Mainstreaming Special Ed with Music

At my schools, special ed students are mainstreamed for music. That means that a class of special education students (about 15) come to music at the same time as a regular class (32) in my little tiny classroom. My first year, they were just sent with an aid. After discussions with the principal, union reps, and others, we determined that their teacher needed to be present as well. It's still a very frustrating situation.

The worst part for me is the behavior. It's really difficult to manage the behavior of that many students in that small a space at one time. The special ed teacher doesn't do much to help, either. At first, I was hoping she would do all the management of her class since I don't know as much about their disabilities. That didn't work because she doesn't seem to monitor their behavior. So I teach all these students while monitoring and correcting behavior.

Here's what I've tried: Communicating with the teacher so that she'll be more involved with the lesson. Unfortunately, she seems really dingy and either interrupts me and the flow of teaching or just sits off to the side.

I've proposed giving them their own class time (can't because their IEPs specify mainstreaming them in music) or having just a few of them in many different music classes with an aid (the teacher wasn't willing to part with an aid for that much time).

I've tried having the teacher work with them in small groups while I do a whole-class activity with the rest. This doesn't work well when singing, and the time we did this while they were doing group activities, her group totally missed the objective, even though they were just writing what she told them to.

Has anyone had similar frustrations? Are there any suggestions you have? I love all of my students, but the current plan is just not conducive to learning.

Staying positive

One of the most effective ways to get good behavior in the classroom is through positive reinforcement. I know that, I've read studies that show that, but it's still really easy to forget. One thing I'm working on is, when students are acting up, taking a breath and acknowledging those who are doing what they're supposed to. This generally gets the others in line and improves my mood.

To give the positive reinforcement, I use "credit cards" (an idea I got from a seminar by Rick Morris. Each student has an index card with their name on it. I give them a bit of time the first week of school to decorate it. And I have hole punches which punch special shapes in the cards. I have an eighth note punch at one school and a star at the other. Once my students have 10 punches in their cards, they choose a prize from my treasure box (the prizes are cheap toys from the dollar store).

Last year, my students were responsible for keeping their cards in their folders. That did NOT work for me. They would fall out and get lost, and it took too much time for me to walk over to the student and punch their card, so very few students got punched (they love it when I say it like that).

This year, each class has their cards on a metal book ring. The best is the ring that I can wear around my wrist like a bracelet. This way, I don't lose them, plus I keep them in seat order so I can easily punch them. Plus there's the added benefit of randomness. I can flip through the cards, pick one from the bunch, look at that student, and punch the card if they're following directions. It's fair. And it forces me to learn everyone's names (if I need help, I see who's around them). And if I'm going to call on a non-volunteer, I can just chose from my cards.

Here's my problem: my rings are starting to get too lose, so they won't stay closed. Any ideas for solutions?

More that I've learned about behavior

When I started teaching, I understood that my students were children and would have a hard time behaving in certain situations. I also felt like it was my responsibility to try to teach them how. I still think these things, but the way I respond to them has changed a lot.

Since my first year I have learned a lot about how to pace a class correctly. My first year, I went too fast. I gave directions once, assuming they would know most of what to do, and then I was frustrated when they didn't do what I had asked. My next year, I learned to give directions better. I would say what I expected, write it down, have students repeat it, show examples, etc. Students knew what to do, but blocked out half of what I said.

This year, I keep the pacing somewhere in between. I keep my students busy. This had eliminated most of my discipline issues. My sixth graders were very difficult at the beginning of the year, so I had them drumming and singing and writing, and the situation improved. I'm still trying to find a balance, and making sure that all their business is helping them learn, so if you have any insights I would love for you to leave a comment.

How to get students to behave

Isn't that just about the biggest questions of teaching? My student teaching experiences did not prepare me for this question: I was teaching in much different populations in established classrooms, and the teachers rarely left me alone to fend for myself. Luckily, in my (almost) 3 years of teaching, I've learned a lot.

