“I think the well-behaved junior high classroom is like Bigfoot. We want to believe it can exist, but another part of our brain says that it's too unreal,” says MENC member "Mr. H."
It is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges junior high/middle school band directors face – how to maintain discipline without destroying enthusiasm and ultimately, having students quit.
MENC members offered great suggestions recently on the MENC band forum. Perhaps one of these is just what you’ve been searching for:
- Realize they will never rehearse with the same focus as a high school band
- Mold behavior by praising positives in the classroom instead of being a constant stream of “don’t do thats”
- Remember, there’s no “one size fits all” discipline strategy
- Humor is a powerful tool
- Use incentives such as keeping track of how much time you wait for them to be quiet and tacking that amount of time on after the class
- From the beginning let them know what your exact expectations are
- Find and read the book Assertive Discipline (Lee and Marlene Canter)
Perhaps you have suggestions that would help others. Join the forum conversation and share your tips.
Other MENC resources:
Crowd Control by Susan L. Haugland
TIPS: Discipline in the Music Classroom Compiled by R. Louis Rossman
–Becky Spray, June 3, 2009. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education