Rebuilding Your Choir for 2021-2022-Part THREE

If you missed part ONE of this series, click here.  From there, you'll find links to all of the parts I've written so far.  

Our middle school students are likely to be in therapy over the ocean of disappointments they've experienced in their lives during this pandemic until they are at least 30 years old...

But I'm a determined, tenacious individual, and right now, I am focused on showing my students that I can deliver, that I have a heart and compassion and that I can still giggle and be silly even in this very dark time.

I think these approaches will help me keep the ones I've got, and with their word of mouth, I'll get more newbies for next year.  

Here are the specifics of the last couple of weeks-

1). Our musical revue

We are still virtual with no end in sight.

My students have been rehearsing virtually for weeks now, but I know middle school kids.  There has to be a constant "build" with progressions...   Otherwise, you lose them.

So, about 2 weeks ago, I made a huge decision.  

I decided we would make our annual spring musical revue into a documentary film version.  We are going to film the various performances "live"outside.... in a parking lot or tennis court or something similar...socially distanced.  We are going to intersperse the performances with "realness" and "comedy" about what we've all experienced through this pandemic.  For example with humor...those times when we forgot to press mute on the Zoom.  Or when someone walked by the camera behind us...there are so many to choose from.  For realness...I am going to ask questions of certain students..."In one word, how has this pandemic made you feel?"    ...Series of answers by 7-10 students...followed by "Brand New Day" from the Wiz!  ...Or something like that.  I want it to be a roller coaster of emotions the same way our "live" shows are a roller coaster of emotions.  

I want it to be meaningful.  

I want this to be a film that the students look at when they finish therapy about this experience at age 30 and go....wow....we went through that while my students are showing this film to their own children.  

To make this happen, I had to create all sorts of documents and waivers for the students/parents to sign.  Protocols had to be clear.  Participation in my musical revue has always been an extra-curricular activity, so I called my high school peers since I knew that some athletics and show rehearsals were going on there, and I asked them to send me the documents for the waivers.  I edited the documents for my purposes and got all of that in order before presenting to my administrators.   They supported me since I am not requiring my entire chorus to be involved.  These students had already paid a fee and auditioned months ago.  All students had to turn in the signed documents in the Google Classroom, and we are going to be safe as we do this.   

They need this.  

I hired the videographer last week.  Each week, the students can feel this show building as we move forward.  Next week, we are filming three of the solos.  I plan to show the students in the chorus the "raw footage" so they can see that this is actually happening.  

Building....proving to them that I/we will all deliver together.

#2 Heart and Compassion

Raise your hand if you've had to learn to be flexible this year?   ....If you've had trouble keeping up with faculty meeting dates, changes to the types of learning you are supposed to deliver tomorrow versus what they said you were doing tomorrow one week ago, finding assignments, grading late ones and then fixing them in the grade book so the child gets the correct and the grade they deserved grade when they really are trying to keep up?

Yup.

Same.

Now, multiply that by about 25 times and then you can feel the anxiety these children who are just that...CHILDREN....feel.

We are equipped with our adult life experiences and maturity, and all of the things I've listed above still cause us great stress.

So, when they turn that assignment in late, think about how big the penalty is going to be.  What will help them learn a small lesson, but not devastate them?

The freshman year of college is really supposed to be the first time that we get to show up to class or not show up to class, and we were 17 or 18 years old!  Imagine being 11-14 years old.  I watched so many of the people I started college with drop out that first semester because they just didn't have the self-discipline to show up and get it done.

So, yeah...when that child who has been missing comes to you to try to figure it out, help them figure it out.  

Middle School students can feel whether we care even through email and Zoom.  

#3.  Giggle and Motivate

Laughter is always the great unifier...especially with middle school students.  

So, when I play Forbidden Pattern on mute with my students on Zoom, it can be tricky, but all of the rules and philosophies still work...even during a pandemic and even on Zoom.  And the philosophies of that game and The S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners also still work because, when I created it, I wanted it to be more than just another sight singing curriculum.  I wanted to motivate the reluctant middle school singer and to help them learn while not realizing that learning was what was happening.  

So...I made a deal with my virtual classes.  When you've beat me 25 times, you get to pick what I've got to do since I've lost a lot.  Some of the classes will arrive at that number likely next week.  My 7th grade boys class has decided that I have to wear a "wig" all day in all virtual classes without explanation.  My 7th grade girls said I have to randomly do a tik tok dance for all of the classes without explanation.  The other classes are still deciding...but I've heard some crazy stuff.  

Whatever works...whatever makes them smile and look up at the camera with some light in their eyes...that's what I am going to do for them.

...And that is my latest installment on how I'm continuing to prepare, repair and rebuild my choral music program for the 2021-2022 school year.  

I've called "delusionally positive" before.  Not sure about the grammar on that, but I know what they meant, and I will own that label.  Thank you!  :-). 

I hope these ideas help give you some ideas so you can reframe and begin to rebuild and prepare for the amazing art we are all going to experience on the other side of this.  

I am hosting a giveaway on my blog for the MEGA + Distance Version of S-Cubed right now.  You can enter until February 24th.  Here is the link to the blog where you enter.

I can't wait to get back to this...

Click here to go to part 4 of this series on how to rebuild.