What is considered “great education” and how can we, in the marching arts community, actually achieve it? 

Can you think about a time when your students had a rough rehearsal or even a month of low energy and no motivation? Have you ever had the BEST planned rehearsal…and nothing went right? Have you ever found yourself becoming frustrated with your students because of how they were rehearsing or not meeting your expectations? 

Okay now hear me out. What if I told you it may not entirely be the student’s fault? What if I told you that there are times when a student didn’t succeed because you did not set them up to do so? What if I told you that with a few changes and a hefty time commitment, you can recharge your student’s mindsets, educate them on the highest levels, and take your team from here to here ?

Over the past ten years, I have worked with a variety of ages, groups, demographics, skill levels, and classes. I have observed how massively successful programs set up their seasons. I have seen new programs fight and dig their way to the middle of the pack in their first year all because of their determination and mindset and NOTHING to do with skill. I have experienced brand new directors miss large opportunities because they were too prideful to reflect on how their actions were affecting their students (heck – I WAS that director at one point!!) As educators, it is our responsibility to make these changes for our students. Now. Are YOU ready to make these same reflections and adjustments for the betterment of your students? 

This blog will include personal observations of educating in the marching arts profession, actionable steps you can apply THIS SEASON to transform your teaching to benefit your students and your season, and ways to brainstorm/reflect on what will work best for your group and your teaching style,

Observation #2: We do not put the mental and emotional wellbeing at the forefront of our values. This diminishes the culture of any program. 

From what I have witnessed in this activity, I am afraid this will not be an accepted observation but someone needs to say it. We see burnout every day in our activity. I have personally been asked to forgo funerals, weddings, and important life events to not miss a single day of rehearsal. I have seen members shamed for not coming to rehearsal when they are sick and have to be taken to the ER because they weren’t taking care of themselves. Rehearsal, attendance, and drive is extremely important…but at what cost? People work hard for people they trust, respect, and make them better people. If threats and endangering members is your take on that, I am afraid that is not a true educator If your mindset at the beginning of every season is to be better performers and skills, that needs to include the culture you are building and the actual humans you are training. 

This year, more than ever, our student’s emotional health should be at the forefront of our education. I am not talking about “checking in” or asking them how they are doing once a week. I am talking about TRUE teaching. Many of your students do not know how to “leave their worries at the door” even though you say that to them every practice. Many students do not know how to catch up after missing a few rehearsals after being quarantined. And most of all, students do not know how to handle disagreements appropriately and effectively so they bring their teenage shenanigans to your rehearsals even though you have told them many times not to. Grown adults don’t even know how to do that…we can’t expect our students to do that without support. The least we can do is provide some strategies. 

Action Steps with Implemented Examples: 

• Take an entire rehearsal (yes, three whole hours) and discuss your expectations. When I say discuss, I mean members are just as much a part of the conversation as the staff. It does not matter if it is the same group you had last season. Start off with your expectations so they are clear. Talk through, in a collaborative way, what happens if someone misses a rehearsal – is it fair to the person next to you to miss for a hair appointment? How does that affect the group? Could you do that in the real world? What about funerals? How can they make up their work after they miss? Talk through the work ethic and expectations you want from them and get input from your members on HOW that is going to look. If these things are DISCUSSED with reason, they will not need to be LECTURED at them later. 
• Have each member create their own binder. Their binder can be full of gratitude they have toward members, goals they set for themselves, goals they have for the team. This puts the focus on growth and positivity. (be looking for a premade season binder on our website soon!)
• Review (often) how you would like to address conflict in your ensemble. When there is a conflict, meet it with direct and calm conversation between both parties. Get out how both parties are feeling, find a solution, and check-in later. If there is no adult to help them find a solution, that may result in a very negative experience. These things will happen in groups of young people. How you approach and address it (as a learning opportunity ALWAYS), will support your members future conflict skills. 
• Put together a Google form or survey of some sort. Gather information such as the members learning styles and their needs to feel safe and supported. Sometimes, we assume that students can take harsh comments when they cannot. Sometimes, we assume students who have it all together stress about their work more than they will admit to you in person. Be open to looking at other ways to communicate with others – this takes time and practice. 

How can you apply this to your own teaching style? 

• Do you have experience with mental health? If not, reach out to someone you know who does struggle. Get their understanding of their limits. Ask questions about specific situations to see if your reactions have been appropriate in past situations. 
• If you are in the middle of your season or do not want to take that large chunk of time, HOW are you going to effectively communicate the millions of details that go into each season? 

Observation #3: We are not providing our students enough “how” behind the non-skill related expectations we set. 

Explanation: 

You are a director or staff member because you have great skills in your field and that is lovely. Truly! Good for you. But that is NOT the only thing you should be teaching your students. Your students need TAUGHT how to be good leaders, members, and humans…not just told to be one.

Example: Every educator has found themselves saying, “Okay – I need you to work on this on your own.” This is a go-to saying when we are working with other struggling students or taking care of logistics. While juggling with technology with our now hybrid in-person and at home rehearsals (thank you quarantine!) I have found myself saying that more often than I would like to admit. 

So that has led me to the questions….how can I teach my students how to use their free time effectively? Do my students really know how to take advantage of that time? What do I need to provide to them to give them the best chance at success? 

Your students will not come to you magically understanding how to practice effectively. These are often overlooked skills that make or break a season or programs success. 

