FosterTheMusic

I love teaching music and spending time with my family

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom @BandLab Out of curiosity, could you give them a choice? Lay out the options and have each pick the one that seems most interesting to them?

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom 3. Wanting to do what's best for my learners while still taking time for myself and my family, especially because I'm doing so much of this work on my own. Few people in my immediate vicinity are willing to question traditional practices, and I've been feeling very isolated

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom Where to begin? I guess it probably comes down to 3:

1. Juggling the desire to provide meaningful, authentic learning opportunities along with the expectation that I'm covering my district's curriculum (because unfortunately those are frequently at odds with one another)

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom 2. Managing the activity levels (and occasional chaos if I'm being honest) that comes with trying to create an atmosphere of student empowerment over compliance, especially when some students (in particular a few of my neurodivergent ones) struggle in a less rigid environment.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@CovingtonEDU Me too. ☺️

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 Thanks! He seems to be doing much better today! 😊

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 3(cont). It's also building relationships. We need to get to know our learners. Often "behavior issues" are a result of an unmet need. If we can find the root cause instead of punishing/bribing, not only will that decrease those challenges, but also build that trust and respect.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 3. Opening pathways starts with building buy-in. If we're thinking about school, learners should have a say in the expectations for the classroom, and I think there also needs to be some self and group-examination of why we have the expectations we do.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 On a related note, so many of the complaints I hear are how students won't stop talking or sit in their seats. Have you ever BEEN to a staff meeting? If we as adults can't listen or work quietly for 30-60 minutes, why should we expect our students to do that for 4-5 hours a day?

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 2. Effective discipline has to start with a relationship built on trust and respect, on both sides. Otherwise, any correction leads to resentment, not learning.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 2(cont). I think teachers also need to shift their mindset about how a classroom should look. It's time to move beyond controlling our students to empowering them to take more ownership of themselves and their learning.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 1. Discipline should be less about punishment and more about developing skills to achieve certain goals. Just look at the Latin root, disciplina, meaning "instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge." Yes, there is correction involved, but also a more proactive element.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

Today I was reminded of how amazing this job can be when we focus less on teaching the subject and more on teaching the humans in front of us.

Thanks @etobias_musiced for challenging and inspiring me. It was a day I definitely got the gooey insides of the cookie ☺️

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom Music is a performance art that naturally invites participation. Visual art has been completed and all that's left is to view and/or use it as inspiration for your own. There's value in that, but I think the popularity of color by number apps show how many want to be involved

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom I see your point and agree that we need to do much more creating with our students, but I think swinging to the opposite extreme undervalues the communal aspect of our craft. There's a reason church singing is a thing while church sculpting isn't, just as an example.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom @sjeeves @tallgirlwgc @dannybrook734 As educators, what if we focused first on who we want our students to be as learners and human beings, then used our content to meet those goals, instead of the other way around?

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@StevesMusicRoom @sjeeves @tallgirlwgc @dannybrook734 The analogy of curriculum as a menu made me smile. I know a lot of people would disagree, but I think it makes a ton of sense. I'd prefer focusing on doing fewer things but doing them well, rather than rushing to cover the content with only a shallow understanding at best.

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 I think we need to shift away from a one-size-fits-all approach and toward providing our students multiple access points, which would involve taking a broader view of our curriculum than seems to be the case in many places at the moment. Where are those conversations happening?

[FosterTheMusic @FosterTheMusic1]

@dannybrook734 My big takeaway from tonight is there are many access points to musicking and different methods speak to different people. Something I'm still pondering is how to balance that in large classes of diverse learners, especially when "standard notation" is the expectation from above.