After we sang their compositions a couple of times, I asked the students if they liked the order of their measures. One first grade boy mentioned that he wanted the measure with the gray to be last, so we switched the last measure with whole note measure. We sang it through to see if we liked it. We did! Everyone was in agreement that that sounded best. This was fascinating to me. Our society is so used to hearing a long note at the end of a song, that even these first grade boys thought the long note at the end finished the piece off nicely!

The older students were a bit more analytical in their measure moving choices. There were 2 measures that were identical: 2 eighths, a quarter and a half. One student thought that it would be cool if we turned the second measure upside down in order to create a fun inverted pattern. How amazing!! So we sang it through and then the discussion began! Someone mentioned that he didn’t like the 2 half notes right after each other. So we switched it so the first duplicated measure was upside down, rather than the second. Someone else mentioned that he wasn’t crazy about the 4 eighths together. So the debate began! We continued playing around with switching measures, placing them upside down, etc… until it was time to leave. We will continue the exploration next week!

I was so excited….my students were thinking critically about music! They were having full blown discussions on what should go where and why; it was an artistic debate. This is why I do what I do! We don’t want to only teach songs and dances, we are here to ignite the imagination and inspire our learners to participate in the music they hear. . What more could we ask for as music educators??

Yesterday our boy choir students created rhythms. I did not specify a time signature, so they were able to create any rhythm they wished, as long as two eighth notes and four sixteenths were next to each other. One second grader created a 5/4 rhythm that consisted of 1 half rest, one quarter, 2 eighths, and 1 quarter note rest. He was able to recite it back to me without any problem. I was quite pleased, but I thought I would push him a bit farther and get him to start thinking about time signature concepts. Because we were not in 4/4, the answers were not obvious. He needed to do the calculations, either in his head or on paper, to figure out the answers. I was astounded and excited at the result!

I first asked him how many quarters are in this group of notes. He answered 5 fairly easily. He was clearly gifted in math. So I then asked him how many half notes in this group of notes. It took him a little bit of time, but he used the Note Knacks to figure out 2.5. He then figured out that there are 10 eighths and 20 sixteenths. We put the answers in order: 2.5, 5, 10, 20. “What is the pattern?” I asked him. He answered that 5+5=10, 10+10=20. So I then said, “2.5+2.5 must = what?”. “5” he said. “That is correct!” I exclaimed. He also knew that the next number in the series would be 40.

This is Arts Integration at its best!! Quality music instruction was not compromised in order to teach math, nor was math taught solely to serve the music curriculum. There was simply a connection made. Music is a math language, plain and simple. Why not point it out? It serves us to do so.  When time signature finally does come up and we explore what that means, how much better prepared will this student be? He understands that a certain length of sound can be divided into several different ways. He will then learn not only can he choose how that length will be divided, but more importantly his choice will affect the overall feel of the piece. This is so powerful! Learning the math will ultimately serve him well in the creative process later on. What more can we ask for as music educators?

Different school models fascinate me, regardless of my opinion of its effectiveness. No matter the set up, we as educators can learn from them. This morning I read about a “democratic school” out in Maryland called The Fairhaven School. This school and schools like it, are designed to create the freedom for students to explore their interests and allow them the time to dive deep into what they want to learn. There seems to be very little structure.

If you have read my blogs in the past, you know I am a big believer in time for exploration; students learn best when given time to tinker with the materials in their world. A “democratic” school takes this concept to a whole new level. They state that they have trust in their students to take charge of their own learning. There absolutely is value in this; however, there is also a need for balance. In one of the videos from another school like this, a student spoke about spending his first year playing video games all day every day, his next year in the art room and the third year pursuing his cognitive science interests.

Whether you agree with this or not, it poses an interesting question: How much do we trust our students? Do we trust them enough to know what they want to learn and how long to study it for? It certainly challenges the current climate of “not only do we not trust our students, we don’t trust our teachers, as well!”. Here we have 2 sides of the spectrum: total trust and none at all. Again, where is the balance?

