Classroom Management

30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 3

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Day 3: In which area do you think you can improve the most?

There’s an ease to master teachers when they are in the classroom that I

David Newell’s new book Classroom Management in the Music Room: “Pin-Drop Quiet” Classes and Rehearsals

sincerely admire. When I think of the best elementary music educator that I’ve observed, I think of someone with an intense mastery of the craft, a curriculum design that gets results, and an infectious personality. (I should go visit her at school sometime soon!)

One thing that I recognize in master teachers that I haven’t managed to pin-point and define. I’ve written about David Newell’s seminar on classroom management for the music classroom before here, but until I have my own classroom, I won’t be able to fully implement his strategies in a meaningful way with my own students.

While I was implementing his strategies I wasn’t fully confident with them. They weren’t my own. I was borrowing from an expert. And that’s okay. I often told my choir students at my second placement school that I didn’t much care if they really believed the words they were singing, but they needed to convince me that they did. “Fake it ’till you make it” may sound like a disingenuous practice, but I think it’s a valid way to come into new teaching strategies and find success outside of my comfort zone.

Some things will come with time. I’d love to be the best teacher ever right away,

Photo Manip by karl683 2012

but I realize that so much of what a great teacher great is experience working with students and learning from mistakes.

So here’s to some new mistakes and new lessons!

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NMEA 2012 Day 2: I Miss My Students?!

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Only a struggling young teacher would be this excited about a book with a title like, “Classroom Management in the Music Room: Pin-drop quiet rehearsals and classes.”

Of all the really great sessions and performances I saw today (including a stunning performance by the University of Nebraska – Omaha’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble), my favorite was by far David Newell’s extremely practical, common sense approach to classroom management.

After the last few weeks of middle school choir and band, I was on the prowl for the best resources, strategies, and techniques for managing large numbers of middle school students. As soon as I saw the title of the session (the pin-drop quiet part seemed excessive), I knew I had to be there! Thankfully, we sat down just before they started turning away people due to capacity concerns.

I took pages of notes in Evernote, recorded audio of the whole session, and had to track down someone else’s copy of the handout to take a picture of it! I intend to purchase the book as soon as it is released. I don’t want to say too much, because I think Mr. Newell deserves every penny and ounce of credit for creating such a fantastic resource, but he managed to take the classroom management techniques I had heard described for years in college education courses and apply them to the specific challenges of music classrooms.

I can’t recommend his management sessions strongly enough, and I’m sure his work on teaching rhythm is just as fantastic. In fact, that will be some great reading while I await the publication of his new book.

One more day of professional development tomorrow including performances by my own Concordia University Nebraska Wind Ensemble, the Doane College Choir, and a Nebraska Choral Directors reading session and conducting/Alexander Technique Workshop with Dr. Courtney Snyder of the University of Nebraska Omaha (whose conducting took my breath away at the UNO performance mentioned above).

One more day of meeting professional educators as a young teacher, not just a student. My cooperating teacher was awarded the chair for Middle Level education, and it was great to meet some of his colleagues throughout the state, as well as various clinicians and professionals from the state and the nation (including current national NAfME president, Nancy Ditmer and the president-elect).

One more day of affirming experiences that remind me that I have chosen/been chosen for a profession that I believe in so strongly and love so much. In fact, all of this talking about teaching music has made me almost miss seeing my students (which is almost masochism at this point).

I know I’m not a master teacher yet by any means. But I know that the Mr. Jensen that will stand before his students on Monday is not the same Mr. Jensen they have known for the last 4 weeks. It’s a new day, and I’m ready to make music.

Student Teaching Weeks 4, 5, and 6: Improvising, Dynamics, and the Joy of Teaching

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I’ve tried to write this blog post for the last three weekends, but have failed to complete it each time. With a week and half left in my first student teaching placement, my time at this school is close to expiring. And with that prospect is the anticipation of saying goodbye to my 400+ students, some of whom I’ve built a relationship.

One of my new students friends, is a second grader, J. J is anything but a teacher’s ideal student. Not once, in the 6 weeks I have been there has J participated in music class. Every day he would ask to do something else: play the piano, play the drums, sing a different song, use a microphone. Not a single note sung, not single action, not one note.

Not until Friday.

Whenever J was not participating in music class, it was never because he did not want to make music. He was constantly asking to sing me a song, or play the drums, but we needed him to participate in music class! So, on Tuesday, I asked him to meet with me after class and sat down and made a deal. If he participated in music, he’d get to come in during recess and we’d do whatever music activity he wanted.

Later that day, at recess, he pulled me aside and told me something that I’ll never forget: “Mr. Jensen, I don’t have any friends. No one will play with me.”

I was heartbroken. I said, “I’m your friend, J.” And the smile that filled his face will forever define my best moment in Student Teaching 1.

Friday morning, I reminded him of our agreement, and he smiled and gave me thumbs up. I was prepared to give him the recess if he participated at least a little bit! But he stood in his place, sang every song, and performed every action. After each song he’d turn around to me and say, “How’d I do, Mr. Jensen?” I smiled and said, “You did great, J.”

And at lunch, we played instruments and sang a few songs. (Turns out, he knows quite a bit about music and matches pitch very well!)

In a week and a half, I move on to my next placement, and J will be back in the same music class with the same teacher. I don’t know if he’ll continue to participate in music class or not, but I know that for that half an hour, the music teacher was his friend. And that’s a teaching moment.