The Primary Objective

I have been hearing a lot of panic and concern lately over the writing of personal and lesson plan objectives.  This has come up in local conversations as well as national (on the Music K-8 mailing list for example).  Some states are requiring "SLO's" (student learning objectives) and some are also requiring professional objectives for growth.

Fellow music specialists, I am here to tell you two things 1)  There is no cause for concern - if there ever were an area of education that was objective focused, music is it and 2) By all means, this is certainly nothing "new."

I have posted before about music teachers using the old "well, that doesn't pertain to me, I teach MUSIC!" excuse.  That's what it is - an excuse.  Any subject - ANYTHING worthy of being taught is done so the exact same way.  If you aren't doing it that way, you may need to re-think your game plan.  Further, if you perpetuate the myth that "music is different" you are going to drum your subject right out the door (both literally and figuratively).  If fellow educators and administrators as well as parents fail to see the relevance of music instruction and think of it as "something different" - guess what, it will be seen as irrelevant and by some, even expendable.

Do we address multiple objectives simultaneously?  You bet we do!  Do other subjects do the same?  Yes, indeed, they do.  However, you cannot just approach the task with which you have been trusted haphazardly and cross your fingers that magically "learning will happen."  You must, must, MUST have a plan in mind.  If you're not 100% (or more) prepared before that class walks in, you are doing those children a disservice.  Do we have programs to prepare?  Do we have mandates to follow?  Do we have grades to give?  Yes, we do.  But that doesn't mean a sequential, logical approach for good learning to occur goes out the window.

Step one:  The Big Picture

You need a curriculum.  I'm not talking about the state's learning outcomes that come rolling out after a committee has mulled them over and then changed them because, well, that's what education must do.  After all, if we're not changing something every five years, we must not be doing our jobs, right?  (yes, heavy sarcasm is intended)  Putting one's trousers on one leg at a time certainly can't be effective year after year.  Let's try jumping out of a tree and landing straight into them.  Or maybe lying on our backs and then letting the pants slide down over our legs.  My point is - the outcomes of teaching music should always and forever be the same.  As new technologies (and even instruments) are developed, yes, the objectives should change to INCORPORATE those, but the basic learning should not.  Music is, to over simplify, music.

Your curriculum should be a big picture with broad objectives for each grade level laid out month by month.  It can and should include your state's standards.  If your district hasn't handed you one or you have not served on a committee to create one, then put one together for your own (and your students') sake.

Step two:  The Narrower Picture

From the curriculum comes a timeline.  What should be taught, to whom, and when?  Here you can lay out the outcomes week by week (as opposed to month by month).  The objectives start to show up in this part - you get specific.  The timeline shows specific skills that should be demonstrated in the areas of beat, rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, and tone color.  This can also include other music-adjacent topics like composers of a certain era, etc.

Step three:  The Nitty Gritty

Now we get to the daily lesson plans.  These include all the fun stuff that we as music teachers love to impart to our students:  movement, games, instrument playing, software, etc.  BUT...all of these things that we love to do need to be done with a purpose - an objective!  Some of you are saying "But, but...I love to teach Snail, Snail..."  yes, so do I.  But you don't just throw it in because it looks like something fun and musical to do.  You play the game with an end goal in mind.  "But, but, there are so many goals that one game can address!"  Indeed.  But you need to focus on one in your lesson.

Let's take "Snail, Snail" as an example since I mentioned it.  WHY did you put that in your plan?  To keep the short people engaged?  It is, in fact, engaging, but that shouldn't be the reason for teaching it.  Here are just some possibilities for that one little, simple game:  so-mi melodic patterns, rhythm patterns using quarter and eighth notes, stepping to the beat of the music, playing a simple ostinato on barred instruments, using singing voice.  When you think of the elements of your plan in this way, they relate back to the objective for the day.  If I am working on steady beat with first grade, I can write as the objective "Students will demonstrate the presence of a steady beat by successfully playing the game 'Snail, Snail.'"  or "Students will play the steady beat of 'Snail, Snail' by playing a bordun on the bass xylophone." 

You see, by doing the above, I don't throw out the game "Snail, Snail" - I use it as a teaching tool for reaching the goals laid out on my timeline.  This can be done with any musical material.  If you are preparing a performance, check your timeline and curriculum.  Ask yourself, "How can I address the objectives on the timeline using the materials for the program?" and proceed from there.

