Now’s the time of year we’re reviewing. Reviewing, reviewing, and reviewing. As a music teacher, mine is probably the last subject on the minds of students during the summer break (at least, thinking deeply about music and analyzing it, not just listening to it), and it’s difficult enough to keep the fire of love for music going in the school year, let alone ensure that students are head-over-heels for Verdi when they could reasonably choose the latest hit from Taylor Swift (or whoever is popular nowadays…). When we get back, the last thing they want to do is sing old, dead music by old, dead guys.
But we’re trying something new at Seven Oaks. In order to give students a little space to grow in middle school, we’re separating our art and music classes according to gender – one day, I see all the boys in a grade, the next day I see all the girls. And because boys and girls are changing and everyone is subject to the (seemingly eternal) rage of hormones, classes are:
Easier.
Yes, you read that right. The boys are more relaxed and more willing to try new things with the girls not watching. The girls are more willing to participate and try new things without the fear of boys laughing or showing off. (It also has helped the boys to throw in a song about food: meat.)
But the best part is that I’m using English folk songs more than I ever have before. I’ve written before about how much they resonate with our shared humanity, but they’ve not always received a warm welcome from middle school boys. Now, they’re very much engaged in the story and emotion of every song we sing. They’re happy to try. They’re willing to take part in experimenting with new songs (see above regarding “Roast Beef”). And they’re enjoying new things they wouldn’t have done before because they have the room to make mistakes and enjoy one another.
I’ve said it before, but I now believe it more than ever: you can teach a new dog old tricks!