I would imagine most of us fall somewhere in the middle. We should trust our students (and us!!) more, but we also need educators teaching children concepts that may not initially interest them, but will prove to be beneficial later on. There are so many wonderful experiences that occur in a school environment, that I find a democratic school as limiting as a traditional one.

So where does this leave us? Most of us only have control over what happens in our classrooms….most of the time. A lot of us are doing great things already. We put our students in small groups to explore materials (Note Knacks, for example ), we promote a learning environment where children feel free to share their thoughts and we encourage improvisation as much as possible. It is in these experiences that students open up and contribute meaningfully to the class. As far as how far to push this, it is up to you. I have tried to ask kids what they want to study and I often get a big “I don’t know!”. Perhaps the direct approach isn’t the best way to handle it. After all, no one has ever asked them this before….I would imagine. So I have learned to present a few ideas and activities and see where the kids take me. When a great idea presents itself, I drop my agenda and encourage the students to explore it, but weave the concepts for the day into it. This way, everyone wins.

Have you ever had your students plan your lessons? Write below to let us know!

When popular business books speak about marketing, a large majority of them emphasize the importance of an enjoyable and memorable experience when they use your service or product. For teachers, our clients are our students…(even though it sometimes feels like we need to please parents and administrators). When kids step into our classrooms, what kind of experience are we providing?

Before we answer that question, we must first decide what are our goals? Clearly stated, we want our students to feel empowered and excited about singing, playing and creating music, while still grasping the necessary concepts to enhance their music making! The environment that we set up directly affects this outcome. Unfortunately, so does the school culture, which we have little control over in most cases. We do, however, have control over our lessons and the space we create. (This is especially difficult for those of you that do not have a classroom and are on a cart!)

So, how do we design this desired learning community? It must start with our expectations. Behavior management is an important part of our classroom culture, but it must not dominate it, although I have certainly been in situations where it has. When students have major learning and behavioral issues that are not being supported, the results can be a disaster. We all make the extra effort to try and connect with our students on a personal level so they know that we care, but it doesn’t always work. So we do the best we can. When it does work, however, it is awesome! Students feel safe and are excited about learning. Respect and kindness help to facilitate exploration and risk taking! Important components in a child’s education.

In the end, we all want to feel like we matter; that we have something meaningful to contribute to the group. Our clients want to feel special ~ as they should! It is only in this mindset that great things can happen! So this week I want to keep in mind the needs of those I serve. How am I speaking to my clients? Am I connecting with them? Do they know how very wonderful I think they are (ok, most of the time :-)? When I present material, is it possible for them to be successful at it with a bit of effort? As I continue to design lessons, this will be among the first things I consider. Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter to get some ideas!

Every week I look forward to Thursday nights! I love to watch “Project Runway” and “Grey’s Anatomy” …..(although the latter needs to end already) and of course, “Scandal”. Now Ms. Shonda Rhimes has come out with a new fabulous Thursday night drama called “How To Get Away With Murder”…..yet ANOTHER show to become addicted to (as if I need any more!). In it, the lead character is a professor at a university and a practicing lawyer. I watched the pilot the other night and a particular line struck me; “Never interrupt another student’s learning opportunity…”. One of the main character’s students called out when it was another student’s turn and this is how the professor handled it. I loved it! Granted, she said it more harshly than one would in an elementary classroom, but the point was important.

There are always those students that call out a great deal and demand everyone’s attention as much as possible. This comment shifts the focus from the interrupter to the student answering the question. It isn’t about scolding a student, rather it is about community. We are here to help each other. She was saying that every single member of that class deserves a chance to learn and it is our job to help make that happen.

It is always wonderful when we can help students take ownership of their learning and that of their classmates. Each is not only responsible for their own learning, but to help those in need when they can. Our class is the perfect environment for this. A piece of music doesn’t quite work until all of the parts are either sung or played. It is in everyone’s best interest to help each other so that the outcome is the best it can be. Music is brilliant that way!