Remember the Spiral

Since "Snail, Snail" seems to have taken over my post, let's look at the spiral once again (see last year's posts regarding curriculum).  Remember to check back over your curriculum, timeline, and lesson plans to be sure you've hit everything you need to.  The elementary music curriculum "spirals" - that is to say, you teach a topic at a low level, then address it at a deeper level the next year, then deeper still the next year.  For example:  meter.  In early grades it can be as simple as identifying the feel of meter in 2 and meter in 3 as "march or sway."  In first grade - place barlines to divide written rhythms into meter in 2 or meter in 3.  By second grade, identify the time signature in a piece of music and be able to place barlines accordingly.  By third grade, write the numbers under each beat in a measure.  By fourth grade read time signatures using traditional (number over number) markings and explain their meaning, and by fifth grade identify meters as duple, triple, compound, or unusual. 

It's a Simple Process

Every lesson follows this structure:  tell them what you're about to do, do it, check to make sure they understood what you just did.  Write the objective on the board.  Be sure your objectives contain OBSERVABLE verbs and avoid words like "know" or "understand."  How can you check to see if a student "knows" something at the end of a lesson?  You really can't (except maybe by giving a paper and pencil test).  Instead of "The students will know rhythm." a better objective is "Students will read and play rhythm patterns using quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests."  By writing that as your objective, you can actually SEE them doing this and you will be able to tell if learning has occurred or not.  Will you address other musical objectives during the lesson?  Sure - singing voice, beat, reading simple melodic patterns, etc. will all be addressed; however, that is NOT the focus of that particular lesson.  It's not what you are looking for TODAY.  You can provide gentle reminders, "Remember to use your singing voice, not a yelling or speaking voice..." but that is not the focus for the day.  At the end of the lesson, refer back to the objective.  "Boys and girls, today did we..." and bring their own focus back to the reason they just did all the fun things you had them experience.

If you approach your lessons this way, I promise you:  not only will your lessons be fun and engaging, but students will actually leave your classes saying things like "Today I learned about tempo in music class..." rather than "We played 'The Old Gray Cat' in music class today and it was fun!"

Finally, take a quick look at everything you've done with each grade level over the year.  Check for "holes" in the curriculum and in your lessons.  "Did I miss anything?"  If you take this approach, you will have sent your students out the door with a solid foundation in musical knowledge as well as an appreciation for the art itself while simultaneously assisting them in all their academic endeavors.  We are, most certainly, super teachers!

Until next time...

Using the iPad

I have been hearing different circles of teachers and music teachers talk about the app "iDoceo" for some time now.  For the past two years, I have used the Smart Seat app for managing my seating and daily attendance of my classes.  I made it a goal this year to give the acclaimed iDoceo a whirl.  Monday was the first day of school, so I decided to do a "baptism by fire" and jump right in using the app for this brand new school year.

Overview

iDoceo is like having your schedule, seating charts, calendar, and student information binders all in one neat little place.  You can set up your classes, then your schedule (assigning periods of the day to particular classes you've set up), take attendance, assign grades, and make annotations all in one easy-to-use interface.

Learning Curve

I am fairly quick to pick up on most things techy.  This app takes "on the fly" learning to a whole new level!  INCREDIBLY easy to use.  There were a few things here and there that caused me some confusion, but nothing that touching the "?" or doing a quick Google search didn't fix.  I would give this app for teachers an "A+" for user friendliness.

Importing

As music teachers, even if we work in a small rural school, we have a LOT of students.  After all, more often than not, we see every child in the entire school.  This makes keeping track of them all somewhat difficult.  Combine this with required parent contacts, grading policies, behavior monitoring, etc. and it can get out of control in a hurry. 

The first thing that blew me away with iDoceo was its incredible ability to import data ACCURATELY from our school district's online grading system.  We use Skyward, so getting my classes into iDoceo was as simple as doing the following:  open online grade book, click a class, click "reports," click "Roster," then click "export to Excel."  After opening the file in Excel, I did a quick highlight (click and drag) over extraneous information and hit the "Delete" key.  Then I saved the file (first, middle, and last names, and student ID numbers) in the older Excel format (xls for 2003) with a simple title - name of teacher, a dash, and the grade (i.e. Sands - 2).  I created a folder simply called "Rosters" in my Dropbox file (click here if you don't know about Dropbox) which is where I saved all of the rosters.

Using the Dropbox app on my iPad, I opened the "Rosters" folder.  I selected one of the roster files and then touched the "open in" icon (currently upper right) and then selected the iDoceo app.  BOOM!  Not only were all those names and ID numbers immediately imported (like in less than one second), but the class was appropriately named as well!  I cannot begin to explain the amount of time this little feature saved me.  800 students went into this app without a hitch.

