Good teachers are always trying new things in the classroom—new activities, new materials, new songs, new techniques, new children—sustaining the freshness of teaching through each successive class, semester, and year.  The creative teacher is always developing new techniques to uncover the process of music learning and deliver content that meets the children’s musical needs. Sometimes activities we have carefully planned simply don’t work with the children, causing us to question the methodology or curriculum materials. We might contrast the unsuccessful activity with the joy of one of one of the successful activities, concluding that the problem must be in the approach to music learning—that children really don’t like “this stuff.”

The problem is not in the methodology or curriculum materials, but in the techniques of presentation. The approach offered in the online coursework is based on the process of music learning, with appropriate curriculum materials for implementation. Every suggested activity can be just as delightful as any favorite activity, with techniques that enchant children, while facilitating music learning. All that is presented in the online coursework has been field tested and successfully implemented for many years with hundreds of children of all ages and stages. The methodology and curriculum materials used appropriately are right for music learning and right for creating a joy filled classroom.

Consider the following when something you try doesn’t work.

Might the activity be unmusical as presented? For example, the prop you used distracted children from the musical content, or the movement you used was contrived rather than flowing from the musical content. Sheer musicality compels children, whether beginners or more advanced students. It is better to trust children’s musicality than to impose props or contrived movement “to get their attention,” or “to give them something to do.”  

Might the activity expect too much of the children? For example, you presented the activity with a game that is beyond their age, or you were trying for interactivity before the children had experienced sufficient immersion. When music content and expectations are appropriate, children happily engage.

Might the energy of the activity, or where the activity is placed in the class be ineffective? For example, the energy of the activity, as presented, was too much or too little for the group of children, or followed an activity of similar energy so that the children became too excited, or too settled. Try placing the activity at a different point in the class session, or adjusting the energy of the activity to better suit the group of children and for better flow of your “seamless children’s play.”

Might your interaction with the children defeat the activity? For example, might you be forgetting that verbal communication, even praise, interrupts the musical mind? Or might you be interacting musically with a child willing to deliver, leaving out or intimidating other children or those not yet ready for interactivity? Non-verbal communication is key, and keeping appropriate distance from beginners, moving in closer only when children are musically ready will generally elicit participants willing to interact with you musically.

Successful activities feed the self-concept of the teacher as a good teacher. Activities that are not successful can make a teacher feel inadequate, scrambling for an activity that feeds the ego, and throwing out anything that gets in the way. Rather than throw out the baby with the bath water, declaring that “this stuff just doesn’t work,” review and rework your techniques. The process of music learning works, and the accompanying curriculum materials meet the needs of the process of music learning. In addition, effective techniques lead to successful teaching. Occasional activities that do not work are essential to growing as a teacher, encouraging you to fine hone techniques throughout your teaching career.