Today we writeabout additional teaching resources, with a focus on The Music Educator. Successful teachers are able to live without immediate feedback: There is nothing worse than sweating over a lesson plan only to have your students walk out of class without so much as a smile or a, “Great job teach!” It’s hard to give 100% and not see immediate results. Teachers who rely on that instant gratification will get burned out and disillusioned. Learning, relationships, and education are a messy endeavor, much like nurturing a garden. It takes time, and some dirt, to grow. Successful teachers know when to listen to students and when to ignore them: Right on the heels of the above tip is the concept of discernment with student feedback. A teacher who never listens to his/her students will ultimately fail. A teacher who always listens to his/her students will ultimately fail. It is no simple endeavor to know when to listen and adapt, and when to say, “No- we’re going this way because I am the teacher and I see the long term picture.”
Develop an organizational system. Where do things belong? This may need to be explicitly explained to your students. Some modifications may also be needed (e.g., placing materials closer to the student). Get ready for your school year with this book. Provide clear expectations. / Develop classroom rules: Keep your rules alive, a living document. Connect desired and undesired behaviors to the rules. Point out the positives, “I noticed everyone is working collaboratively. Wow! Everyone is being respectful.” Establish expectations early on, but also spend time developing the exact classroom rules — perhaps a week, or a couple of weeks until you really get to know your students. Use rules that state the desired behavior or actions (and avoid telling students what NOT to do). Define classroom rules with as much detail as your students require. Help them understand the meaning of words through discussion. See extra info at Teacher Toolkit and Resources.
Learning is not only for young people. Seniors in a digital world can be easily overwhelmed by all the new technology around us. We are surrounded by an array of digital devices, whether its smartphones, social media, tablets, banking machines, or laptops. There’s no avoiding it, so we should learn how to use all these technological advances to make life easier. It’s easy to become tech savvy seniors when you begin to learn more about the technology around you.
Since writing by hand is something that they are used to, get them a notebook specifically for writing down any steps they need to remember. If they get lost or forget how to do something, they can jog their memory from their own handwriting. A good website for senior learning is Tech for Seniors tutorials.
Music learning is hot this days, many people try to learn music, for various reasons. There are a few podcasts that focuses on teaching people about music and one of them is The Music Educator by Bill Stevens. Performing is an important aspect of music education. Your students can take pride in sharing their achievements with an audience. They can show their peers, parents and others what they have been learning in your class. New technology has made performing possible for anyone with an internet connection. As the culmination of a large class project, give a concert together. If a traditional end-of-year school concert is not possible, why not make a video of your students performing and share it on YouTube. If your school has good video or recording equipment, make use of it to produce a better quality video. If such equipment is unavailable, a smartphone can be used to make a reasonable quality video that can be a record of your students’ achievements. If you and your students are feeling confident, you could even stream your performance live. Just don’t forget to announce it to your intended audience in advance!
Tip of the day for music teachers : Use Technology! It’s not uncommon for young teachers to be so anxious for the school year that they forget one of their greatest assets: technology. Whether its evaluating instrument dealers or streaming music on YouTube, technology provides young music teachers with a number of helpful resources for implementing a fun and educational curriculum.
You can listen to the The Music Educator podcast by using the app from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themusiceducatorpodcast.android.music. You can learn more about Bill Steven by checking his website at https://www.4themusiceducator.com/.