Part 1 of 3: Top Ten Classroom Management "Sins"

Where do I start? Where did I go wrong? What can I do now?
Are your rehearsals in need of more discipline and structure? Aren't everyone's?
Longtime MENC member Dennis Granlie, offers a list of common management mistakes and advice for fixing the problems.

• Lack of student understanding of expectations:

Establish expectations on the first day - you want their very best.

• Too much down time:

Plan more than you expect to have time for and be organized.

• Teacher talks too much (another form of down time):

Students should be directly engaged in playing at least 70% of the class.

• Lack of focus:

Insist on silence and attention.

• Inappropriate or unworthy literature:

Assess skills and pick music accordingly - try not to bore or frustrate.

• Lack of clear goals for rehearsal:

Approach each rehearsal knowing what you want the kids to learn, and tell them.

• Failure to engage students immediately in rehearsal:

Make sure warm-ups require students to focus on you. Maintain semi-silence.

• Overuse of coercion, power, or setting unrealistic consequences:

Say "The audience expects...", "the music demands....", not "You better...., or else!"

• Leaving students unattended in classroom:

An invitation to trouble and a lawsuit.

• Allowing interruptions to disrupt instruction:

Don't handle papers at the beginning of class. Handle individual questions/issues
after class. Be careful not to devote too much time to one student or one section.
Don't be drawn into conversation having nothing to do with the lesson.

Dennis Granlie is currently a music consultant with 11 years of classroom observations as a music supervisor. During that time, he conducted nearly 500 formal observations and saw over 60 teachers in their classrooms. Granlie is currently a mentor for the Montana Music Educators Association and has observed and mentored another 80 teachers in the past 3 1/2 years. He is editor of the Montana MEA state magazine, Cadenza. 

--Becky Spray, January 8, 2009 ©MENC: The National Association for Music Education