Bright Spots

It's been a while since I've posted, and last time I did, I promised that I would blog about some of the positive things that I've experienced so you know that it's not all doom and gloom at Don't Smile. (It's after Christmas, are we allowed to smile now?) So here's some positive reflections over the past few months of teaching music.

I would be lying if I told you I had a special bond with my 8th graders. I am their 3rd band director in their 4 years of band, and my predecessor and I do things very differently, and they have not felt shy about letting me know that. I've gotten the rolled eye, stink eye, and evil eye from a handful of different 8th grade girls, and I had pretty much resigned myself to fighting with these students all year long. Then, all of a sudden, there's less sighing, less eye rolling, and a generally more respectful and healthy teacher-student relationship. This is most evident in the fact that they are willing to play for me. They put forth effort in rehearsals, rather than being forced to play with a sigh. I think I earned this respect by holding them to high musical standards, showing them that I actually do know what I'm talking about, and most of all, that I care about them as people.

Back in October and November, I was struggling with motivating my 5th grade beginners to work hard and become independent and self-sufficient musician. Then I got an e-mail from a friend from college detailing a system he was using called Band Karate (I owe him bigtime!). You put benchmarks at certain songs in your method book, and once students can play up to that song, they have earned a new "belt." I'm using Essential Elements 2000, and I have white belt at 19, orange belt at 35, blue belt at 51, etc. I almost always have them play along with the CD so they can hear when they stray from a steady pulse. Once students get a song checked off and they earn a new belt, I give them a piece of colored yarn that they tie onto their case handle.

So far it has worked out really well for many students. I allow them to check off songs before school, after school, and during recess. On any given day, I have about half a dozen 5th graders in my band room trying to check off songs to get ahead in the book and get the next belt. This system is creating a lot of excitement amongst 5th graders, as they love displaying their achievements on their cases with their belts. They are also choosing to skip recess to come in and play music because it's fun for them - that's awesome. Beyond that, I think this is a really educationally sound system, because students are taking learning into their own hands. They are policing themselves on correct notes, rhythms, and good tone. There are still a few slackers in that class, but I think they will turn a corner here sometime this semester.

Ever heard an interview with a second or third year quarterback in the NFL? They'll sometimes talk about how the game is slowing down for them, which allows them to evaluate defensive schemes and maker better decisions on the field. That is starting to happen for me in the classroom. Back in October, I felt like class was happening to me routinely. Behavior was insane, some kids didn't know what end of the horn to blow into, and I was genuinely lost. Victories were few and far between. But now, even though the band isn't necessarily smokin', and even if we don't accomplish a whole lot in a rehearsal, the process is slowing down for me. I can make better in-flight decisions (thanks, Dr. M!) and I have a better command of the behavior of the classroom. It has been a long and arduous fight, but I have finally won their respect. I've had to be really tough, but I think it has paid off. They respect me and know that they can't walk all over me. Sure, things could still be better in terms of behavior and preparedness, but we are miles and miles ahead of how we were in the fall.

As I've discussed before, the jazz band has a pretty weird instrumentation. It gets weirder when you realize that at least 4 of the members were never really asked to read music before this year. I have an 8th grade guitar player who is pretty much the coolest kid in school. Very bright and outgoing. Couldn't read a lick back in September. I'm not sure how he got around in jazz band before, but I have worked hard with him (and the rest of the group) to make sure that they can figure out rhythms for themselves. He is really tough on himself and is frustrated when he's wrong, but he has honestly gone from zero reading ability to the best rhythm reader in the class. When other students are struggling to read certain figures, he can model it for them and then explain the counting system exactly. It's been an awesome turnaround.

So there are some bright spots. There's still an incredibly long way to go, but I think we are headed in the right direction. Kids are starting to have more fun, I am starting to feel more confident, and things are slowly starting to work.