To Tame the Unruly Classroom from the First Day – Gary Barton

TO TAME THE UNRULY CLASSROOM FROM THE FIRST DAY

GARY BARTON

Many years ago, I attended a summer class at The VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Our guest speaker one day was Jack Mercer, author of The Band Director’s Brain Bank (published by The Instrumentalist, 1970). On the subject of classroom discipline, Mr. Mercer said very simply, “I decided one day that I just wasn’t going to have discipline problems. Once I made that decision, no more problems.” Even though I had over a decade of experience at the time, this bit of wisdom transformed my teaching for the rest of my career. Some years after that, I experienced a sort of booster shot in this vein from Steve Pratt, Director of Bands at Indiana University. While rehearsing a summer high school clinic band at IU, Steve, in his trademark soothing manner, said, “Good bands don’t talk. I know nothing about your bands at home, but good bands don’t talk.” I believe the best way to maintain rehearsal or classroom discipline, and I say discipline because we all know exactly what that word means, is to prevent it from ever getting out of control to begin with. While some of the issues to be discussed may help when dealing with an unruly classroom, getting that classroom back under control is a separate discussion. The decades-old adage that it’s easier to start hard and then lighten up later is a proven true concept. It doesn’t mean rude or harsh, it means heavily structured with high standards and clear expectations for conduct and for the classroom environment.

THE POWER OF THE FIRST DAY The most powerful day of any school year is the first day. Students, especially those new to the school, enter the building wondering what is new, what to expect. The quietest day of the year for the cafeteria is the first day. Hallways will be more orderly because the students are distracted by the task of finding their classrooms. The beginning of every class is almost silent as the students anticipate what the teacher will be like and what will be the expectations. You are in total control on the first day; your only job is to maintain that control for the rest of the school year. Today you will establish the decorum

Gary Barton retired from the La Porte, Texas Independent School District after thirtyseven years of teaching in five states. He received the Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Louisiana-Monroe and the Master of Science in Education from Indiana University. A Past President of the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association and Past 2nd Vice-President of the National Band Association, he has written for numerous publications and has done clinics and presentations in sixteen states.

To Tame the Unruly Classroom from the First Day, Gary Barton, cont.

for entering your room, the seating procedures, and the expectations for opening class activities.

Seating should be defined. The only time students might choose where to sit is the first day of beginning band. Placing the students’ names on the chairs or music stands will help to get the them ready to work quickly. They will see that you went to extra trouble to create an orderly and efficient rehearsal and that there is no time to waste. Establish a routine for the opening of class. Requiring the students to sit quietly after assembling instruments is good for the opening few weeks of beginning band. It’s also a great tool when trying to get an unruly class under control, but beyond these two reasons, it is a waste of valuable time. Teach proper warm-up exercises and be tenacious about their use. Even the youngest students can begin warm-up shortly after entering the room. Write warm-up guidelines on the board. These can be certain lines from a book, specific scales, or lip slurs. During this brief time, you can take attendance and walk the room and monitor proper assembly, check equipment, look at reeds. When you begin the full band warm-up you will have saved at least three minutes. BEHAVIORS THAT TAKE ROOT There are some very common behaviors that grow roots if they’re allowed to start. Do your students speak out in rehearsal without raising their hands and waiting for your attention? And then, is the reason to interrupt rehearsal one that really needs to happen? I tell my students to ask themselves these questions before they raise their hands: Is it an emergency? Will it hinder the rehearsal if I don’t ask this? Does it involve the whole group or just me? Is it something that could easily be asked after rehearsal? These would be great rules for afterschool faculty meetings!

Do students stand and leave their seats without getting permission? At one time I worked in a district where, as a part of our classroom evaluation tool, there was an entry about students leaving their seats on their own. This was considered a negative on our appraisal. What would be some reasons to leave your seat during rehearsal? One would be equipment issues. I always wanted my woodwinds to bring their cases to their seats so they could be seated during assembly and while packing up the instrument. If you’d rather not have cases at the seats, then have them bring extra reeds to their seats in case a problem occurs. Brass players have no reason to go back to their cases once class has started. Oiling valves should happen at the beginning of class before they play a note.

But what about the restroom? This is easy. Create a culture in which going to the restroom before class is expected. There isn’t enough time? My last school had a three-minute passing time. Instead of requiring them to be in the room when the bell rang, I stood in the doorway where I had a line of sight into the room and the hallway at the same time. I told my students that I must see them in the hallway by the time the bell rang. This gave them a little more time for the restroom. Everyone’s building is different, but you must find a way around every obstacle. Most classes are forty-five to ninety minutes long. Students manage to watch a two-hour movie, play games for hours, and ride school buses on trips for an hour and a half, all without going to the restroom.

“Accidental sounds” can be a problem, particularly with younger bands. Teach brass players to empty water without putting their lips in the mouthpiece and blowing

hard. They only need to lightly blow while emptying water; gravity does most of the job. No instrument accidentally makes a sound. Only people can create a sound on an instrument. Percussionists have no valid reason for dropping things. If a college student can manage an entire rehearsal without dropping sticks and mallets, a seventh grader can do so as well.

I was fortunate to have very strong directors throughout my school years. I only remember orderly rehearsals with no focus being lost to individuals and unnecessary noises or distractions. I’ve been told that students are not the same today, but I find that when I go in to any classroom today whether it’s substituting or as a guest, students will gravitate toward high standards. I still visit school band rooms where students are attentive and focused for an entire rehearsal. When I’m asked how to eliminate a behavior in rehearsal, I always begin with, “Don’t let it start to begin with.” You must be more determined than the students when it comes to expectations and remember: You are most powerful on the first day! To Tame the Unruly Classroom from the First Day, Gary Barton, cont.