Seating

After getting all those classes in, the next step is to get seating arranged.  This was SO easy.  On the first day each class showed up, I took their pictures to be associated with their names.  In the upper left of the iDoceo screen, there is a "seating chart" icon.  Tap it and you will see all those student names on rectangles that are reminiscent of Polaroid instant photographs.  You tap and hold a student's name.  Select "take picture,"  adjust the photo by "pinching" and just click "done."  Then, to arrange the students, simply tap and hold, then drag the student to the appropriate area on your desktop.  This is very handy especially for us music types as we don't ordinarily have the traditional row or table setup in our classes.  Here you can see one of my classes (with the faces and last names blocked).  I have four FlipForm® risers in my room, each with the capacity for three students on the top row and three students seated on the bottom.  The risers are in a concert formation.  The only thing I can't do in iDoceo is angle them in a semicircle.  You can see here how I have the students in four clusters, each representing a riser.

Scheduling

For years I had four things in front of me - my schedule (hard to remember, "Whose coming next?"), my lesson plans, my seating charts, and my iPod (or, lately, iPad).  Now with iDoceo, you need only have ONE thing in front of you.  After your classes have been created, it is very easy to set up your schedule.  If your time periods run similarly each day, I recommend setting them up once then copying them to the other days of the week.  Then all you have to do is change the class associated and you don't have to go through setting up the starting and ending times, picking a color, etc.  Once you have your schedule set up with classes associated, that's all you need - iDoceo will do the rest!  Simply have the schedule screen open.  Touch the class and BAM!  The roster and grades are in front of you.  Touch the seating chart icon and there you have your class.  Touch the icon in the upper left and then "+" and you can touch "Attend All" - double tap the check mark to mark a student absent, hold your finger down and touch "Text/Icons" and you can tap a symbol you'd like to add (like an hour glass for tardy, etc.).  Touch the icon with the "X" to exit attendance mode.  If you'd like to alter attendance later, when you are viewing the roster, simply double-tap the green check mark to change it to a red X (absent) or vice versa.

My 2013-2014 schedule.  I touch a class and can immediately see rosters, grades, and seating.

Making Notes

This is perhaps the most AMAZING feature of this app (although, the other stuff is way cool in and of itself).  In the roster view, tap and hold a student's name.  Select "Edit student" (or just double-tap the student's name).  A screen will appear with five options at the bottom.  Touch "Resources" (far right) and then touch the paper clip icon in the upper left corner of the screen.  Here you have SIX choices of ways to add data to a particular student.  Take picture (maybe of a project), Add photo (maybe you took a whole class worth of pictures and you want to assign a particular one to a particular student - this will access your camera roll on your iPad), Add file (maybe a word document of a report the student wrote - you must first upload the file to Dropbox if you're going to use this option), Record video (how cool for us music types, right?), Audio recording ("Trevor left class without permission" - the recording is date stamped, or maybe "So-mi pitch match" for grading later), and Add URL (I'm guessing this is for older students who may have a Wiki or other site for assignments).

The "resources" screen for "Joe Student."

Of course, if you just want to do standard text notations, you can do that too - just tap "Annotations" at the bottom and type away!

Transferring Students

If your classes are like mine, they are an ever evolving, ever changing, living entity.  I am challenged to have one week to the next where I don't have a student enter, withdraw, change to another class, etc.  With Smart Seat, I was out of luck - if a student changed classes, I had to re-enter their data, take a new picture, etc.  iDoceo has magically solved this.  When viewing the roster view, tap the settings icon in the upper left (looks like a screw driver and wrench), tap "students," touch the circle next to the student you would like to move.  Touch "copy" in the upper left, then a list of your classes will appear.  Simply tap the class you'd like him/her moved to - VOILA!  You'll find that student there with all their data (grades will not transfer).  Once copied, you can simply delete the student from the current class.

The "copy" student screen.

Conclusion

I am an app fan.  There are so many that are so useful in our personal and professional lives.  Rarely do I get THAT excited about an app, but after spending just one week with iDoceo, I can tell you it is the best $5.99 I've spent in quite some time.

Until next time...

Here it Comes!

I started teaching elementary music in 1985.  From the first day in the classroom to this week before school begins again for me, there has been a constant fear among music educators - that our programs will be cut or eliminated.  You've heard the arguments, "Why don't they cut the football team?  Music is important!  How could they do this to our children who are expected to be creative thinkers!"  Yes, it is true that music instruction in schools is important.  I fear, however, that sometimes "music people" can be their own worst enemies.  They do their work effectively, quietly plodding along, then WHAM!  What happened to my program?

