy more than a smooth, silent run with dogs, preferably at night, with a full moon and the Northern Lights dancing across the sky. There are few more beautiful or enjoyable things in the world than a dog team running at its peak.
Pretty early in every school year, I tell my band students that at some point, I will likely compare them to dogs. After the initial shocked or insulted reactions, I explain to them that I love dogs about as much as most people love their own children, so my comparing them to dogs is just about the highest form of flattery they could possibly encounter. Most of them buy it, some of them are still disgusted, but hey, we’re talking about middle schoolers here– if there isn’t drama, well then… well, there’s always drama.
Why do I compare my middle schoolers to dogs? Well, first let me explain that it’s not just middle schoolers– ALL band students (and really, all students!), regardless of age, can be compared to sled dogs. I always say that “band is a team sport”– every individual in the group relies on every other individual to work hard and work together to make beautiful music. Comparatively, mushing is irrefutably a team sport, with every dog working together to move through some of the most challenging terrain and weather in the world.
The Dogteam vs. The Band
While doing summer tours, I am often asked, “How do you make the dogs run?” I have to chuckle when I answer, “I don’t make them run, I make them stop!” Sled dogs want to run, they love to run, they live to run! I don’t have any sort of accelerator on my sled, but I have three different kinds of braking devices to make them slow down or stop! Plain and simple: A happy, healthy, well-fed and well-rested Dogteam will never fail. Dogs run as long as they are enjoying themselves. If they aren’t having fun, you’ll be hard-pressed to get them moving, and even if you do, they won’t be performing at their peak.
The same applies with a Band. Band is an elective class in most schools, so just by the fact that the student signed up for band means that they want to be there (or their parents made them do it, but we won’t get into that). So long as they are enjoying themselves, they are nearly unstoppable and will do anything you ask them to do. If they are not enjoying themselves or are worried about other factors outside of the classroom, you can beg, plead, coerce, threaten until you’re blue in the face, but they won’t be getting much done anytime soon.
But that is only the beginning of the comparison! Each member in the Dogteam and the Band serve different functions. So let’s break it down:
The Lead Dog vs. The Student Leader
A Lead Dog must trust the musher implicitly, but must be able to make decisions independently in cases where the musher may not be able to find the trail, or is sleep-deprived, ill, or otherwise impaired. The Lead Dog is an exemplary sled dog. They are not necessarily the strongest member of the team but must work harder than everyone else in the team to keep the gangline tight; the lead dogs sets the pace for the team. The lead position is one of the most stressful positions on the team because of the mental demands, so usually mushers will run two dogs in the lead position to help divide the responsibility. They will also rotate dogs through the lead position to give dogs a mental and physical break throughout a race.
The Student Leader must trust the Teacher implicitly, be obedient enough to follow directions, but stay independent enough to take initiative when given the opportunity to do so. The Student Leader may not be the best musician in the band, but is always an outstanding band student, working harder than any other student in the band. They realize that they are a leader and are therefore an example for the rest of the band– they set the standard of excellence for the band. The Student Leader position is stressful, especially for pre-teens and teens who may be afraid to take chances and risk failure in front of their peers. Therefore, it is best to have several leaders to share the burden of leadership.
The Swing Dog vs. The Section Leader
The Swing Dogs are the dogs directly behind the Lead Dogs. These are usually dogs that can be rotated into the Lead Position as needed, though they may not be the strongest leaders (or are perhaps leaders-in-training). Swing Dogs get their name from their function on turns– when a dog team turns, it is basically like trying to turn a tractor-trailer because of the length of the team (about 75 feet from the back of the sled to the front of the team). The Swing Dogs will swing out wide on the turns to make sure that the team doesn’t cut the corner too tightly, sending the team, sled, and musher into a tree! They are responsible for making moves that will ensure the dogs behind them move in the correct direction as well.
The Section Leader is in charge of their individual section and is considered an essential part of the band leadership team. Very rarely do I ever use the term “first chair”, a term that is often used for the best player in each section. My reasoning for this is simple: While the section leader is most often the best player in their section, the best player in the section is not automatically the section leader. (Just as the best musician in the band is not necessarily the Student Leader.) The Section Leader must, obviously, lead their section. They must be accountable for not only how they themselves perform, but how the rest of their section performs as well. In the absence of a Student Leader, the Section Leaders direct the band, and usually the Student Leader is chosen from experienced Section Leaders.
The Team Dog vs. The Average Band Student
I often describe Team Dogs as “pistons in the engine”. Their primary purpose is to run and pull, to provide power to the team. The more team dogs, the more pistons, the more powerful the team. They don’t have to think– you just point them in the right direction and they run. Every Lead Dog and Swing Dog will at some point during a race serve as a Team Dog when they need a break from their more mentally stressful positions in the front of the team. Team Dogs are often younger or less mature dogs who may be racing for the first time and don’t want or need to be put in the front of the team– they are there just to gain experience. At some point later in their career, they may move up toward the front of the team into Swing or Lead positions.