Action Steps with Implemented Examples: 

• Make a list of tips and tricks of what you would like to see looking around the gym during a “work on your own” time. Practice these a few times and give comments to individual students about HOW they could be using their time more effectively. 
  • “Hey man, I love that you corrected your pitch on that toss once! Did you know it takes over 100 times of repetition to build that into your brain? Why don’t you make it a competition with yourself. See how many you can do in a row with that perfect pitch. If you move your feet, make sure you start your count over!” walk away and watch to see if this student is doing this. These small prompts can make a huge difference in how students build their habits. (consider the contrasting, “KEVIN, WHY AREN’T YOU PRACTICING?! I TOLD YOU TO DO THE TOSS.”…..that isn’t actionable feedback that he can apply. That is frustration that will cause him more anxiety and less confidence. 
• Have your students come up with questions they have about your expectations of them – talk as a group about what your expectations are and HOW they can manage them. If you do not know they have questions about something, how can you educate them? Be willing to listen to their questions so you can address them. 
• How many questions are you asking at your rehearsals? HAVE A STAFF MEMBER KEEP TRACK ONE DAY! Are you always telling and lecturing? Or are you asking questions that students can use critical thinking skills to answer? This will help build student’s independent knowledge later down the line and will set the expectation of higher level thinking without telling them to do so. 
  • BONUS ADVICE:
  • How do Professional Football teams and coaches get better? They review tapes. Record yourself teaching a set of 16-24 counts to a group of students. After rehearsal, find THREE specific places you could have made a better description or connection for a student. Even on our best teaching days, we can find ways to better ourselves. Do this as often as possible to identify what patterns you have of leaving information out that could potentially save you time and energy down the road!

How can you apply this to your own teaching style? 

• Have you seen the “exact instructions” videos? If not: click here!
  • Have you and your staff try this exercise with a simple skill. This could be a fun way to find out what descriptions you always refer to and how to communicate with people who think differently than you!
• What is ONE skill you can identify that your group needs as a whole? Write down three different ways it could be appropriately handled to have examples. From there, you could give students a fake situation related to your program and have them brainstorm solutions (guiding them to the ones you also think work best for them and you.)

And last but not least: 

Observation #4: Our first instinct when something goes wrong is to blame, shame, and provide consequences. This is the WRONG approach and not rooted in any educational merit. 

As an educator of any kind, it is your responsibility to try your brain to use mistakes as teachable moments. There is a time and place for consequences. When the “consequence” doesn’t fit the mistake, THAT is when it turns from true education to wreckless leadership. If someone drops a toss, what will help them not make that mistake again: running 3 laps around the gym or tossing the toss 10 times in a row? If a student forgets to bring their dotbook to rehearsal, do you have them do a physical punishment, or do you give them charts and have them write down their drill again so they are understanding the drill a little more? These small problems are often overlooked teachable skills that make or break a season or program’s success. Are you caring about the intention behind the action? Are you aware of what is going on in that student’s personal life? And like previous observations have stated, have you made sure that YOU personally have provided enough information to the student to support them? 

It’s funny – I personally see this in life all of the time. When we are driving and make an honest mistake, we want to assure people that it was a mistake and not a character flaw…but when someone makes the EXACT same error in front of you driving, you immediately contribute it to a character flaw instead of a bad day. This effect is actually studied in social psychology and called Fundamental Attribution Error – take a second and reflect…is that something you do? How could that affect you students? Does that help or hurt their education?

I read once that education is supposed to be, at its highest level, an enlightening experience. If we are yelling, punishing, and blaming…making students feel shame for a mistake, what kind of enlightening experience would that give to them? I will answer that one for you. An extremely negative, shameful, traumatic one. Scaring is not education. If this has happened to you before, I truly apologize. Now let’s stop the cycle, do the work, and be better to help raise the next generation of successful educators. 

Action Steps with Implemented Examples: 

• The first question you need to ask yourself when there is a mistake: what is the solution that helps the students the most? If that is not your first question in your brain, train your brain by writing that on a post-it somewhere you look every single day. Having this first instinct will lower your direct blame and keep your emotions calm in high stress situations. 
• PRACTICE. WHAT. YOU. PREACH. If you expect students not to be late to rehearsal, you should not be late to rehearsal. If you expect students to practice outside of rehearsal, you need to put in work outside of rehearsal. If you expect students to admit to their mistakes and be vulnerable….YOU NEED TO ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES AND BE VULNERABLE….and then correct them appropriately. 
• Stress recovery and acceptance to your students. Mistakes will happen. If mistakes happen over and over, those are choice. Stop the mistakes with education before it escalates. Allow students to not feel shame after mistakes by talking to them and reassuring them they are a valued part of the group and you are counting on them to keep their part of your group’s expectations. 

How can you apply this to your own teaching style? 

• Ask yourself these questions to evaluate yourself on a recent mistake or situation that has occurred: 
  • Did my response
  • Did my solution improve the rehearsal? 
  • Did my solution and reaction 
  • How could I respond differently the next time to increase my core values showing at a rehearsal?

In closing:

The path to success is different for every group…but great education is great education. What are the values you have as a leader of your program? Establish those values and align your actions at rehearsals. Reflect to make smarter and wiser decisions when similar situations arise later. Be vulnerable, be good humans, and always put your students first.