Classroom Management In Music
Rules
I have two basic rules in the music room. They are: 1. No one has the right to interfere with the learning, safety, or well-being of others. 2. Do your best to the best of your ability. There are a lot of different procedures but they all come from this idea. These two rules allow me to cover a wide variety of issues without having a laundry list of rules which is important since they in my room once every six class days. Consequences These are the general consequences for my classroom in order. If there is a severe issue I may skip steps when needed. If you have any concerns about a behavior issue that happened in music, please contact me so I can clarify what happened. Also, email is the best way to contact me. I can answer an email easier than return phone calls due to activities that go on in my room outside of class hours (like choir). 1. Warning/Warning Card - I will either tell the student they have a warning and why or I will place a small laminated card on a student's desk to let them know that I notice that they are not making good choices and am giving them a chance to correct it. 2. Separated shortly from group, have their card signed, OR both. Teachers will explain if they are using behavior cards. 3. Parent may be contacted (probably by email) and/or may get a lunch detention. These will be scheduled by their homeroom teacher. 4. Parent will be contacted (probably by email) and will receive a lunch or after-school detention. 5. Sent to office and may have responsibility report to turn in before next class. At every step, your student will probably lose performance points. This is due to the fact that if they are making a poor choice, they are interfering with their ability to participate in class, meaning they are not earning points at that point. If, for some reason, they are not interfering with their ability to perform in class, they will not lose points. This is up to my discretion. If you have questions on this issue, please feel free to talk to me about it. While this is not a consequence, it is a direct result of their choice. which is why it is listed here. I am a firm believer in natural consequences when possible so I may vary from this list when warranted. I can also skip steps when necessary for serious issues. |
Student to Student IssuesI believe that students should be responsible for taking care of problems on their own when possible. If someone is bothering them, I tell students to do the following (unless something super serious is going on OR it's a safety issue)
- Please stop __(insert action here)____. I frequently remind students if I notice an issue brewing... - If someone asks you to stop, you need to stop. Students will know that if they've been asked to stop and they did not, I will not be happy and the consequence is likely to be more severe because they had a chance to fix their behavior and chose not to. Obviously if there is a serious problem like someone calling them names, threatening them, or hurting them that they can and should come straight to me and it will be dealt with. Please note that I cannot discuss what the result of the issue was for another student due to privacy concerns. |
Whole Class Rewards
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Other Notes on Behavior
In special circumstances, there may be additional rules given for specific situations in order for class to run more smoothly. Below, I will list a few examples but there are more when needed.
- Students will lose their instrument if they play when they are not supposed to. Instruments can be broken or hurt others among other issues. - Moving on the risers is not allowed. Period. There will be no warning, you will be removed and will receive a lunch detention. This is due to the severe safety problems that can occur when rehearsing on the risers. - Boomwhackers should ONLY be used on themselves, when allowed. Someone else hitting them with an instrument can cause injury and angry/hurt feelings. - iPads must be used correctly and students must remain on task at all times. If students are caught doing something inappropriate, they will lose iPad privileges for a set amount of time and will need to write a plan on how they are going to keep that from happening again. More information on the iPad page under student stuff. |