Conformity

1. (30 points) Psychologists have long recognized the influence of conformity in the actions and behavior of school students, especially during the adolescent years.  Write a paper describing the actions your could take in your teaching situation, even if it’s an elementary school, to use conformity to help in developing successful music classes and ensembles. You might mention such factors as:

• presentation and teaching of the subject matter
• system for awarding grades or other ways of recognizing students for good work in music
• use of uniforms, robes, or other clothing
• concert programs and publicity
• field trips
• school assemblies and public performances
• student decisions regarding choice of music and other activities
• Submit your Reflection Post in the Assignment
• other means of making the group successful in the minds of the students.
• Submit your Reflection Post in the Assignments tool.
• View the Rubric uses to score your post.

This was the first year I spent teaching at my new school.  I came into the school with very little experience (I am only a second year teacher!  Well, now I'm going to be a third year since I just finished my second year!) and had a lot to learn.  When choosing music for my choir to sing in December, I made chose some music that was fun and upbeat as well as music that was educational.  I was met with a lot of resistance from the students in my choir.  I was bombarded with questions like, "Can't we do something from THIS century?" and "Can we sing Katy Perry's Firework instead?"  Some students decided they wanted to quit because they didn't enjoy the music selection.  

As a teacher, I believe that performances should be fun and educational.  The must in the performance shouldn't all be pop music but it doesn't have to be filled with only art music as well.  The performances can be a balanced mixture of different types and styles.  So when I was choosing music for the spring concert, I took the concerns of my students into mind and thought, "How can I still teach them music but choose pieces they will be interested in?"  I decided to choose a theme for the concert: "A Night at the Movies" and chose [mostly] music from movies.  In order to teach them solfege, I chose "Do-Re-Mi" from the "Sound of Music."  In order to teach them to sing in two part harmony as well as how to sing music in different languages, I chose "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King."  I stuck a few songs that were not from movies into the program as well and this time I met with very little resistance.  The students learned and they enjoyed what they performed. 

With the success of this programming in the spring, I had students who had previously not auditioned for choir and strings talk to me about joining.  Their friends had told them they were having a lot of fun with the music and we ended up gaining more students in the spring.  Friendship is very influential on young people.  They want to conform with their peers and join in on the fun they are having.  With that thought in mind, I had created that spring program and will continue to think of ways to encourage students to join chorus and strings.

Another way to encourage students to love music is by taking them to the symphony.  I am in a county that brings the 5th grade students to symphony every year for free.  The Brevard Symphony Orchestra is incredibly clever with it's programming.  In order to get the students invested and interested in the concert, they sent the list of pieces out to the music teachers in the county to incorporate into their classrooms.  The students became familiar with the music before the concert began.  They chose pieces like Beethoven's 5th Symphony Mvt. 1 and The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme Song from Star Wars).  During the concert, the conductor was interactive with the students and was explaining the music to them as well as asking questions.  The students became familiar with the music which led them to enjoy it and they also enjoyed the personal concert as well.

School assemblies are also great ways for students to show what they learn.  The students get more into music when they see their friends jamming out on the stage.  We did a number of school assemblies this year in order to promote that.  During transition moments in the concert, I had several students perform solos.  Some students played piano, some sang, and one even performed a drum solo!  The students were so impressed with the drum solo.  They didn't even know the student played drums and that's all they could talk about afterwards.  Many of the students expressed interest in taking up percussion after that concert!  In addition, we had our first annual talent show this year!  The students all came out to watch their friends perform and we now have many more who want to perform next year!

Being a new teacher, I still have a lot to learn.  But I have made many strides this year in attempting to use conformity to promote music learning.  From clever programming to field trips to school assemblies to talent shows, I am continuing to look for ways to use conformity to influence my students positively.