Posted by Dan McCrossen on October 11, 2006 at 08:53:45:
In Reply to: recruitment/retention posted by Renee on June 25, 2005 at 16:20:24:
Renee,
I would suggest going to talk to choir directors. There will be as many recruitment tools as there are teachers! Choir directors would love to share ideas, as they are generally thoughtful, caring, intelligent and good-looking people! (yes, I am a middle school choir director)
Donald Moore's book, Teaching Choir, also has some great ideas to recruit and retain students; you might check that out.
Middle School is an interesting age to teach. Just yesterday I had two little six grade girls in my 6,7,8 mixed choir say they were going to quit because of the "show-offs" in the 'soprano' section. I overheard them and explained that what they call "show-offs" I call "strong, confident singers", and I need more strong confident singers. Being in middle school, however, not having the mental capacity for understanding, they were unable to listen to me and were stuck with their assessment of my strong, confident singers. I've had students give reasons for not returning to choir such as; "I wanted to do Home-Ec. (a 12-week class where they cook for about 4 weeks!)", "my friends won't join, so I'm quitting", "I heard we're not going on a trip this year", and my favorite, "I don't know".
Just some thoughts. Good luck with your research!
---Dan