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    The Band Director's Book of Secrets
    The Band Director's Book of Secrets
    The Band Director's Book of Secrets
    Ebook125 pages2 hours

    The Band Director's Book of Secrets

    By Charles R Jackson

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    About this ebook

    The Band Director's Book of Secrets serves to provide guidance for the music educator searching for strategies useful in organizing and administering a successful music program in a public or private school setting with emphasis on placing student needs as the top priority. Questions such as
    * Now that I am awarded the job, what do I do first?
    * How do I get started?

    These are not uncommon questions asked by many music educators immediately following the appointment to a new teaching position. This book is less about the actual research but more of a practical handbook on how to plan and proceed through an academic year while putting the results of research into practical daily use. Ideas are shared to stimulate creative thinking, leading to the development of a uniquely personal approach for each music educator. Topics and ideas expressed in this book are often neglected and/or difficult to find by the inquiring music educator searching for a practical approach needed to structure the academic year. Templates are provided for communications that might occur during the course of an academic year. By simply using the find/replace function common to word processing programs, the templates can be quickly edited by inserting the appropriate school name and director's name. Having the templates as a point of departure will help stimulate ideas for additional editing, resulting in a document specific to the reader's personal teaching situation. Additionally, the templates are useful in stimulating ideas for creating new communications documents. Each of the 8 chapters serves to focus on a topic often expressed as an area of concern for inservice teachers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateSep 6, 2017
    ISBN9781945980398
    The Band Director's Book of Secrets

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      The Band Director's Book of Secrets - Charles R Jackson

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      Preface

      I have never met a music educator with more teaching secrets to share than my friend and colleague Dr. Chuck Jackson.  Each and every time I talk with Chuck or watch one of his presentations, I walk away a better teacher and band director.  I often state that Dr. Charles Jackson has forgotten more than I will ever know, particularly at the beginning and intermediate levels.  As an example, his approach to teaching embouchure for all wind instruments at the beginning band level is astounding!

      I urge all music education colleagues to read and re-read this book.  Keep it close and refer to it often!  We will all be gifted with better bands through the Band Director’s Book of Secrets!

      Robert W. Smith

      The start of each new school year welcomes graduates from music education programs across the country as they enter the work force after completing an undergraduate degree.  These novice educators depart their undergraduate schools with confidence, ready to share the gift of music with the world.  Prior to graduation, these students are heavily involved in searching for teaching positions.  Then comes the exciting day when notification is received, announcing the offer for that very first teaching position. The first year as a professional music educator begins with preparation for that first day with students.  Then reality rears its ugly head and these new music educators begin to realize that they do not know what to do to get started.  They have just been appointed the new Director of Bands…now what? This is when my phone begins to ring and the E-mails begin to pour in.  I feel certain that many veteran music educators have a similar experience: young and/or new music educators seeking guidance and survival tips from veteran educators.  New teachers mainly generate these phone calls and E-mails; but at times, veteran teachers beginning a new position in an unfamiliar setting also seek my help.

      This book is dedicated to the many educators who have chosen to teach music and are still seeking answers to countless questions.  It is designed to help guide educators through strategies that contribute to the development and maintenance of a successful band program by addressing topics not easily found in other sources.  Although band programs are the main focus of this book, there is information useful for all teachers. Some of the topics covered in this book address strategies that are general in nature and can be useful for teachers of other academic subjects.  Within the pages of this book, I have attempted to create an atmosphere similar to having a casual chat session between colleagues while seated in a coffee shop, seeking answers and solutions to the daily issues faced by music educators.

      The many calls I receive focus on the need for help with classroom and behavior management, band program administration, recruitment, instrument selection for beginners, music literature for young instrumentalists, scheduling, and countless other topics dealing with teaching strategies.  The novice music educator soon discovers that the actual teaching of music to be the most enjoyable part of the day while realizing a disproportionate amount of time outside the classroom focuses on the non-musical aspects associated with their teaching position.

      The title of this book, The Band Director’s Book of Secrets is appropriate because the answers to many questions are already out there but are not always shared with the preservice music educator during undergraduate studies, almost as if these answers were secrets.  The information presented in this book is gleaned from trial and error over the course of my 39-year teaching career, and information shared by colleagues who were so kind as to serve as my mentors.  After 34 years serving as a director of bands, and five years as a college professor, I am still learning new ways to help students realize their full musical potential.  This is one of the many wonderful aspects of being a music educator-no two days, two years, or two students are the same, and there is no end to learning new ways to approach challenges.

