A direct comparison of our band programs to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is not particularly helpful, is it? No matter what kind of school you teach in, I sincerely hope that your band room and its inhabitants are not analogous to the populations of those two biblical cities.
So how can we relate this passage to our band rooms? Perhaps there is a potential for some catharsis among us. Think of ways you can ‘cleanse’ your program. Sometimes when I feel like I cannot control a situation, I clean. Tighten those music stands. Put the percussion toys back in the cabinet. “At least the room will be in order!” (This might be a response to watching Home Edit with my wife).
“That feels good! What else ya got?” Maybe it is time to purge your music library of out of date literature. Getting rid of sheet music that will not be played again for all of the right reasons can be empowering. It can streamline your library and give you a better idea of what you want to buy next. And now you will have room for it!
Next, go through all of those drawers full of random instrument parts. Do you even still have the sousaphones that go with those mouthpiece bits? Give them to the local repair shop. Organize those random cymbal stand felts. Consider transferring unused equipment to your feeder programs.
It might be tempting to consider students you would like to ‘cleanse’ from your program. Certainly you should be advocating with your counselors and administrators against ensemble courses as ‘dump’ classes. But don’t spend too much energy trying to get rid of problem students. Instead, take a look inside yourself. Maybe it is time to purge and reset your goals and priorities. What are you really trying to accomplish as a music teacher? What do you need to purge that would make you a better teacher? Maybe less speechifying and more rehearsing? Is it time to stop coddling those students who never seem to step up? Or forget them! Maybe you need to focus on the ‘ten righteous’ (see chapter 18) students through whom the program might be saved.
The point of this entry is really just a chance for a ‘pattern interrupt.’ (Thank you 1980s era Instructional Theory Into Practice [ITIP]). It simply means changing a daily routine to get the attention of your students focused on something important. I sometimes move the seats around for a rehearsal to refocus students. But I am suggesting you might want to interrupt your own patterns; patterns of thinking, habits of process, etc. Do you need a little smack in the forehead to help you refocus? Are there parts of your established routine that aren’t really working anymore? Are your warm-ups stale? Are you frustrated with the efforts you get from your students? Maybe they are too. Check to make sure you are not in a rut. Try involving your musicians in a conversation about the class. What do they think would remotivate their musical efforts? And then get rid of what doesn’t work anymore. Or at least set it aside until it can be fresh again.
Summer break is a great time to reflect on what you can purge. After your vacation, set aside a weekend to deeply consider how to ‘clean up’ your program, your priorities and your plans.