Music & Band Teachers W/out Control of Classroom?

[eldragon]

When I was a student, the band teachers and choir or musical instructors never seemed to have control over the classroom.  I remember several of them having "nervous breakdowns."

Now, both my daughters report the same things happening to their teachers.  Why is it that instructers in music and band have such a hard time controlling their classes?

[mamab]

I can't really respond to this as I never took band or music classes. Well, I did take a music appreciation class in high school, but the band director was a miniature Stalin. You didn't move unless you were given permission, much less actually goof off !

[tater03]

I have to say that I remember this when I was in school being a problem. That being said are school has an awesome music teacher. She just trained the second graders on doing square dancing and they put on a show for the parents. Square dancing is hard to learn without trying to teach it to second graders if you ask me. The only thing I can say on this topic is she has a way of developing a great relationship with the kids from day one. They love to go to her class.

[eldragon]

I do believe the younger students are easier to  control in this setting.  It's high school and junior high I hear problems about.

[tater03]

I would imagine that you are probably right that alot of the problems are from older kids. I find that younger kids are still finding their way and have not really lost the love of learning new things.

[eldragon]

It just seems odd to me that I remember most of my choir and band teachers in grade school, junior high and high school, throwing tantrums and storming out of the classroom.  And then my kids come home from school now and tell me the same thing is happening in their band class!

[oboe440]

I can shed some light on this as an instrumental music teacher.

The biggest problem is that many 'traditional' band teachers are simply musicians with a day job. They may be excellent performers, but they have not invested the time or effort in learning how to be teachers. Therefore, they do not utilize the advantages of routines and procedures that regular classroom teachers do.

On the other hand, really good band, orchestra, and chorus teachers are models for effective classroom management. A teacher like this can get well over 100 students (of any age group) to quiet down simply by standing at the podium. These are the music teachers who go to conferences and continue their professional development as educators, keeping up with the best practices in the field.