      It is my hope that the information shared in the following chapters will inspire dialogue between colleagues as they share experiences and strategies, seeking ways to better serve the needs of the students in their charge.  Serving students as their music educator is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling career choices one can have…but don’t tell anybody…because it’s a secret!

      Chapter 1 - What You Didn’t Learn in Undergraduate Music School:

      The Secret to Filling in the Gaps

      Music educators entering the workforce might have feelings of apprehension due to a perceived lack of preparation in several areas viewed as critical to achieving success as a classroom teacher.  Undergraduate schools, responsible for training students to become outstanding musicians and outstanding teachers, fulfill obligations in meeting standards set by the National Association of Schools of Music.  It appears, however, that there is a significant number of preservice music educators entering the workforce without knowledge of the first steps needed to begin their new career.  This chapter will attempt to explore topics that may not have been the focus or emphasis of any course during undergraduate studies.  The absence of discussion on these topics has resulted in holes in the novice teacher’s preservice experiences.  Research from the past two decades indicates over 50% of new music educators entering the workforce leave the profession within the first five years of teaching.  As professionals in the education profession, we simply cannot continue on this path without attempting to fill in these curricular holes for our young, enthusiastic, well-trained music educators.  This book, and this chapter in particular, serves to assist these individuals.  I might not be able to address all curricular deficiencies, but hopefully the curricular holes will be fewer in number and less deep.

      The United States of America is home to many of the world’s finest universities and music schools.  Expectations placed on individuals pursuing a career in music education present these fine institutions with the daunting task of simultaneously training undergraduates in two different fields of study - Music, and Education.  Undergraduates in Music Education complete the baccalaureate degree with a firm musical foundation but not always a firm foundation in teaching skills.  For many years, the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) has dictated the music education student’s curriculum include 50% studies in music, 30% to 35% general studies, and only 15% to 20% professional education courses.  Undergraduate students complete the degree with a perceived confidence in their personal music skills, but might be apprehensive about and not as secure in their knowledge about what it means to be a teacher.  This brings several questions to mind.  Were sufficient teacher education courses taught? What was the content of the professional education courses? Did the student apply himself/herself to learn what was taught in the education courses? The subjects covered in the core curriculum are important in the development of a well-rounded individual.  However, the music educators choosing to leave the profession within the first five years do so mainly because of perceived weaknesses in classroom and behavior management. The decision to leave the profession is not motivated by the feeling of being musically unprepared.

      The undergraduate student is learning to become a master musician and a master teacher.  Large ensemble rehearsals at the undergraduate level can serve to teach preservice Music Education students the strategies for effective rehearsal practices.  Instead, some undergraduate students are simply focused on learning how to perform the music being rehearsed in these ensembles, missing the opportunity to learn how to teach and rehearse from their college ensemble directors.  Private instruction with the undergraduate student’s applied teacher can serve as an opportunity for learning how to work with students who experience a variety of learning issues.  The undergraduate student is intensely focused on improving his or her own personal music performance skills to the point where opportunities are missed for learning strategies focused on working with other students in a one-on-one setting. During the years of undergraduate study, students develop and fine-tune their personal philosophy of music education based on their experiences. The undergraduate’s personal philosophy regarding music education has a profound impact on every choice made as a music teacher-from the music selected for performance, to how the classroom environment is arranged and managed.  A personal philosophy of Music Education is molded by the experiences with master teachers and master musicians during undergraduate studies.  Therefore, special effort must be exerted to surround undergraduate students with the finest role models available.

      Areas Perceived as Lacking Sufficient Preparation

      When asked to reflect on areas perceived as lacking sufficient preparation during undergraduate studies, in-service teachers place classroom management at the top of the list.  Included under the heading of classroom management are concerns regarding the development of classroom rules and expectations, lesson plan development, monitoring student progress, monitoring student behavior, student instrument selection/assignment, and pacing of instruction.

      Lack of preparation for the challenges presented in the area of administrative responsibilities is the second most important concern expressed by in-service teachers. The administrative duties and responsibilities

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