Preserving Suzuki’s Legacy of Love and Hope
I am writing this as I return from my first meeting as chair of the SAA Board. The new experience as chair reminded me of my first meeting as a board member when the “light came on” about board service and governance.
If you had asked me if I had been excited about board governance before, I would have wondered how anyone could be excited about such a dull topic. I soon learned that this was not a dull topic, but an exciting new way of looking at the way a board can serve the ownership of the association.
Board service has been a part of my adult life, but never before has board service been clearer than serving on the Board of the SAA. The board’s role is based on the Carver Policy Governance model and the idea of Servant-Leadership. Basically, the Board sets policies for the organization which are called Ends. The Boards defines what needs are to be met, for whom and at what cost.
Servant leadership is serving the interests of the owners—YOU.
The reason the “lights came on” for me is that I compared the way decisions were made on other boards and how decisions are made by the SAA board, following a policy governance model. Maybe a few examples would help:
I have been on a few boards that had difficulty retaining board members because the board meetings were simply reporting sessions. No decisions were actually made other than approving the minutes. Board members did not feel needed.
I have been on another board that had difficulty defining its role in relation to the staff so it began micro-managing rather than operating as a governing board. We made progress in spite of ourselves, but it was often painful.
Most boards have strategic planning meetings that involve a day or weekend retreat to look at the future of the organization. Although these can be productive, the board tends to focus on day-to-day activities at board meetings, forgetting the vision of the organization and its place in the future.
SAA Board meetings are not reporting sessions, but visioning sessions. It is the duty of the board to be ever looking ahead to see how the association can be better served. Every meeting becomes a strategic planning session because the duty of the Board is to be visionary.
Because of the governance model, the role of the Board and CEO is clearly defined in terms of the ends, for which the board is responsible and the means which is the domain of the CEO. The board monitors at every meeting the reports of the CEO. The Board does not micromanage because its trust is in the CEO because his/her actions are monitored by the Board.
SAA Board members, September 2007.
The SAA is unique in that it is an association that spends a great deal of time, energy and money educating its members. It would be hard to think of another non-profit association that educates its teachers, parents and students on such a continual basis.
The SAA may also be unique in the number of surveys it conducts on the web and in focus groups to see what is on the minds of the members. Policy governance requires that the board know and understand what the needs of the members are. The SAA Board spends quality time looking for trends in surveys submitted by our members.
For example, at the September meeting it was clear that parent education is on the mind of many of our members and that teachers are asking for more training for their parents on the method and philosophy. We noted that many young teachers are asking for help in their interactions with parents.
This is being addressed in the development of a parent education series for parent education and other materials for parents that will be available to teachers on DVD for use in their programs.
The Heritage Project grew out of a desire of the membership to see the legacy of Dr. Suzuki preserved. Many interviews have been conducted which will be produced and made available on DVD. This project promises to be an inspiration for those who were not able to meet Dr. Suzuki, but will hear from those who were privileged to meet and study with him.
In order for these DVDs and other materials to be produced, the Board is working on funding of the project in creative ways. The Board also is responsible for the Annual Fund Drive which provides the much needed dollars to support the work of the SAA.
The Board has looked at the need to provide universities and conservatories more information about the Suzuki method and philosophy. Production of materials to meet this need is being considered. The membership is concerned about the need for more Suzuki teachers. A promotional video is “in the works”; it is to be a “web movie” to promote teacher training and to entice teachers to take courses and clarify the value of SAA’s pedagogy courses.
Teacher training is clearly on the minds of our membership. Because our policies state that excellent Suzuki education is widely sought and widely provided to the benefit of all the people of the Americas, it is the SAA’s ongoing job to train teachers in Suzuki pedagogy along with educating parents about their role in Suzuki education.
At this time, the Parent DVD project and the work of the Practicum and Suzuki Philosophy in Action (“SPA”) Committees are our most important projects.
The SAA website and A-V Library have increased in size and usefulness. The staff has worked on improving the website as a response to teachers’ interest in better understanding the method and to their interests in teacher training. The website is increasingly becoming an important link in the dissemination of information about the Suzuki method. A future goal is to expand the parent section. Our A-V Library has expanded recently with the addition of over 50 new DVDs, compiled from the videoing of sessions at the 2006 conference and the 2007 retreat.
In response to membership desires, particularly those of our younger teachers, a certificate program is now available.
One of our policies states: “Excellent, successful Suzuki programs are widely available and accessible.” To that end, successful programs are able to be showcased in the Journal. A new initiative is the joining together of the MusicLink Foundation and the SAA. Through this program, various forms of assistance are made available to needy students. It will help increase the accessibility of Suzuki education.
The inspiration for these programs comes directly from the membership and from the broader community of parents and friends who benefit from Suzuki education. The Board takes your ideas and relates them to our policies and then visions what the results can be.
It is important for the membership to know that the Board does not function in a vacuum, nor does the CEO do whatever she/he pleases. All initiatives are based on a set of policies that reflect the needs of the SAA—from all of us.
We all are the Suzuki Association of the Americas. We all have the same dream of seeing Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy reach out over the entire world to make the world a place of peace because we have become better people. His legacy is a gift to our needy world. It is a gift that is unwrapped each time a child plays or sings, a parent lovingly helps their child, and a teacher passes on the joy of living a life surrounded in love and music. It is our duty to preserve that legacy and to continually reach for the stars that “twinkle” a message of love and hope.
