Executive Director Letter

This issue’s theme focuses on building bridges. The more I learn from our community about the work of Suzuki, the more I understand the significance of the bridges Dr. Suzuki extended in his work across the world. Eri Hotta’s article and book beautifully demonstrate how many bridges Dr. Suzuki built, and how much more work he hoped to see realized.

Our work as educators is to support students from one lesson to the next, helping them bridge between their gaps of knowledge, between their interests and their learning, between their parents and their peers. We work to create solid foundations that allow them to leap from one lesson to the next, then back again, adding to their stable foundations over time. Often, I find potholes that some students fall into, and while it can be incredibly difficult to help students get from one lesson to the next, there’s no feeling more satisfying than watching students’ eyes light up when they finally reach the destination you’ve been working toward.

You’ll see articles here that embody the ways in which teachers in our community work to ensure their students receive the best possible system and structures for their learning. If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that the Suzuki community cares deeply about providing students with the education that Dr. Suzuki believed they deserved.

I teach a course called Arts and Community at the University of Southern California, and in this course we discuss some of the fundamental concepts of community—what it means to be in relation to one another, and the fundamental tensions that arise when people need to coexist together. I’ve found in my own administrative practice that many of us struggle to be in community. Much of this struggle is because we fail to agree on a good definition of community. What does it mean to be a community member? Who are the communities that we come into contact with, and where are our limits as community members? Are we responsible for those around us? Are we only responsible for ourselves? In this class, I’m always reminded of ways in which we are deeply connected as people—how many of our needs are similar, and how hard it is for us to put the needs of others before our own needs.

Being in community with others requires bridging. With such a variety of viewpoints, perspectives, and beliefs, bridging allows us to truly coexist, and to work together, rather than against each other—something that comes a little easier for some of us! Of course, building bridges from scratch is one thing, but in our world, we’ve inherited a complex system of bridges that are disjunct, and leave some behind. None of us are solely responsible for creating this system, but all of us come into contact with it, and are stuck with a big maze that we’re now called to make better—the way Dr. Suzuki did for those of us in music education.

Dr. Suzuki was tireless in his effort to teach the children of the world. He was relentless in his capacity to ensure that no children were left behind in our education systems. This journal issue is a starting point for us to think together about the bridges we need in place to realize Dr. Suzuki’s dream. As an organization, we know there’s so much possibility for what we can build together. We’ll look forward to hearing from you about what bridges you seek to build with us.

Best,

Angelica Cortez