Does anyone feel like you are going to be in for a significant re-build once this thing is over? We have a large percentage of students who are remote/online learners and it’s like pulling teeth to get them to complete their work. They are not making progress like their in-person peers. I’ve seen some really good band kids who are doing this online thing turn into slugs without any motivation - they are failing multiple classes, don’t show up for class, and could care less about their grades. Is anyone else dealing with these same issues. Suggestions? Rant over.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by Yes! on 12/4/2020, 11:00 am, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
I have the same thought everyday. My beginners and 7th graders are the worst about turning in work. I hate having to remind them every day.. or having to hunt down the kids that literally haven't turned anything in to me (I only require practice records once a week). Like how can you fail band?!? Their motivation is so frustrating to me.... Maybe I need to not be so hard on them??? I just can't take this anymore.
I think we all feel this
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by For years on 12/3/2020, 9:38 am, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
It won't be just band that is rebuilding and it will be years. Culture is hard to build in a school and a band program. It's quick to fall apart but long to build. This disaster and the online education will have lasting effects for years to come as we knock the lazy and standards and expectations and commitment back into the kids in all disciplines across the board.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by BDSO on 12/1/2020, 7:02 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
I've been saying this since August. Like, before school even started. I could see the writing on the wall with our kids. I've been YELLING this at the HS director who doesn't seem to get it. He wants us to go to UIL C&SR even though we barely seen 25% of our 7th & 8th graders so far this year. Here is what our 3C band looks like: - Beginners: Only 55. Yes, 55 beginners in a 3C band. We had twice that signed up last year before school shut down, and those were preliminary numbers. Choice slips were due two weeks after Spring Break, but when we didn't come back the kids didn't turn them in. Out of the ones that remained, the half that are not in band were pulled by the admin for "special classes", moved, or decided they wanted to do something "safer". Out of the 55 remaining beginners, we are only seeing about 1/3 in-person and probably half of the remote kids. The others have instruments but never show up online or turn in any async work. We anticipate retention numbers from this class in the 20s, including no tubas, baritones, F Horns, or percussion and most trombones (those are the ones not showing up at all). Oh, and I have about five kids who haven't even picked out an instrument and we have not been able to get a hold of their parents and we can't kick them out.
- The other three bands: We had really good projected numbers for returning members but when we left for spring break but those numbers tanked before school started. The reasons were a loss of interest due to not being able to play in the spring (we were not allowed to assign work or even ask kids to volunteer to play), they didn't want to be in band if they weren't going to be in-person (felt it was too hard), or they didn't feel it was safe. We also had a fair amount pulled for "academic support". Because of that we have 97 in the three advanced bands. Out of those, we see about 1/3 in person and less than half of the remote kids (in one class we get about 1/4 total between the in-person and the remote).
We don't even know how we will recruit since we have already been told we can't visit the schools or have an instrument demonstration or tryouts. My assistant and I have discussed how this is likely a 5-year rebuild starting next year. Basically we are "rebooting" the band program starting next year. We are going to push for no group competitions and individual competitions/auditions on a strict case-by-case. We need to make band just a fun environment with little to no stress. Our community has been hit hard by not just the virus but the financial impact of lost jobs (one of the reasons why we are issuing as many instruments as possible, giving out supplies, and lowering the cost of the band t-shirt to cost - no profit - even though we use it as a fundraiser).
In 22 years of teaching, I've have never been this stressed. I want to just give up or at least not give a crap like the rest of the teachers at our school but I can't. The other teachers don't have to worry about the future of their class and if the kids come back or not. They also don't have to worry about whether or not kids take their class. Not like us. We live and die by kids wanting to be in our classes and how much they participate.
2C here. Fully remote. About 25 beginners. Only 14 do their work. 45 7th and 8th graders. Only 12 do their work. You’re not in as bad a situation as it seems.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by WTP on 12/1/2020, 4:12 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
Maybe it won't be such a bad thing to step back and think about what's most important as we rebuild.
Maybe in the early build years we don't cram in as much as stuff as we did before so we can focus more deeply on missing fundamentals. Maybe a few fewer songs in the marching folder for awhile. Maybe easier shows for a few years.
It's OK.
Nature does this too.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by everything is perfect on 12/1/2020, 1:57 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
I don't know what you are talking about. We are doing better then ever, the kids are practicing more and I think we should be able to compete for TMEA Honor Band next year...
...NOT
I think we are all experiencing COVID Band and don't like the results. Best thing we can do is just keep working hard and hold high expectations. the kids in person who are working hard will be fine and there are always a few of the home kids that will work out. I plan to make all my kids do a performance evaluation at the end of the year and if they cannot meet the requirements then they will go back into beginners... going to be a huge beginner class next year.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by yes on 12/1/2020, 12:47 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
Staff was talking about this today...bad news is that we will be rebuilding our 4A program for years to come. Good news is that I'm not sure anyone except the upperclassmen will know the difference
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by me on 12/1/2020, 10:09 am, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
It's not just big towns, it's little towns too. Now, we are having a somewhat normal year in my 2A town with a great high school band but you can still tell the fundamental development issues. Many of my incoming 8th graders were not ready because of losing a half year of preparation (and other stuff) and I think it's going to be an issue because it affects retention. This same issue is in the 7th graders and my 6th graders were behind because we didn't do the usual instrument assignments in the spring like we would normally so that cost us a couple of weeks at the beginning. Everybody has just got to hang in there and advocate like crazy for your programs.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by Inner-City BD II on 12/1/2020, 8:33 am, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
It's not just the upcoming rebuild. It's how LONG and FAR-REACHING this rebuild will be.
