My STEP signature project was a trip to Brazil, where I had the opportunity to visit underprivileged schools in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. This trip was mainly focused on how music could be incorporated into schools that don’t have the means to have music as a class, so the group I was with performed for many students and then interacted with them to gain insight of the culture in Brazil.
I was really taken aback by how little the government provides for the schools in Brazil. The majority of public schools there are equivalent to the inner-city schools we see in Chicago or Detroit. The private schools compare the public schools that many middle class students attend all around the U.S. It was disheartening to see that most of the schools in Brazil are similar to that of the inner city schools we see, especially in race and socioeconomic status. Being a white person, I felt very privileged with my economic standing and the opportunities provided to me regarding education. Seeing how the public schools tended to have an extremely high population of black students while the private schools had almost all white students really shocked me, for I realized that the race problems we see in the U.S. extend beyond our borders. Seeing this reality really changed my perspective on race relations all over the world and I gained perspective on how different my life is compared an underprivileged black person’s.
I know that it is not my fault for the way things are in the world, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty for having so many doors open to me just for my race. As a future educator I truly hope to give some perspective to my students and to not let them grow up ignorant of the injustices in the world.
Having a chance to talk to the students and see their insight on the world gave me a new understanding on how corrupt the Brazilian government is and how messed up the world truly is. Two students came up to me and asked me if I had an oil for their trombone slides (they saw that I was a trombone player), which had a lasting effect on me. What was significant about this interaction is that their teacher explained to me that there is an instrument repair person that only comes once or twice a month to take care of all the instruments in a specific music school we visited. That means that students could go almost an entire month without getting the proper care their instruments need in order to function. I was so taken aback by this newfound knowledge that I gave the students all of the slide oil I had and I taught them how to use it so that they never have trombone issues again. I don’t know if my slide oil had an effect on them as students, but I know that their story changed my life. It was such a simple encounter and yet it opened my eyes to reality that many people face. I own my own trombone and I can buy slide oil anytime I want to for myself, while these kids have to wait a long time just have their instruments (which are actually the school’s instruments – they don’t own their own) functioning properly for a little while.
The little trombonists who inspired me 🙂
Experiences such as this one in Brazil help me a lot in seeing the world through a different lens. I want to teach students in the future and I want them to see what opportunities they were given and how they can use their privilege to help others. I hope to one day have the chance to work with students like the ones I met in Brazil so that I can learn more about life and to hopefully give back with what I know about music and how it can change the world. This trip was truly a wonderful experience and I look forward to many more opportunities to learn and grow as I did in Brazil.