Traveling from a Young Age

I love to travel.  I am so grateful that my husband is an incredible trip planner.  His itineraries are so amazing that my friends and I have come to refer to them as the iTIMerary (his name is Tim).  I grew up in a working-class family.  My dad drove a city bus in Pittsburgh and my mom stayed home to raise me and my four brothers.  I am the oldest and my youngest brother is seven years younger than me.  This meant that growing up, our scant finances for travel limited us to camping 1-2 hours away from home in our extremely large tent.  While I have wonderful memories of these trips with my family, since we never went very far, my experiences of the world were limited.

Kathy Melago as a kid in a tent with colorful bags

6th grade organizing my personal space on my first vacation in the gigantic tent that housed my entire family

After joining band in fourth grade and matriculating all the way into high school band, I had the opportunity to travel to Ft. Lauderdale, FL; New Orleans, LA; Orlando, FL; and Memphis, TN, with the North Allegheny High School Marching Band.  While in college, I traveled to various cities around the country for flute conventions and music education conferences.  Through these trips, my understanding of and experiences with the world and its people have continually matured.

Kathy Melago as a high school student in the marching band

Getting ready for the halftime show at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN, my senior year of high school

Preparing Future Teachers

Now, as a music teacher educator at Slippery Rock University, I strive to find ways to facilitate travel for my students, many of whom have limited experience traveling beyond our region.  While I have led or co-led student travel to conferences and for experiences around the country and internationally, one of my favorite experiences is the Field Experience Immersion in Music course I teach every other January.  This course is open to four students and involves observing, assisting, and/or teaching in the Santa Fe Public Schools, Santa Fe Indian School, and New Mexico School for the Arts; professional development, like attending the New Mexico Music Educators Association conference; and cultural activities, like visiting the Taos Pueblo.

How did this New Mexico trip begin?  Back in 2013, one of my college roommates and I commissioned six duets for flute and clarinet, which we premiered at Eastern New Mexico University, where she was teaching at the time.  ENMU is in the small town of Portales and my husband was interested in making more of a trip out of our time in New Mexico, so we flew to Albuquerque and then spent a couple nights in Santa Fe before heading to Portales.  I was struck by how different it was in Santa Fe compared to my hometown of Pittsburgh.  As I was thinking about my students and music education, one thing led to another, and we started the first Field Experience Immersion in Music trip in January 2015.  We have taken one every “odd” January since then (except 2021…pandemic), with twenty music education majors in total.

During these trips to New Mexico, we have learned so much about the similarities and differences in music education here in Pennsylvania versus across the country in New Mexico.  We have learned more about repertoire, resources, and curriculum, as well as about aspects of diversity that are different from what students tend to experience in the schools near SRU.  You can read about some of the personal experiences of students who have gone on the trip in my book Field Experience Immersion in Music: A Planning Guide.

Kathy melago with students

Field Experience Immersion in Music students heading in to observe in the Santa Fe Public Schools

As you are thinking about and enjoying your summer travels, while I think you should definitely unplug from work, reflecting on your experiences with summer travel in light of your work as a teacher can be fruitful.  Of course, what this looks like will differ depending on the age and area you teach, but here are some possible connections:

Did you take a tour of an interesting historical site?  Are there any pieces or musicians connected to that site?  Might the topic be good for a new commission for your group?
Did you hear any local music that was interesting?  How might you share that music with your students?
Were you struck by how different it was wherever you vacationed compared to back home?  Are there any possibilities for a partnership with a school there so your students can experience that culture?

Remember to take a lot of pictures and maybe even some videos so you can bring these experiences alive for your students.  My 10th grade World Cultures teacher, Mr. Sloan, had traveled to Japan extensively.  I still remember how we would listen with rapt attention as he taught us about Japan through pictures he had taken.  I always looked forward to his class, and as I am typing this thirty-five years later, I can imagine myself in my seat on the right side of the room four desks back, looking leftward to see the screen.  Mr. Sloan’s class made an impact on me because of his love for teaching about Japan through his travel experiences.

If you would like to explore steps for planning an immersive experience, please consider checking out my book Field Experience Immersion in Music: A Planning Guide.  In that book, I guide readers through steps to take to plan and execute immersive experiences.  While the book is written from the perspective of working with preservice music educators, the process is applicable to anyone who would like to plan an immersive trip with students.  I sure hope you will give it a read – perhaps on a beach, in an airplane, or in your very own gigantic tent this summer!