As we approach this new school year, keep these three things in mind and they MIGHT help keep the fear of being on the chopping block at bay:

1.  Get Involved

Outside of your regular classes or program preparation, how involved are you with the goings on at your school?  Your community?  Your state?  Do you stick to music-alone activities (preparing school programs, writing music curriculum, assisting classroom teachers with finding songs about this or songs about that)?  Or do you immerse yourself in your school?  Do you serve on non-music committees?  Do you keep abreast on the latest trends in education?  Are you viewed as an instructional leader in your school?  Or do you plod along, continuing to do things the same way because your methods have been tried and true and you have no desire to change or take up your time?  Do you find reasons to not be involved?  "I have a family!"  or "I have a life!"  Yes, we all have lives, but that doesn't mean we abdicate the work that needs to be done to "somebody else."  We are, after all, professionals, and with that title comes some sacrifice.

It is important for colleagues, students, and community members to see that you have many capabilities.  Yes, you are knowledgeable about music and you should be the "go-to" person when matters that concern music and music education are at hand.  But do you really want to be known only for that one thing?  Do you want to be a "one-trick pony"?  I am certain that anyone reading this blog right now has many, many talents and skills that so many may not be aware of.  Let others see your value as a member of the faculty at your school and in your school district.  Be known not only as "the music teacher" but also as "an educator."

2.  Be Relevant

I saw an Internet meme that was passed my way by my niece.  It was certainly meant to be humorous and I understood that.  But there was something deeper under the surface.  "There is many a true word spoken in jest."  The meme was simply a picture of a recorder with the text "How did THIS help further my education?"  OUCH!

Frequently as artists, we tend to think, "Well!  The importance of my art is OBVIOUS!  I shouldn't have to EXPLAIN its importance!"  I have news for you:  yes, you do have to explain it.  Over, and over, and over again - in social situations, in your classroom, with administrators, with parents, ALL THE TIME!  Take every opportunity to show the cultural relevance of musical knowledge.  Cite studies that show how the study of music is beneficial in oh so many ways.  Always be on the lookout for data that will help build your case.  Do not assume everyone will just "know" how important your program is.

When you complete a lesson, what do you think your students would say about it when asked by an adult?  Would they be able to relay some valuable musical knowledge they learned solely because they were in your class?  Or will they simply relay a song name or a dance?  Will they say they played instruments?  Or worse will they simply say, "We watched a video..."  Every word spoken in your class needs to be spoken with a purpose:  for children to learn.  I am not saying that learning songs and dances are not valuable experiences - they are.  But how are you connecting those experiences to musical learning and then to life learning?

3.  Be Kind

Teaching is stressful - very stressful.  And it seems to become more and more stressful with each passing year.  I'm still not sure if "things have changed so much" that's causing the stress or if I'm just getting old.  Regardless, it is your JOB to always be "the better person." Are you or your students best served by getting upset?  How will carrying gossip around your school help your students in the end?  How does confrontation help?  How does bottling up a perceived injustice and then venting it off to someone who has little or no power to change it help?  These things will rob you of your joy, they will rob your students of a positive musical experience, and they certainly won't further the importance of your music program.  When it comes to thinking of "the first people to eliminate" how do you want others to perceive you?

Students are professional button-pushers.  Don't let them.  Remain calm.  Address the situation the best way you can (and I know, in today's classroom, this can be an awesome challenge).  Getting upset can backfire in oh so many ways.  Don't become a victim to "reaction."  Always, always "respond" rather than "react."

Colleagues can get under your skin.  When something happens, did they really act any way other than what they normally do?  Probably not.  Do not allow them to get to you.  Smile, be kind, don't get caught up in the drama of others, and carry on.  If it's something serious, address it calmly and head-on.  Do not go around talking about the colleague, approach them (kindly) face to face in a private setting.

When it comes to education as well as life - change will happen.  This is a given.  So what will you do about it?  Freak out and complain to anyone who will listen?  How did that help?  Did you feel better?  My guess is that you probably didn't feel better and, in fact, you probably ended up even more upset than when you started to relay the situation.  Instead of railing against change, find a way to make the imposed changes fit with procedures and routines that you already find comfortable.  Why are changes being made?  For the sake of change?  I know, sometimes this happens; but when it is that kind of change is it worth implementing to the best of your ability?  Usually changes are being brought about for a reason.  Look beyond the change itself, find the reasoning behind it, and then see how you can address the problem by either implementing the change or integrating it into your current methods, routines, and structures.

Be kind to yourself.  Pick at least one day of the week where "I will leave the building on time."  Get enough rest.  Exercise.  Smile.  Eat well and eat sensibly.  Instead of "How on earth do they expect me to...." think "I can do this, I'll adjust.  What an opportunity to broaden my experience..."

As the school year begins, remember YOU control your reaction to things.  You can't control the things others say and do, but you can control your reaction to what they say and do.

