2020 is almost over (finally!). Throughout this year, pretty much nothing has been normal. Most schools shut down around March and did "remote teaching" for the first time. I use "remote teaching" for that time very loosely because it was teachers trying to figure it out, and students not really engaging in the process (at least from most of the stories I have heard from teacher friends).
Fast forward to December, the holidays are happening and it is just a weird time of year due to circumstances. A lot of schools are having to switch to remote learning due to a lack of healthy teachers and subs. I know our high school just recently switched to finish out 2020 in this mode. However, this time around remote teaching is going much better. It is funny how being able to plan and get things figured out helps, not only with this but with everything. Remote Teaching 1.0 (March) was hard. There was very little structure because there was no time to develop one. We didn't do "classes," we sent out work and hoped the students did it. Remote Teaching 2.0 has "classes" (Google Meets, Zoom, etc.) with attendance taken and lessons going on. Although nothing will replace face-to-face instruction, I am having a blast watching my students growth continuing even through a computer screen.
So what am I doing during Remote Teaching 2.0? Drumming. I know you are like "no kidding Ryan, you teach percussion for a living." And you are right, but we aren't talking percussion right now. We are learning to be drummers. We are going back to basics and cleaning our "house." I am pumped to finally see students focusing on playing real accents and taps. And for some, focusing on how they need to move their hands to play full legato strokes. And the best part is that I can see all the students at the same time. I don't have to scan the room to see everyone, I can see them all the entire time. Every high school student is playing a 4-2-1 Grid with accents and taps, and the middle school students are starting to learning it. We turn on music and drum to music every day and the students even get the opportunity to play some music and "run class" for a minute, which is awesome because we get to learn about the type of music that everyone likes.
I think the most important part of the remote learning this time around is how we start each class. I ask every student how they are doing, how school is going, if anyone has any good stories, etc. 2019 was a rough year for me being at a new program and losing in person instruction in March. At the end of the year I re-evaluated everything about that year. The first change I made was to invest more in the students. They needed to buy into me more before we could move forward. I have never approached teaching this way. I just let my experience and knowledge speak for me, and whoever wants to learn would learn. I have started asking every student how their day is, and listen to them even when it takes longer that I want it too, and now every student is progressing faster. When I listen, they listen.
My second big change was the decision to slow down my instructional plan. It doesn't matter what the students can play, if they don't play it well. At the same time, they won't play it well without a solid foundation to the "house." So 2020 has been strengthening the "house." The high school spent our first 7 weeks of in-school teaching playing warm-ups focused on playing different heights and Stone's "Stick Control." Doing nothing but drumming was a big change for me, but it has paid off. Why has students to think about how their hands move while playing right notes, and how they stand. Here is a little secret....right notes are still wrong if they don't sound good AND most of the time when we (percussionist) don't sound good is because our hands aren't good. So after 7 weeks of "Stick Control" and eights, we got through scales (both Major and Minor) in like 2 weeks and they sound better than they did last year. Not only that but a few of the classes were almost through an entire percussion ensemble piece before going remote. What I am trying to say is slowing down and focusing on the basics has been like jumping on a rocket ship of progress for them (whether they realize it or not).
All of that and now we have spent the last 2 remote weeks working on playing accents and taps, with real heights and downstrokes. I can't wait to see the progress we make when we get back in person in 2021. So what changes have you made to your curriculum recently? Are you teaching remote? If so, what kind of things are you doing in your remote classes? I would love to hear what you all are doing. I feel like at 33 I am more jazzed about making changes to improve my teaching than I was at 23.
2020 has been a rough year, but hopefully something positive has come out of it for you. Let's finish 2020 strong and bring in 2021 the right way!
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