Year 8: Week 21 – Sitting Back And Not Teaching

This was a week of starting projects in my classes, which meant that what I was doing this week, didn’t really feel like “teaching.”

My 5th graders started their recorder project. I have found that in 5th grade, the novelty of the recorder, which they can’t wait to start in 3rd grade has worn off. Prior attempts to teach them as a whole group, and to find music that appealed to them has failed. Instead, I started a recorder unit a couple years ago, in which the kids choose from a selection of songs, and work on song sin small groups. This is my third year teaching recorder as a concentrated unit, and we started this week, with students having some time to explore the selections of songs I provided for them.

My 6th graders are studying ancient Chinese culture in history class. So in music we are composing songs using the pentatonic scale based on Chinese poems. For my band kids, this is a great activity, that works within the limited range they have as first year band students.

It’s important that at this stage for my 5th and 6th graders that they have some freedom to explore and do this work without me hovering over their shoulder. Part of me wants to help them along each step of the way, but I also know that this may hinder some of the students’ creativity, and that it is beneficial for them to figure out things on their own.

After outlining these assignments, and my expectations. I told them to get to work, opened up my laptop and let them go.

I know that other teachers have time in their classes when they are not actively teaching, but in my world of being a music teacher, these instances are pretty rare. Part of this has to do that I don’t see my students very often. If I had 6th grade band for four days a week, I could regularly give up part of a class for some independent project work. The way things are now, time feels very limited in class.

When you give student space to work on projects on their own you have to accept that for some students, this may not be the most productive work time. Kid’s goofing off a little bit during independent work time, while not the idea, is part of being a kid.

As I sat there I saw some of my student struggling, others were working well, and yes, a couple were goofing off. I wanted to step in a bunch of times but I forced myself to stay in my seat and give them space. When students asked me questions, I told them to try to figure out their problem on their own. Some students didn’t mind, while others got annoyed.

At the end of the classes, we reflected on how things went. I gave them some questions to ponder, and to prepare them for the next class. I will purposely spend some parts of the next couple classes meeting with students and going over their projects, and other times I will give them space like I did this week. Yes, this does mean there is more potential for failure, however, it also gives the opportunity for students to grow and succeed, without me holding their hand.