When you find yourself being involved, relevant, and kind, you may be amazed at how little effort you have to put forth to justify your program, and that will be one less stressful thing in your teaching life.  It's gonna be a long year (I still haven't experienced a short one).  Hopefully you can keep these three tips in mind and it will help you sail through it with flying colors.

Until next time...

From the Personal Side

Greetings blog readers.  Okay, so I've been really, really lame about writing new posts.  I'm going to make some excuses now.  But before I do, I want this to be a testament that I do "walk the walk" with all this stuff I write on here.  This post has little to do with teaching music.  But since it comes from a music teacher, I guess it does.  And I just know many of you will be able to relate.

The entire month of May was a blur.  Much of April was spent worrying about what was going to happen in May.  So here goes...

Field trips.  Folks, there is a definite downside to being one of the few males in a teaching situation.  This is especially true if you are listed as "no sub required" on the district substitute reporting website.  Yes, when I'm gone, so are my classes.  They just don't happen.  Is this a bad thing?  I'm thinking it's not.  What's better for children - more time with their teacher or time in the music room with a non-music person?

During the month of May I chaperoned ten (yes, that's one-zero) field trips.  The brutal part of this is that these were no down-the-street, run-of-the-mill field trips.  Many of these were big, long-distance trips, ALL on school buses!  The longest was the fourth grade trip to the Texas State Aquarium.  For you non-Texans, that's located in Corpus Christi.  My school is located in La Joya, TX.  I'll save you the Google map search.  That's 170 miles.  In a car?  Not a big deal.  In a school bus that is limited to 55 mph, it's horrid (4 hours each way - remember to factor in the immigration check point and restroom stops!).  Departure time:  7:30 a.m.  Return time:  10:00 p.m.  Time the last student was picked up: 10:45 p.m.  I got home at 11:30 p.m.  The only saving grace was: the next day was Saturday.

Other highlights - the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.  That one is only 78 miles on a bus - each way.  Third graders enjoyed it.  I, on the other hand, was considering offering a "donation" to the zoo for a new exhibit.  The scorching Deep South Texas heat added to the pleasure.  Oh yes, I almost forgot, we were about two miles from the zoo when our bus broke down on the way there (we were one of two buses on the trip - I'm always the lucky one!)

Schlitterbahn Water Park, South Padre Island.  A mere 77 miles.  Departure:  7:30 a.m.  Return:  7:00 p.m. and, naturally, the requisite waiting time for all to be picked up.  This one was also a Friday, so I got to collapse and sleep in on Saturday.  Fun trip, however.  We take our "millionaires" on this one - students who read one million words (word count from books) or more during the year!

Disney on Ice!  Forgive me ice skating fans, but any entertainment-related event followed by the words "...on Ice" makes me physically ill.  And the best part is...I got to do that one TWICE!  Once with pre-K and once with kindergarten.  The good news about those two is that tiny bladders in a chilly environment meant I became very familiar with the location of restrooms.  I didn't get a whole lotta seat time.  Darn, and I really wanted to see Woody from Toy Story rescue the others while ice skating.

Roller skating.  Now here's the deal, many of you know that I turned 50 a couple of months ago.  I used to skate EVERY Saturday as a kid.  That last phrase is important - AS A KID.  When we arrived at the skating rink, I was seriously thinking, "Oh it has to be like riding a bike.  Bend your knees, lean forward, keep your head up, not down..."  Sure.  Sounds good in theory.  I'm here to tell you, if you haven't been on skates in 40 years, you may want to re-think the whole idea.

Bowling.  One short sentence:  Seriously consider the attention span of a second grader before undertaking this type of field trip.  'Nough said.

Summer School.  My school district is large (about 30,000 students).  They hold elementary summer school at four locations.  My school is usually one of the sites due to its central location for the area.  My principal had requested that I apply to be the lead teacher.  It is helpful for the person in charge to be from the school in which summer school will take place (they hire teachers from throughout the district to relocate to the various sites for summer school).  I had applied a few years ago and didn't get accepted, so I felt free to go ahead and register for the ISTE (International Society for Technology Education) Conference that will take place in San Antonio at the end of June.  This was all good - until I got the letter saying that they had decided to hire me as lead teacher.  The deadline for cancelling the conference hotel had long past - "cancellation fee."  I was within the window for cancelling the conference registration...but of course, with a "cancellation fee."  Fortunately, the registration was covered, the hotel: out of my pocket.

