Year 8: Week 2 – Snapshots of 6th & 3rd

6th Grade Band

We tried a new way of helping our 6th graders choose band or choir. In the past we have  had every kid try every band instrument. That’s a little crazy and takes a lot of time, but the idea was that even for kids who knew they were going to choose choir, this was, for most, a once in a lifetime opportunity to try to play these instruments. The issue was that this took a lot of time and I wasn’t sure that this was the most effective way to motivate students to join band.

This year we decided that we would have the students have a listening experience and focus on which instrument they liked best based on the timbre of the instrument. This would be followed with trying some of the band instruments, not all based on their timbre preference. There has been research that has shown that this is more effective for recruiting and the logic is sound. At the end of the day, if they don’t like how an instrument sounds, then they aren’t going to stick with it. This is combined with trying the instrument to address how the instrument works physically. It’s a new process for us, it gets us started earlier in the year and hopefully it will lead to students being more motivated to work on their instrument and growth for our band program.

3rd Grade
During a short transition in 3rd grade music, one student jokingly called another student “transgender.” I was surprised that this happened, but I didn’t feel unprepared. I talked to the whole class about identity and how we don’t make fun of how people identify. Things like race, religion, ethnicity, and gender identity are not things to joke about. It took some doing to help the class understand that this was not a moment to laugh and there were some giggles because they were uncomfortable, but they received the message pretty well.

I confirmed that this was not a comment made out of malice or a comment that was made with the full understanding of the meaning of the comment.  I was glad that I could make this into a teachable moment.

I was only able to address this topic openly and frankly because of a couple factors. I knew that I had the academic freedom to throw out the rest of my lesson plan to have this discussion and no administrator would second guess my choice. I was also sure that the homeroom teacher would back me up 100% and address the students with the same level of candor as me. This is what it all comes down to. When teaching about diversity, equity, and inclusion, I’m powerless without the support of my educational community.

This isn't just my work, it's all of our work as a school.  We commit to this work. Yes, I'm a music teacher, but today, teaching about gender identity was more important than any musical concept we covered.