What do The Beatles and your favorite group chat have in common?
They both figured out that the magic happens when everyone contributes their own voice to something bigger.
The same is true for arts programs at schools.
Jack Aron teaches music production classes at Culver City High School, and they've grown from 20-person Zoom rooms to over 100 engaged students, all contributing to a larger artistic community. The UCLA-trained educator learned that while some classes need to scale through standardization, arts programs can innovate on classroom systems that allow for creative freedom.
Today we’re getting into how he incorporates student choice in the classroom, proving that creative programs can grow without losing their groove.
All they need is the right arrangement.
Here’s what’s on the dashboard this week:
Today’s Deep Dive: Arts programs don’t have to choose scale vs. soul
Reading Rainbow: Baby shark + Kid-run Airbnb
From Our Desk: How to be “real” on social media without the cringe
Watch of the Week: “I pledge allegiance to the… band.”
Show of Hands: What excites you most about arts program growth?
Jack Aron cracked the code that most arts educators think is impossible: growing a creative program without killing the magic that makes kids want to show up.
He discovered that traditional scaling methods in arts education are backwards. Most programs respond to growth by standardizing everything—same assignments, same expectations, same soul-crushing "one size fits all" mentality that makes students feel like they're in musical boot camp.
Instead of making his program smaller to feel bigger, Jack designed social learning systems that actually get better with more students involved. He treats program growth like forming a super group, where individual instruments become more powerful when they harmonize with others:
Stage 1: Foundation Building
Social cohesion: Students become invested in each other's success through structured "symposiums" where peer feedback becomes as valuable as instructor guidance
Genre freedom: Students bring their own musical backgrounds—hyperpop, hip-hop, or Beethoven—into the classroom instead of cookie-cutter assignments
Stage 2: System Development
Mentorship systems: Jack identifies student leaders by their willingness to support peers, not just musical talent
Peer feedback structures: Students learn Jack's "comment, question, or suggestion" method to give constructive criticism without falling into "roast culture"
Stage 3: Technical & Cultural Integration
Hands-on technical mastery: Students master industry-standard tools while applying them to their chosen genres
Organized showcase opportunities: Regular performances create productive peer pressure and shared goals
Stage 4: Program Expansion
Career pathways: Students discover opportunities beyond the "performer-or-bust" mindset, from audio engineering to artist management
Student voice and choice: Mature programs become student-driven, with peer leaders managing studios and mentoring newcomers
The magic happens because each stage feeds into the next. Students who develop creative confidence naturally become mentors, which builds their technical skills and creates performance opportunities, ultimately expanding their career vision and program leadership capacity.
Jack proved this works during COVID when his program not only survived but thrived through remote collaboration. "Students are able to invite each other into projects, and they're able to jump in on the same project and work together," he explains. (If you want to hear what a thriving music production program sounds like in action, check out Jack's classes’ work on SoundCloud.) Get more of Jack’s music education jam session here.
Baby Shark Meets Brain Science: Teacher Demarquis Johnson explains how integrating music and movement into lessons transforms learning from a task into playtime, with catchy tunes helping students remember information more effectively as music stimulates various brain regions. Finally, someone figured out how to make education as addictive as TikTok dances.
ChatGPT Gets a Curfew: Apparently, even AI needs helicopter parents now. OpenAI announced it's developing a teen version of ChatGPT with parental controls, including blackout hours and alerts when the system detects a teen "in a moment of acute distress.”
Conflict Avoidance Is So Last Year: School administrators can use "conflict agility language" to work constructively with staff by finding root causes of disagreements and moving toward common interests—like hating on whoever’s heating up tuna in the teacher’s lounge microwave.
Middle Schoolers, Meet Your New Boss: An Airbnb: A rural North Carolina “microschool” just leveled up from class pet hamster to… class hospitality business? They partnered with local real estate to have 26 middle school students learn entrepreneurship and financial literacy by managing an actual Airbnb property. Guess the class pet’s been promoted to property manager!
On the Subject #65: We sync up with Hayden Grant from CarSpex and dive into how to reveal the authentic face behind brand storytelling. The perfect timing for educators trying to figure out how to be genuine on social media without accidentally going viral for all the wrong reasons.
Our pick of the week: School of Rock
Why We’re Obsessed: Jack Black endeared himself to millions of millennials who wanted to grow up and be rockstars. Or bossy young girls who wanted to be managers, in Summer’s case. Though Dewey Finn didn’t set out to be an effective educator, letting the students process their angst, creativity, and chord progressions through punk rock was a fantastic choice. And after all these years, the songs still rock.
Recommended lesson integration:
Rhythm patterns and following musical cues (Grade K-2): Teach basic beat-keeping and send an apology note to any parents whose kids decide they want to be drummers.
Collaborative music-making and ensemble skills (Grades 3-5): Show kids how sometimes being in a band is way cooler (and more fun) than being a solo act.
Music as emotional expression and identity (Grades 6-8): Let middle schoolers channel their angst into something productive. Take this as your opportunity to blast Simple Plan and Good Charlotte out loud and heal your inner (emo) child.
Music industry career pathways (Grades 9-12): Because not everyone needs to be the next Taylor Swift to have a music career.
Breaking down social barriers through shared creativity (All Grades): Art is the universal language that works better than any anti-bullying poster.
Music theory through popular songs (All grades): Finally, a way to teach chord progressions that doesn't make kids want to quit.
Performance anxiety management (All grades): Be your own class’s Mr. Schneebly (without the fraudulent teaching credentials) and teach essential life skills disguised as rock concert prep.
Last week’s question: How do you approach holiday-themed lessons?
Last week’s winning answer: Full thematic takeover - math problems about turkey portions.
Now on to this week’s question!
What would make you most excited about growing your arts program?
Thank you for joining us for another edition of On The Subject. We’ll see you again in a week, with more stories from the hallways.
The Subject Team
Want to learn more about our curriculum offerings? Contact us today.
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