It's how it is dramatically different from county to county, district to district, city to city, and even school to school.
Take Dallas County. The county guidelines recommend that no indoor wind playing occur. Some school districts in Dallas County are following that 100% - no playing indoors. Some are playing indoors, distanced.
Add to that scheduling inequalities. I see my kids ONCE a week for 80 minutes. (block scheduling and alpha split, with a possible second contact once every four weeks). Students are not allowed on campus unless it is their alpha day or unless they have extracurricular practice. Once the practice is over, they're required to leave.
Some of my friends in a nearby district actually don't have a band program this semester. One school decided to "pod" their kids so that their teachers travel from room to room, but the kids stay in one classroom all day long. If you had an elective class that had kids from multiple "pods" you don't anymore. Those kids that aren't in the band "pod" don't get band. Those kids who weren't band kids but are in the "band" pod have to have band now - and they're required to teach them!
Twenty miles away in another district, they have had full in-person learning from the first day of school, with some students and parents opting out. They've had 80% or higher attendance in every class. They have close to 100% attendance on Zoom calls - and it's basically business as normal.
People in that second situation may in decent shape going forward. The first? That MS program is effectively destroyed. Every kid currently in that program will have to transition out before "normalcy" can be restored - and even then, the "advanced" kids in 8th grade won't be what they were 5 years previously since they won't have had those strong players pushing them the year before.
Add to that what will happen to high school programs. (I'm a HS director.) We're going to be seeing the consequences of these enrollment decisions for the next seven plus years. If schools choose to opt out of UIL this year (and who could blame them?) then EVERY kid in the MS program next year will have never prepared for UIL contest. Only SOME of the incoming 9th grade (those kids that were in the top ensembles as 7th graders) next year will have ever been to UIL, and that only if they went to a UIL before the COVID shutdown.
We're going to be taking kids that have never had to put together a successful UIL program and trying to do just that - on the back of shaky and inconsistent teaching (regardless of the quality of instructor, which is a whole other issue) due to online instruction - and somehow, we're going to have to take those kids who have never successfully performed Grade 1 literature and play Grade 3-4-5 stuff with them at UIL contest, depending upon school size.
You can say "rely on your upperclassmen" - and that's true to an extent - but consider that next year, the juniors will have had about a full year of real high school band (half year before shutdown, and if we're lucky a year's worth of real teaching if they're online - it's NOT the same), the sophomores will be a complete mixed bag, and some of the freshmen will have not touched an instrument consistently in 18 months.
Many students will choose to quit, in these situations. I know my band's enrollment halved this year - 100 kids down to 55, with the majority of those contacted saying some variation on "my mom doesn't want me in band with COVID" as a reason. If they come back? Great! But they won't be in any better shape than they left, will they?
We're realistically looking at a decade before HS bands are "back" to where they should be, unless you have VERY dedicated parents and students who have private lesson staff and high quality instruction. We'll still have PLENTY of great performances - but there will be a noticeable downtick in performance level for the next few years.
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by DesertJazz on 11/30/2020, 11:01 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
We forced everyone to be in person back at the end of the 2nd six-weeks. It means we've at least been able to start kids and have them there. That being said timeline wise we're 8 weeks behind...? I feel like we're further than that because they definitely regressed more over Thanksgiving break than normal with our 6th graders.
Most of our 7th graders are like second semester beginning students, and our 8th graders seem to not have lost as much from what I've seen. I'm steeling myself for a group of kids like we had to finish getting through the high school program when I first got to this school. They had started with a really weak teacher and it showed... Probably 6-7 years to run these kids through. I think they can catch up some, but this year isn't just about the lost instruction - there's definitely some psychological changes in everything.
I'm hoping by the end of the year we can at least get the 6th graders mostly caught up though. Waiting to see what happens the next couple weeks with cases after Thanksgiving. That might be the death knell to ever catching them up if we end up virtual again.
Only real bright light for us is HS band started in August and we've managed to operate mostly interruption free. (Other than a couple kids here and there) I feel more accomplished with the kids earning that Superior this year than I have in a lot of past years. I was glad that no matter what may happen between now and the 12th when we're supposed to have Area, they at least got some musical closure to the year!
Hang in there, we're all in this together, and we'll get through this! Stay healthy!
Re: COVID Aftermath
Posted by Jeremy on 11/30/2020, 8:59 pm, in reply to "COVID Aftermath"
Yes a rebuild is on the way and I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGE!!!!
Since the week before Thanksgiving, I'm not teaching in-person band students.
Students that are attending in-person are staying in one classroom all day and are not allowed to transition to other classes.
Since they picked the class period that is my planning, I do not have in-person students. I'm teaching all my band student on Zoom - so no instruments.
Set up playing assignments over exercises, scales, and small bits of music for your advanced kids. Do instruction virtually for your beginners and teach basic music techniques. Teach fingerings. Have them play from home, or finger-and-say notes if they're in person. Work on theory.
Use Flipgrid, Smartmusic, CHARMS, or even have them play off over Zoom in breakout rooms or via cell phone recordings for playing exams.
It's not ideal - but it's better than giving up and writing off the next two years of band.
It can be done, and it can be done successfully. Change your paradigm.
