Ms. Behavior Blog : Music and Discipline in Perfect Harmony

(No AI Was Used to Compose This Post)

I'm a word nerd. My first year of college, I made the mistake of thinking I wanted to major in Spanish. At that time, new languages came easily to me, and I hadn't asked my heart for its opinion on the matter. By the time I graduated, I'd burned through a theater major and landed in speech communication. Still, though, I think about my senior year, when I took a class in linguistics that, had I discovered it earlier, could have easily seduced me. I loved learning to code language phonetically so I could examine the syntax and grammar of every language. There is beauty and logic in each one.

Nowadays, etymology is my favorite word nerdery. It helps me beat my husband to some Jeopardy answers, but it also helps me as a conduct officer.

This week, my friend Greg from Moravian College sent me an article breaking down the meaning of the word "accountability." Author Tom Geraghty makes a case for taking the pieces "ability" + "account (tell your story)" when applying the word to student conduct. The origin of the word "accountability" related to reckoning (specifically, reckoning together), not just providing space, but even so, there was an implication of reflection and coming to terms, rather than just measuring accountability by blame or punishment.

After a few days of ruminating on that article, Kurt and I garbed up in concert black and interviewed renowned musical conductor and composer Dr. Brian Norcross for Ms. Behavior. I knew all the musical metaphors I'd collected from playing for Dr. Norcross had direct implications for the world of student discipline. It was only after the interview, while I was editing the footage for the episode, that I smacked my head in realization.

"Conductor has the word CONDUCT in it, dumdum!"

Of course! Any beginner-level student of a Romance language course knows that "con" means with. The "duct" part comes from the Latin ducere "to lead." Making a case that music and student conduct are related actually does a disservice to the fact that THEY'RE THE SAME JOB! We meet with people experiencing something challenging, something that must be done in community, something that impacts others in profound ways. The work is something that requires constant study and expertise, but equal amounts of humility if both the process and outcome are meant to inspire growth and joy.

I hope you'll tune in for the latest podcast episode. If you're a word nerd like me, a music fan, a theory geek, or just a conduct professional with a love of learning, Dr. Norcross's wisdom will be music to your hearings.