Your average band student is there for one reason– they love band. Band is fun, they love to play their instruments, band is what their friends are doing, their band teacher is insane, etc. Their ability level ranges from pretty good to pretty poor, but they all have something to contribute to the band. Some of these students will stay in these positions for the rest of their time in band– they’re happy where they are– and some of them will eventually move up into leadership positions as they mature in age and ability. For the time being, however, they just provide fullness of sound and volume.
The Wheel Dog vs. The Band Geek
The Wheel Dogs run right in front of the sled, which is a very physically demanding job; Wheel Dogs are often some of the strongest dogs in the team. Transversely, they are quite often not the smartest dogs, though I would be loathe to call them dumb. To find a great Wheel Dog, mushers look for one simple thing: Drive. We look for a dog that is always pulling, always ready to go, always moving forward without fail. Drive is what determines an outstanding Wheel Dog. That being said, unlike the Team Dog position, the Wheel Dogs are close enough to the sled that their mobility is more limited than the other dogs in the team, and so they must be “on top of their game” on turns– they are chiefly responsible for making sure that the heavily-loaded sled turns effectively. The Wheel Dog position is also more stressful precisely because they take the brunt of the force from the sled, so dogs are frequently rotated out of this position and into the less-stressful Team Dog positions.
Wheel Dogs and Band Geeks share one common thing– unbridled, unmatched enthusiasm for what they do. Band Geeks can fill any position in the band, and usually do, but the reason I am writing about them in this section is specifically because of the enthusiasm factor. Band Geeks come in all forms and fashions. Skill has very little to do with Band-Geekdom: Some of the best musicians I’ve ever known have been Band Geeks, and some of the least-skilled music students I’ve ever encountered have been Band Geeks. To be a “Band Geek” only requires one thing– an unconditional love of all things band. The Band Geek is characterized by their willingness to do anything that is even remotely band-related. They are eager to do anything that will help the band, anything that will allow them to be an asset to the team.
The Musher vs. the Teacher/Director
While the dogs provide the power, the Musher provides the direction. In terms of a dog team, the dogs are the engine, while the Musher serves as the pilot and mechanic. The Musher’s most difficult job rarely occurs on the run– most mushers will tell you that standing on the runners is the easy part. Instead, the hardest work often takes place before and after a run. Before a run, the Musher must prepare all of the necessary gear and food (both dog and human) for the trip, and load it into the sled. They must then harness and bootie up to 16 highly-energetic dogs who have just figured out that they’re about to do their most favorite thing ever– go for a run!– and do so in the most efficient manner possible so as not to waste time or energy. During the run, the Musher provides direction to the dogs and is constantly evaluating each dog’s individual performance, looking for potential issues that must be addressed quickly, and searching for new potential Lead Dogs in the team. All the while the Musher is keeping an eye on the trail, the weather, and yes, the competition in races, to make sure that the team is on the right track, safe, and in the optimal position to meet their goals. After the run, resting in a checkpoint, the Musher must quickly feed and bed down their dogs, and then check over each dog for any potential soreness or illness, individually massaging each paw, wrist and shoulder to prevent stiffness. Only after each dog is individually cared for can the Musher sit down to a meal and get some rest for themselves– there is a code among mushers that you never eat before your dogs eat. The dogs must realize that the Musher will make it his/her priority to look out for the welfare of each individual dog; only if this trust exists will the dogs perform at their absolute best for their Musher.
In a band setting, the band members provide the sound, the technique, the expression, but the Teacher/Director provides the direction, both in the technique as well as the artistic aspects of the music. This is, essentially, the “fun” part– the more difficult and taxing aspects come outside of the rehearsal. Lesson planning, grading, photocopying, emails, meetings, phone calls, mandatory training sessions– all of these things that inevitably occur in any school setting would be considered by most to be a tedious yet essential part of the educator’s job. This is how the Teacher prepares for class. Before, during, and after class, the Teacher/Director must check in with their students, individually assessing how each student is performing and making adjustments accordingly, to keep each individual as well as the whole group performing at the optimum level. This is not just in the form of assessing how well each student plays their instrument, but also their individual mood, social dynamic, and any other non-music-related issues that might otherwise affect their performance. In order to be truly effective, the Director must often put the needs of their students above their own. Students only perform at their absolute best for a Director who they trust and who they know will care for them, rather than one who will just tell them how to better play their instrument.
The possibilities for comparison in education are endless! We haven’t even begun to cover IEPs (Individualized Education Plans), “504” plans, conflict resolution, etc. The more in-depth I study dogs, the more similarities I find. In addition, to limit these comparisons to band students, or even students in general, would be mistaken. These concepts can be applied, at least in broader terms, to most organized groups of people– group dynamics in many cases follow a “pack mentality”, and every individual in that group has a role to play based on their personality, strengths and weaknesses. We could all learn a thing or two by watching a well-run dog team!
