Weekly Blog #3

 During one of the Jazz band rehearsals I heard my cooperating teacher say, “I want to know what you guys want to do for the gig.” This is an interesting idea. I am a fan of this kind of thinking in the music classroom. By giving students a say in what they will be performing makes them feel like they are more a part of the group. Not only that, but students will usually pick the pieces they feel they are best at. So asking them what they want to play is a good way to gauge what they think they are playing well and what they have fun playing.

I have learned that when planning anything that involves your students, such as an off-campus concert, you need to over-plan, have more than one backup plan, and anticipate any issues that may come up. One of the groups at the middle school I am observing just recently had a performance. Seeing how my cooperating teacher led the students up to that performance and all of the day-of logistics was very useful. On the day of the gig, my cooperating teacher went over where they should be and by when, MANY times. She even had them recite the information to her so she knew they knew.
She also had to bring all of the accessories: music stands, extra patch cords, amps, drum set, extension cords, surge protectors, and even button-covers for their tuxedo shirts. You literally have to think of and anticipate everything.

Students and parents need to be informed of every little detail. It is best to give students an itinerary of the upcoming performance early enough in advance so parents will be prepared. However, the problem with giving a letter to the student instead of directly to the parent is, sometimes the letter doesn’t reach the parent and ends up crumpled up in the bottom of a backpack. Maybe there can be a more efficient/direct way to contact parents, such as email lists.

Always keep cool-headed. Like we have discussed in many of our ED classes, you shouldn’t make it into a power struggle. It’s not worth it to let a student get your goat. I have yet to see my teacher loose her cool with the students, even in difficult situations. I am always slightly surprised by her reactions when something happens and she just responds like any other day, very politely and understanding.

I did recently experience one situation that could have been handled differently. I’m not sure, but I believe my cooperating teacher wasn’t in as good a mood as she usually is. One of the 7^th grade students forgot a pencil again; he has a reputation for coming to school without supplies. My co-op teacher has lent him pencils several times in the past and he always loses them. On this day she scolded him in front of the entire class, saying it was pathetic to borrow a pencil as a seventh grader.
Here is how I would have dealt with the situation:

Just by looking at this student, you can tell that he is probably on the lower end of the financial spectrum and what I have learned from my cooperating teacher is that his mother never shows up to any conferences and such. I conclude that his mother isn’t very supportive of his education or is unable to support it because she is working trying to make ends meet. Because of this conclusion, I would ask to talk with the student privately. I would lend him another pencil, but also talk with him and tell him that I will lend him this pencil, but it is a really good pencil, and I will need it back again tomorrow. I won’t actually take it back from him; I just want him to bring a pencil to school. I will also mention how important it is to come to school with supplies. Since he has trouble keeping track of his supplies, maybe he should just leave his pencil in his locker everyday after school.