New Year’s Resolutions and the Band Classroom
New Year’s Resolutions and the Band Classroom
The beginning of the New Year is notorious for being a time when everyone promises to be better at something. Fitness & Health businesses thrive on this opportunity to cash in on their very own “Black-Friday” moment. However, for many educators this point in the years marks one of 2 things:
If you teach year-long classes, it is the mid-way point for the school year and a time to assess the mid-year progress of students
If you teach semester-long classes (as in a 4x4 Block schedule), you have ended your first set of classes and you are meeting new students for a new series of courses.
Both of these mark an opportunity to truly evaluate our programs and asses the progress of the band over the course of the school year. If this is a mid-point, consider where your students are at this point of the year. How close to the goals are they in their accomplishments. Should the goals be reevaluated? Should the ensemble back off the original goal or should we push the goal a little higher? You may even find that your goals are spot-on and you are making great progress towards those goals.
If you have the unique opportunity to teach new classes this coming semester, take time to make a quick self-assessment as you begin the new cycle. Find your strengths and weaknesses and choose repertoire to highlight the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses. Choose literature which will challenge both the talented and will teach the concepts needed for those who struggle to progress!
The New Year is a great time for self-evaluation and to double-check our progress for the year. If you are tracking data for End-of-Year Evaluations, be sure to plan for your mid-point assessment soon. Make sure you set aside time to effectively evaluate student progress.
