Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
Hello everyone! Lauren Staniszewski, Band Director at Stoney Creek HS in Rochester, MI. Super excited to join in tonight- haven’t had Monday nights free in 8 weeks! #MusEdChat
A1: Noise! We (students and teachers) have to learn to work with and shape noise as a group. It's never going to be a silent room and to accomplish any kind of goal it takes full effort from all. #musedchat
A1: performance music is the only class that requires interdependence to achieve success. In every other class independent success is the goal. #musedchat
For me, it’s all about personal leadership. Independence. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to make music— they have to both produce and analyze their performance in the moment. #MusEdChat
A1: Noise! We (students and teachers) have to learn to work with and shape noise as a group. It's never going to be a silent room and to accomplish any kind of goal it takes full effort from all. #musedchat
A1: We can show that ALL individuals can participate. The hidden curriculum can create the split in achievers. We allow positive socialization toward community - regardless of background etc. #musedchat
One of my favorite things about what we teach. When students buy into the idea that everyone has a positive contribution to make, it's reflected in how they interact with others. #musedchat
A1: The success of students in a performance based class is much more dependent on the group. In this case, the whole is greater than the individual #musedchat
A1: Individual leadership. Because students have to simultaneously produce and assess their music in the moment, there’s a degree of individual & ensemble accountability in every minute. It’s obvious what every student is (or is not) thinking about with each note. #musedchat
And there is an idea of privilege... who gets to play percussion - do they have to have piano? Can they afford a high quality instrument? Can they attend honor events? Can their parents watch them at those events too? #musedchat
A2: My room has student artwork, and we can hear representations of different cultural backgrounds. Windows, mirrors, sliding glass doors. You are want you program too! #musedchat
On the other hand...if a kid is going to honor events, I'm going to play it up as much as possible on the school announcements so it's on par with the athletics accomplishments. #musedchat
Q2: In General Music, it’s all about community building. We start every K class with a getting know you type question with rhythmic answers. It’s my first year at this particular school so jets really important to build that sense of safety and belonging. #MusEdChat
A2: Leadership and accountability have become big topics. Started last year with doing leadership training for any interested students by reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Enjoying @BreneBrown’s Dare to Lead for new ideas this year. #MusEdChat
A2: Ss coming out of their shell, being bold, taking risks, working together, expressing emotion. Finding success where they struggled in the past #musedchat
I get that there's an element of privilege involved with those groups. But at the same time...I want my band kids to know that their achievements have just as much value as anyone else's. #musedchat
I wrote one! I also have colored shoe laces on cardstock that we practice with. This week's plan is to video it. I'll send the link when I get my act together. #musedchat
#MusEdChat A1: Every day, in every class, we teach the social constructs of our culture: from finding partners for a play party to supporting others' efforts and encouraging improvement, there are constantly lessons beyond learning the vocabulary and skills of music-making.
I am working within our district to improvement the accessibility to instruments. :) It takes a director be conscious and not use it as a crutch for their ensembles success. #musedchat
A3: I have decided that I am trying to be more transparent with Ss about why we are doing, what we are doing. Why do we sing music by marginalized composers? How can we appreciate the canon, but push our thinking. Even beyond the "standard" Composers of color #musedchat
I intentionally work with my 7th and 8th grade singers to choose repertoire for their spring concert. Guiding them, but letting them sift through the problematic titles etc. #musedchat
And I do get a little economical with them, asking... why should I purchase this? Will it stand the test of time? Also, here's how some of the old folk tunes are problematic. :) #musedchat
A4: My rep selection has really changed the last couple years. Used to be a steady diet of Balmages/Ticheli/Standridge/etc. Those pieces are still present, but thanks to some convos on here, our programs have gotten more diverse #musedchat
A4: I don’t necessarily conduct the same exact class for different groups of Ss at the same grade level. There is a lot more understanding of meeting S personalities and needs. #MusEdChat
A4.1: Also going to back to programming for concerts, we have to understand that a choice to do one piece is also a choice to not do every other piece. #musedchat
#MusEdChat A2: I ask the kids about responsibility / consequences a LOT. Who's job is it to listen carefully? How is the result when one or two aren't with the tempo? What do we do to stay balanced? Those types of questions often are reflections of "real life" situations, too.
A3: Personal accountability for sure. Making sure Ss are always forming opinions/ deciding “is that how I want it to sound?” and not settling/going on autopilot while playing. #MusEdChat
#MusEdChat A3a: Anytime I hear "boys don't do ___" or "only girls can ___" I get up on my soapbox and show the kids a video that demonstrates the opposite. If they can learn a bit of
A4: Encouraging students to keep forming opinions about their playing; becoming aware that our actions are all choices, and we get to shape every note/choose every step. #musedchat
#MusEdChat A3b: gender equality through musical endeavours, I'm okay with that. And if they happen to learn more about the cello, composing, or boys' choirs, that's okay too.
#MusEdChat A5: I learned early on that my emotional connection to music was powerful, and that I could empathize with people wildly different from me if I sang/performed music from outside of my own experience. I have tried to bring that to my own students.