The month continued with meetings, creating schedules, creating class rosters, trying to get bus routes, assigning teachers to classrooms, etc.  I finally had a handle on it and thought I could breathe for today's "work day" (half day for summer teachers to prepare their classrooms) but oh no, that wasn't about to happen...the second round of test scores came in from the state.  This meant re-doing ALL of the rosters based on need by subject, transferring teachers that would not be needed, etc. all while simultaneously trying to distribute a plethora of materials to teachers eager to get started.  First day of summer school is Monday, June 3.  I am taking deep breaths and looking into some serious meditation (note:  that's "meditation" not "medication").

Talent Show.  What's the end of the year without a school-wide talent show?  In between field trips, I held auditions and emceed our talent show.  I gathered all the various music, approved costumes, made sure parents were aware of performances, etc.  I even managed to accompany one of my singers live on the piano - we had a whole 5 minutes just before the curtain went up to practice together - but hey, I'm a professional.

School obligations.  Yes, even though I was the master of field trips and summer school, I still had to prepare lesson plans, teach classes (when I could), attend committee meetings, submit grades, pack up my room for summer, and do all the things a teacher has to do at the end of the school year.  As I said before, I'm a professional.

Family obligations.  Several of you know, when you reach a certain age, it's time to reverse roles when it comes to your parents.  It makes it difficult when you are 2,000 miles apart and tends to compound the worry.  I am blessed to have my siblings still close in proximity to my parents.  Nevertheless, I will be making the long trek home to do what I can later in the summer - in between the trainings I must both teach and attend.

Community obligations.  Through it all, I remain faithful to my duties with my homeowners' association (I am the bookkeeper).  I also have been managing the estate for a deceased close friend and finally managed to finish the last big part this past week - selling his house.

So folks, when you say, "Gee, Norm hasn't posted since March!" I'm hoping this post helps explain why.  For those who may see me in person, please:  smile, wave, then politely pull me aside and say, "Norm, remember...the underwear goes on the INSIDE of your pants."

Until next time...

First, Be a Teacher

As a music specialist, it is often frustrating when you see "those days" on the school calendar - the dreaded "teacher in-service training" days.  Music teachers frequently don't like these days because 1) rarely is there anything on the agenda that is music-specific and 2) we usually have 900 things on our plate that need to be accomplished and we feel that sitting and hearing about the latest trend in math instruction is not the best use of our time.

There are certain things that are unavoidable - you know, like death and taxes.  In-service days should also go on this list.  Rather than making these days a source of boredom and frustration (if you do, indeed view them as such) view them as opportunity days.  When the latest classroom requirement is handed down from above, I often see colleagues put up the argument "but music is different."  Yes, music is different.  Music is also not on the state-mandated tests (yet).  However, after spending nearly 30 years in this business, I am here to tell you if you put your time and effort into proving how "music is different" and finding crafty ways to convince your principal to let you out of certain meetings and trainings, guess what?  You've just helped solidify any opponent's point of view.  You've just verified any suspicion that "music is different."

There seems to be two camps when it comes to elementary music types.  One camp feels they are viewed as an integral part of their faculty.  The other feels the "odd man out" syndrome.  Regardless of which side you find yourself on (or any part of the spectrum in between), there is something you can do make others view you as "a teacher too."  Rather than spending your energy fighting against school or district requirements for you to attend trainings that "have nothing to do with music," take the opportunity to go.  Find out what's going on in "their" world.  As you are sitting and listening politely (secretly planning your next program in your head), stretch your brain and creativity.  Mentally start making connections between what you do (or could do) in the music class that is similar to the topic being presented.  Participate in the discussion.  Show your colleagues that you, too, ARE a teacher!

Another strategy is to find out what the "hot topics" are for the year.  Check the direction in which your school or district is headed.  If you are so inclined, see if you can talk to your principal or the person in charge of in-service trainings to be listed as a presenter or being part of a presentation team.  Here is one example:

There was great concern last year that poetry was to be a topic included on the new state test (personally, I was under the assumption that it always was).  There was some scrambling on the part of department leaders as to how this topic was to be addressed effectively because "poetry hadn't been addressed before."  I had a discussion with a department head for the district and told her that poetry is a large part of what we do in music.  Then I set out to show her the similarities.

Fortunately, my principal came through a program where arts integration was a big part of her personal learning.  She approached me prior to the start of this school year to see if there was something I could do during our opening days to expose teachers to classroom arts integration.  She wanted to see more arts as part of standard instruction, not just when students were in my class.  I did a short presentation on A) the importance of the arts in brain development and presented brief data (emphasis on "brief") from studies related to arts instruction and academic success and B) did a couple quick and fun activities related to meter, phrasing, and stanza (verse) using nursery rhymes.

