If.... Then... NEVER

I remember sitting in a classroom, discussing motivation and student learning.  I remember listening to and participating in a discussion in which the concept of bribery came up.  Bribery as in telling the student: “If you do this, then I will do that”.  Basically, if you work hard or pay attention or stop talking, then I will do ____(fill in the blank).  I clearly remember consciously vowing to NEVER bribe my students.  Because we should be able to find ways to intrinsically motivate.  The students should want to succeed from a desire within themselves and we as teachers should try and find ways to cultivate that.  Bribery often seems to put a Band-Aid on a constantly expanding issue.  And so, with that, I ruled bribery out of my future teaching. 

Enter my middle school choir of 40.  The first two weeks of rehearsal on my own were an absolute nightmare.  We barely learned any music, the talking and acting out was ridiculous, and students were showing up exceedingly late and without music.  My confidence in my ability to teach plummeted and I dreaded the following rehearsals, wondering how on earth they would ever have music ready for a concert.  Night after night I pondered solutions, nothing seeming to fit the situation.  It was obvious that the students were not going to behave just because they wanted to do music.  Finally, I thought perhaps I should ask the students. 

With that thought in mind, I ask for volunteers from the choir to be section leaders and after looking through the list I came up with six people (two per section) who I thought exhibited musicality, leadership, and focus.  I called them in for a section leader meeting a couple days later.  That meeting was the turning point!  I gave them jobs and we discussed goals for the choir as a whole.  I then asked the burning question.. “How do I get everyone to stop talking?”.  A section leader confidently said “Terror.  Rule with a fist of iron.”  And NO.  That would not be happening.  I laughed it off and asked for more suggestions.  With a bit of a sheepish grin another section leader said “Sweets.  We all would work well for sweets.”  I was shocked.  She wanted me to bribe the whole choir.  I gasped a little as I asked the other section leaders what they thought.  They all nodded their heads in agreement.  Five minutes later we had a plan.  Each of the three sections would compete against each other to win the candy (that I would buy every week) at the end of rehearsal.  Every student that did not have their music with them would give a point to the section and every time I had to ask a section to be quiet , would also add a point.  The section with the least amount of points would win the candy. 

That night I was hopeful for a change and very nervous for the next rehearsal.  When the time finally came I was ready.  The section leaders took charge right away and helped with set up, rosters, pencils, music and anything I needed.  We started more on time.  As we stretched in the warm up I explained the competition.  The students were abuzz with excitement at the prospect of candy.  Forty-five minutes later, the rehearsal ended.  I was astounded at the excellent behaviour and the amount of music we accomplished.  I had told various sections to be quiet a total of 12 times, which was a mind-blowing improvement from previous rehearsals.  The students had laughed and smiled, asked questions, and sang well.  The winning section was awarded the coveted candy and the students left singing to themselves causing other teachers to comment on the apparent joy that must have been experienced in choir. 

Since then, rehearsals have been fabulous.  The students are progressing at a rapid pace and I am buying more candy bars than I ever thought possible.    I realized that the students have had negative experiences with choir in the past and they simply didn’t have motivation or desire to be in choir because of previous associations.  Bribing them with candy works two-fold; first, they want the candy, so they work well... and second, they are seeing amazing success in their music when they focus and they are leaving happy and proud of their work.  Maybe if I was here for another term I would try to wean them off candy, but for now I am completely ok with bribing them.  I want them to create new associations with music... those of joy, community, hard work, fun, and excellent music that they create. 

Perhaps you still think that I shouldn’t have bribed them, and that is ok.  It is a concept that I still would like to avoid in general.  But, I have learned that it does have its place and role in teaching and can be a valuable tool in promoting and encouraging joy in learning. 

Tough Love

Teaching is fun, rewarding, hilarious, and life-changing.  

It also can break your heart. 

I walked into my Year 9 class excited to begin ground bass compositions.  I hadn't seen the students in over week due to the class cycle we teach on.  They had been given a simple homework task of completing a worksheet on melodies and harmonies.  The schedule for that day was to begin to notate those melodies and harmonies (along with a simple ground bass) into Sibelius.  In my mind I thought things would be easy and smooth.  Of course that isn't always the case, as I am quickly finding out.  

As I explained the rubric for the compositions I walked around, quickly observing that quite a few students had not completed the homework.  I was puzzled.  They had been set a simple task, I had sent them multiple messages saying I was available for extra help, and the previous lessons had been carefully scaffolded by another cooperating teacher and myself.  All the supports had been put in place.  And yet... the desired result was not there.  I asked several students why they had not completed the work and their reply was a noncholant "I didn't understand".  I felt rotten and was trying desperately to figure out why they just didn't complete the work.  

Then I realized that this was a deciding moment between my class and I.  This was when they figured out if I was in earnest or if I was wishy-washy.  I had to put my foot down.  In doing so, I knew I was risking their excitement and love for the new American teacher.  But, in the end, their learning is most important.  

I quickly consulted with the cooperating teacher and was told that they should be put in detention, per school policy.  Walking back to these students with this knowledge was horrid.  I did not want to relay this information.  I wanted to run away for a split second in order to avoid the confrontation.  But that isn't a real teacher.  Gently and sadly I spoke quietly to the students who had not completed their work, informing them of the impending detentions.  Their faces fell and anger flickered across their eyes.  My heart sunk further and further as I handed out a total of six detentions over those next few minutes.  

The class was abuzz with the fact that I had just handed out detentions, and I went to the front of the class with a heavy heart.  I stood there, waiting for the students to stop talking.  They knew something was up.  I began to cry as I told them how painful it was for me to give detentions.  They looked at each other in shock at my honesty.  I asked students to give suggestions about possible solutions to not understanding the homework. They all came to the conclusion that it was good idea to come see me for help or to email me.  We then went back to the lesson... my heart remained heavy.  

I didn't think it would be that hard.  It is so not fun.  But it isn't about you... it is about them and their learning and their character and their future.  As one of my professors said "Tough love is still love".  That was like balm to my soul.  I still love my students, no matter what.  And because of that love, sometimes I have to make decisions they don't like.  

Since then, their work has improved.  They are asking for advice and help all the time, and they are succeeding quicker.  I am grateful for the hard times in teaching, because so often their produce brilliant life lessons!