Pressing the Reset

If 2020 weren’t a challenge enough, the start of 2021 has brought 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, 9* temperatures (Feels like -9*), and we’re experiencing rolling power outages for possibly the next two days. Despite this frozen tundra that has suddenly snuck upon my state and the events we’ve already witnessed early on this year, in the end, I know that we will get past this.

You may be asking, with events constantly stacking the odds against us, how could we possibly push through? Sometimes, these moments are an opportunity for us to step back, re-evaluate, rebrand, and press the “reset” button so we can begin to move forward again.

One of the hardest challenges many of us are facing in the Fine Arts community is letting go of traditional models and habits so we can explore new methods of teaching and performance. Though some find it easier to adapt to change, humans generally have difficulty with the concept.

The digital world has been pushing its way into education and performance for a while, and I think it is important that educators embrace technology and welcome it into the music classroom and our performances. There are countless applications and programs designed to make learning more fun, interactive, simpler for both teachers and students. Technology also makes education more accessible for students, and gives them more opportunities to make their own learning choices. As a bonus, adopting more technology into our classrooms will make the transition easier if we ever have to pivot to remote learning again. Online learning is here to stay!

Here are some applications you can explore and use with your students:

Communication/Performance Tools: Flock , Zoom , Google Meet , Google Classroom , Microsoft Teams , Slack , Rocket.Chat , Remind , ClassDojo , Adobe Premiere Pro , Wondershare FilmoraPro , Final Cut Pro , iMovie , Acappella

Classwork & Training Tools: Edmodo , SeeSaw , Flipgrid , SmartMusic , Spiral , FreshGrade Classic , Tonara , Complete Ear Trainer , Anytune , Flashnote Derby , SproutBeat , Joytunes , The Metronome by Soundbrenner , forScore , Chrome Music Lab

Composition Tools : Finale , SmartMusic Compose , Soundtrap , GarageBand , Symphony Pro , Audiotool , AudioSauna , Chrome Music Maker

One important detail of remote or hybrid learning that we must not lose sight of is creating personal connections with our students and continuing to provide meaningful feedback. One way to do this is to leave voice comments for your students in addition to typed feedback. Leaving feedback with free platforms like Mote , or even creating a personalized video, just once a week can be an incredibly valuable resource.

Consider waiting to assign a grade on assignments until the students have had time to digest your feedback. Allow them the chance to review their work, make improvements and resubmit before grading. Kristy Louden’s article, “ Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback ,” discusses how delaying grades can help students reflect on their work more deeply and drive success.

Not all of your remote student interactions need to be tied to school work! Just saying hello, checking in on them, or wishing them a happy birthday can be a great way to show that you care. Many students are struggling in ways we can never know, sometimes we need to hit the “reset” button and make sure we maintain meaningful human interactions as much as possible.

How can we make the best of in-person, online, or hybrid situations?

There are two things you should always keep in mind, no matter your teaching situation: set and keep realistic goals, and cater your classes towards individual learning rather than full ensemble learning.

Many of my peers are seeing their ensemble progress more slowly compared to past years. How can we make up for this learning deficit? The solution is two-fold: we need to create an understanding that academics must take precedence over the Fine Arts, and we need to create a healthy, obtainable balance between the arts and their academic studies.

To do this, I would highly recommend focusing on the individual musician rather than the full ensemble. Treat your class as if you were teaching private lessons to each student. This will allow you to help each student fill in their specific learning gaps, and even advance further than they would during a normal school year. Small ensemble music can provide ensemble experience and performance opportunities as well.

The other key aspect is keeping student goals realistic and attainable, rather than sticking with the standard performance and contest based mentality. Though we’re trying to create as normal a situation as possible, it is more important to focus on student success as much as possible.

What are the advantages of focusing on the individual? Think about all of the state and national standards you normally don’t have time to cover because of the performance focus. You could cover more music history and theory, teach composition or performance through composition, and even tackle interesting topics outside of performance, such as the study of music and synesthesia, how music affects the brain, music writing prompts, and more! Check out resources like, “This Is Your Brain On Music” by Daniel Levitin, “Music From The Inside Out” by Daniel Anker, Carol Ponder, and Donna Santman, Youtube, Edpuzzle, and various websites and books for writing prompts to help you plan new ideas.

Hitting that “reset” button really can help prioritize what’s important, not important, achievable, and not achievable this year, and even perhaps next school year.

Addressing self-care

“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you” – Katie Reed

Self-care ranges from establishing healthy sleeping habits, drinking plenty of water, eating healthy, exercising daily, doing yoga and meditation, setting a healthy restroom break schedule, or any number of things! We all know that feeling of dread when taking a day off - what may happen with a sub running class, falling behind in concert preparations, etc. But this is probably the most important “reset” button to push because without it, we are not able to serve our students to the best of our potential.