By doing things like this, you are accomplishing much.  First, you are showing that music is a vital part of a child's development and you are thus doing great PR work for arts education.  Secondly, you are showing others who may be skeptical that teaching and learning actually does go on while students are in your care.  It's not just "fun and games."  And finally, your are elevating your own status among your peers.  You are establishing yourself as an "education expert" not just a "music expert." 

I have discovered over the years that by making sure music is included in every educational discussion, my own teaching has improved.  Instead of saying, "Well, that doesn't pertain to me, I teach music..." I found a way to see how it DID pertain to me and my classroom.  Good teaching is good teaching.  Period.  There is no distinction between music teaching and teaching other subjects.

I can assure you, if all music specialists took this approach, there would never be an "us versus them" situation in any school and, as enough students came through such programs, there would never be another discussion about whether or not to cut arts instruction from a curriculum.  It would be viewed as the vital aspect of every child's education that it truly is.  To quote Ben Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."  We must "hang together" as teachers, not "hang separately" as arts educators.

Happy Easter!  Until next time...

To Video or Not To Video

First, apologies for not posting.  As the song lyrics say, "life happened."

As we head into the spring season (in Texas, that means one thing - testing time!) and other distractions like the end of the school year, the "videos in the music class" topic rears its ugly head.  I say "ugly" head because it all depends on how you use them and how others see you using them.  For me personally, the concept of a video in the music room has traditionally been taboo, a big "no-no" if you will.  I certainly don't want my colleagues spreading information that "all he does in there is show them videos..."  Rest assured, in Mr. Sands' class, we are DOING 95% of the time.

Now, there are exceptions.  First, there are things that are available on video that I simply cannot impart to my students without the aid of video (or at least a still picture).  I just don't have the funds or the storage space for a full set of orchestral instruments in my music room.  Here, a video clip of a professional playing the double bass or bassoon is a must.  How can a student truly grasp the concept of the size and the sound by looking at a picture in a book?  How can they truly see "vibrato" in action from a sting player without video?

Video has its value as a learning tool.  How many things have I personally become stumped about, gone to YouTube and searched out the topic, and BAM there I have someone showing me exactly what I needed to know how to do?  Learning at its finest level.

There are new supplementary materials that use video exactly as I would use them - short clips (no longer than 10-15 minutes maximum).  I once attended a two-day seminar on making use of Gardner's seven intelligences and the leader of that seminar suggested having students (high school students) present the one 5-minute clip from a movie that encapsulates the movie's message and be able to explain it.  I think we can all agree, THAT takes some thinking!  Not just passive watching.  If you are preparing to show a video in your class, I suggest you take this concept to heart.  Find that one clip from the video that captures the essence of what you want your students to gain from it, then move on to something non-video.  Ask yourself these questions:  Why am I showing this video?  Does it have true educational/artistic value?  Am I advancing my students' musical knowledge by showing it?  Or am I simply avoiding having to deal with antsy children?

Yes, there are video performances of musicals and other performances that our students would otherwise not know of, this is absolutely true.  However, given the age of the students we are servicing (elementary) is it necessary or even appropriate to show a movie musical in its entirety?  Yes, you can create worksheets that help guide their watching (and that's certainly better than just popping in a video and letting it go at that) but...consider using a clip to stretch students' thinking rather than showing a video for the sake of entertainment or "infotainment."  How 'bout briefly discussing the storyline of a musical, comparing it to present-day productions to find similarities in plot, then showing one song/dance number from the video of each example and then asking "What part of the story do you think that was from?  Why do you think the composer chose the style/instrumentation/tempo/etc. to express this part of the story?"  Then, perhaps parlay that into a student creation of a way to tell a similar story.

Of course, this post regarding video use in the music class is strictly related to elementary music professionals.  I am fully aware of the substitute music teacher situation and, sometimes, showing a video is the best we can leave with what we are given.  I am fortunate in my current situation.  When I am absent for any reason, music is simply cancelled and there is no substitute called (after all, there really IS no substitute for ME, right?  LOL). 

Another good use of video is to take advantage of the many electronic devices at our disposal.  Try creating a center using a tablet device.  Take a short video of YOU explaining something.  I have done this for review purposes on the class page of my own school's website.  I took a few moments to walk my fourth grade classes through the navigation to the video then showed it (about 3 minutes).  The video was a brief review of reading and fingering the left hand notes of the recorder.  I was amazed...it was still me, still saying the same things I had been saying, but because it was on a screen, they were mesmerized! 

Until the next post...(see how I learned not to say "next week?")

iPod Touches...Snug and Safe

I recently consolidated my classroom budget to augment the technology I have available for my students - especially on those "free days" mentioned in one of my posts earlier this school year.  I had hoped to purchase four iPod touches but, alas, I learned my district requires that you purchase Apple Care for each, so I was only able to get three - but I'll take them.