Environment is important! My first year, one of my schools had me teaching on the stage in the cafeteria/multi-purpose-room. We had to pull the curtain, because in the rest of the room, there would be pre-schoolers having breakfast and baby-sitters baby-sitting children of adults learning English somewhere else (in a real classroom, presumably). I thought this was one of those things I couldn't change: It had been this way before I came and this is how the principal set it up. But we had a talk about classroom management in an unmanageable environment (the students were sitting on risers on the stage, with about 5 students per square foot, for pete's sake) and the next year I was assigned to something more resembling a real classroom. The next year, in a slightly better space, was MUCH better for my teaching. And there were some more changes. My principal at the other school switched me to a classroom as well. And so now I teach in classroom that I control. And that already has enabled me to be a much better teacher.

Letting them choose

My sixth graders at one of my schools sing a song during their promotion ceremony on the last day of school. I've had a hard time convincing them to sing the past few years, so this year I decided to let them choose the song. I gave them choices that I thought were appropriate, from their textbook and from a subscription for music teachers, and had each student vote. With their vote, they had to give me a reason using music terminology, so I could use this for a grade, too.

I'm a little worried about the results, now. I haven't gone through them but most of my last class seemed to be voting for one that my other classes didn't like. If that wins, I'll have to hope they don't remember disliking it and just post the results. It was interesting the write-ins I got, too. One student voted for "The Bucky Rogers Theme Song" because it has a good message. I need to find out what that is. I also had votes for a Chris Brown song. Thankfully, there's no way that will be the winner.

UPDATE: Actually "The Buck Rogers Theme Song" actually would have been appropriate. I also had write-in votes for "Don't Worry" and "Let it Be".

Habits

Well, it looks like I'm keeping my job. It's amazing how relieved I feel. And now I keep thinking about all the things I can keep working on improving for next year.

Now that I'm in my third year of teaching, I finally feel like I know what I'm doing teaching, but lately I've noticed that my good habits cycle. Like lately I've been doing pretty well with keeping the students engaged: my 6th graders are starting to appreciate classical music, because I have them conduct it. My students get more comfortable with foreign-language songs because I have them listen while doing movement, or learning a percussion part the first few times.

On the other hand, I had stopped pointing out my objectives. I did that during my first few years as an induction requirement, and had continued to write them on the board. Today, I pointed them out to the students, as well as the plan for class, and we actually got through everything. I also had much fewer "requests".

I'm so glad I can continue to refine these kinds of things.

First Post--A good day, but a bad week

This is the first post of this new blog. In good teacher fashion, I'll begin by telling you my objectives: I plan to use this blog to reflect on my teaching. I hope that in the comments I will find new ideas for my teaching, while giving you ideas as well. Some of my stories should give you a window into the inspiring, amusing, always interesting, sometimes unpleasant world of teaching music. And sometimes this will be a way for me to vent feelings that need expressing.

I'll start with the good: Today was a great day because of several things that happened. My fifth graders really showed how much they love making music. They were singing with their eyes closed, swaying, enthusiastically, and sounded really good. They love singing partner songs (one group sings on song while another sings a completely different song with the same harmonic structure, creating harmony).

My fifth graders also started learning some Middle Eastern music. The district has been urging us to explore this more as our population changes, but I love introducing them to music from various cultures, anyway. Plus it's a standard. They got really into the songs and really seemed to enjoy it. And I love when they thank me for teaching them (and today they told me class was fun).

My fourth graders were really trying hard to behave today. It's amazing how motivating the possibility of recorders can be.

And my sixth graders' behavior is FINALLY starting to improve. We had a fire drill, but they were manageable. And they were learning and enjoying it, once the fire drill was over. It's amazing how much more they enjoy classical music when I have them conduct it. They still talk too much, but they're down to a normal-seeming-misbehaved, instead of the horrendous they started at.

Here's the bad: my district is having problems with money (like all the districts in the area) and is exploring the idea of cutting music. Meaning I might not have a job next year, and my students might be reduced to seeing a music teacher only once every other week. And the music teachers would have 40-some music classes each. I can't imagine how this would be a good situation for anyone.

So let me know how you are. Do you have misbehaving sixth-graders? Are you worried about your job? Did you have a swaying, angelicly-singing class this week that showed you why you do what you do? Or do you have another comment about music in your life?