Once they arrived, I knew I didn't want to spend the money on sturdy cases for all three of them (besides, my budget was wiped out and I've already spent WAY more out of my own pocket this year than I ever have in years past).  I had an idea rolling around in my head about using a piece of Styrofoam packaging, some soft packing foam, or something similar to create a safe storage space for these little delicate devices.  I knew I would be storing them in a locked drawer in my classroom, and I also knew if I didn't do something, they'd start sliding around in there every time I opened the drawer - possibly scratching them or worse, one sliding under something else so I couldn't find it right away.

Lo and behold, I was entering Costco one Sunday afternoon when there, sitting by itself in an otherwise empty shopping cart, was a piece of that newer packaging foam.  You know - it's kind of a cross between Styrofoam and soft bedding foam.  It was the perfect size (about 14 inches long, six inches wide, and about four inches deep) so I snatched it up and dropped it into my own cart.  My favorite price for projects such as these - FREE!

I was a little concerned about cutting this stuff to make it right for my iPod storage purposes; but, luckily when I started to have at it, I discovered I didn't have to do much.  The new iPod touches are so thin and this stuff has enough give, all I had to do was cut a slit the size of the iPods about two inches deep into the foam.  It worked!

My 3 iPod touches safely stored in their drawer (ignore the other clutter in there!)


The iPods fit very snugly inside the foam and are easy to retrieve when I need them.  As you can see by the photo, I could add several more to my classroom set and still have plenty of room in this one piece of foam to store them.

Until next week...

A Healthy New Year

As we head back to school for another semester, those evil winter colds and flu are lurking in the air (literally) as well as on our door knobs, instrument mallets, and everywhere else.

A teacher recently asked the question on the Music K-8 list about staying healthy in school during the winter months.  I'm cheating for this week's post as it is a re-post of my reply to that question.  Also, on a side note, if you are following my blog and not a member of the Music K-8 list, I highly recommend it.  We are certainly stronger as music specialists when we draw from the "collective brain" of those who do what we do every day.  I have gotten some amazing tips from that list.

Here is my reply to the question about how to stay healthy as a music teacher:

First, it depends on how long you've been teaching.  At the beginning of my career I got things I had never had in my life (like strep for example).   As time goes on, you build up quite the immunity to all sorts of things!

 

Second, sleep.  Americans are some of the most sleep-deprived people in the world.  GET YOUR SLEEP!  I know staying up  until midnight to finish this or that or play on Facebook may seem like a great idea even though you have to get up at 6 a.m. (or earlier in my case) THAT IS NOT ENOUGH SLEEP.  You'd be amazed the illnesses you can avoid just by getting a solid 8 (or at least 7 or 7½) every night.

 

Third, exercise.  I know, I know, with the billion things we have going on in our lives, it seems nearly impossible to find the TIME.  Find something you like to do and make it a "non-negotiable."  I finally had to make my workout time 5:15 a.m. - I discovered that most of the world is still asleep at that hour and can't interrupt me, call a meeting, etc.  Find a time that works for you and do NOT deviate from it.

 

Fourth, nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.  If you're not getting enough nutrients from the food you eat, you need to seriously look at supplements.  Everyone is different when it comes to this, so it takes a while to get it all balanced out.  I personally take handfuls every day - but that's just me.  It's nearly impossible to get ALL of the recommended daily intake of all vitamins and nutrients from food alone (if you ever try it, it's a boatload of food!) so supplementing is almost mandatory.

 

And finally, one of the best bits of advice I have ever gotten from my doctor - DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE!  How do germs find their way in?  Rubbing your eyes, swiping your itchy nose with your hand, scratching your ear, biting a nail...when you pay attention to this, you'd be amazed how many times a day you touch your face!  Of course hand washing and hand sanitizer is a must, but unless you're washing your hands every five minutes, that's not going to cut it.

 

One additional thing I do (again, advice from my doctor) I started doing a few years ago after one NASTY episode of staph infection.  I keep a spray bottle of plain rubbing alcohol in my shower.  After every shower, every place there is a fold of skin gets sprayed with alcohol.  I also rub some in each nostril and each ear with my finger.  You'd think this would be very drying for your skin, but actually it hasn't really affected mine and I rarely get sick...if I do, it's usually so mild I barely notice it.

 

One final tip I heard just this morning on the radio:  swipe the inside of each nostril with Neosporin ointment.  Your nasal passages dry out during the winter months and this will not only keep them moist, but will also thwart any germs that may find their way in!

 

Healthy New Year to you all!

 

Next week I'll be back with something more "original."  Until then...