Just a quick note. I decided to change the Reception/KS1 Recorder classes to Musicianship lessons. We had our first 'bridging' session on Monday and the class LOVED it, they learned so much in one lesson, more than they could have done in Recorder. I sent them home with a letter explaining that after Christmas I would make this move permanent and gave them the reasons for this.

HOWEVER.... I've had an email from the Music Co Ordinator today saying that some parents aren't happy with this, as they specifically signed up for Recorder lessons. This seems absolutely non-sensical, as some of these kids have never touched an instrument before and don't even understand the basic concepts of pulse, rhythm, melody... so they can't grasp the Recorder as quickly as older kids can. Musicianship lessons would be perfect as the kids could learn about lots of different instruments whilst still learning the rudiments of music. I even said that if they still want their children to play the recorder they can apply for the advanced recorder club I have, but their child must be able to read music or they won't get anywhere and find it really difficult. But they still aren't happy. So why are they against it?

I said I'd have a meeting with the parents who have concerns after my class has finished next Monday, but should I really have to do that? I wrote a clear letter explaining the benefits, and I think most of these parents seem to expect their children to come home at Christmas time and play 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' fluently without thinking it's too hard (there is a virtuoso section after all - 'have you any wool!!!'). What do I do abuot this? People have said I should chuck it in but I can't do that to the kids!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

That seems to me to be an EXCELLENT idea. I expect that you will have lots of new pupils signing up for your musicianship class very soon, when word gets around. Stick to your guns. Get the school to buy lots of equipment for you too. Puppets are great for doing music and movement when you want to keep a group in order rather than let them dance around too much. percussion instruments are very useful too and although you could make some of these yourself it would be better to have some colourful tambourines and things for them to use. I got lots from the toy dept of Tesco for around a pound each and the kids love them. So many children do not have the chance to listen to classical music these days. There seems to be a constant diet or Radio One in so many homes. I think that you should do very well. Best of luck for thinking of a solution.

I'm only a parent so I'm going to suggest what the parents might think. The children were offered Recorder lessons and now it's changing to something different. They probably don't understand why that is, if they are not musical themselves they will see it as a negative step.

The important thing is to reassure them that this is the right move for the children at this time (I've read your other posts and I'm sure that's the case). Can you stress that they are working towards Recorder lessons? Might also be good to emphasise what they are learning how that it will help them learn Recorder quicker when the time is right. Could the children give a short demonstration of what they will be doing, even if it's not perfect, once they understand what's happening it will be easier.

Don't forget the parents may have the mis-conception that Recorder isn't a real instrument and it's therefore easy.

At the end of the day the parents probably only want their children to be happy and make progress. It's just a matter of convincing them that this is the right way forward. Communication is the key.

Good luck!

Ah, the voice of a sensible parent! That makes very good sense.

I agree. Good luck with it. They're lucky to have the chance for their children to learn about basic understanding of music - you should stress to them the importance of this and how it will help their children with any instrument in the future. Keep us in touch with how it goes at the meeting. Don't be worried about it - you're the expert!

Is it possible for the parents to come and watch a lesson (perhaps just a few at a time to minimise disruption)? When they see how much the kids are enjoying it, they may feel differently. Non musical parents may have no idea what you are talking about, despite your carefully worded letter...

Would there be any chance of involving one or two of the parents in the classes? I.E ones who would back you up rather than try to take over or be a hindrance?

Thanks everyone for your positivity! I have tried to get in touch with the Music CoOrdinator and I suggested that the parents can come and sit in next week, or I can have a short meeting with the concerned parents after the class has finished, but no word yet.

notmusimum: thank you for giving me your opinion. I want what is best for these kids, and the way it is now certainly isn't doing them any favours. There will be so much more positive opportunity for these younger ones if they have musicianship lessons, and stressing that to the parents is going to be hard, but I firmly believe I'm doing the right thing for them. It's great to have a parent's viewpoint, thanks!

Like the other posters I think you have come up with an excellent solution to your problems but I have to say that as a parent I agree with notmusimum; being offered one thing for your child and then being told it is something else is disconcerting so do be prepared to stress that this is the first step towards learning the recorder and remind them that for the competent recorder players another class exists which any competent players are welcome to audition for (perhaps also add that you see this as the logical next step for all those who will have followed your musicianship classes).

Putting my teacher's hat back on I would also like to say that the parents who complain the loudest very rarely express the opinion of the majority, so don't be afraid to stand up to them. (I have lost count of the times I have had parents say to me after a meeting, "I think you are right and I disagree with what Mrs X was saying but I didn't want to criticise her in front of everyone else."). You should also be aware that parents are very quick to write letters of complaint but never write letters to say they are satisifed. The music co-ordinator may well have had several letters of complaint but the other 15(?) parents may think it is a briliant idea, they just haven't bothered to say so. At the end of the day if you lose a couple of children it doesn't really matter. As others have said, if the majority of the children are enjoying themselves, word will get round, new ones will want to join and you may even get those who left asking to come back again.

Could you subtitle the lessons 'Pre-recorder Music Lessons' rather than Musicianship, which is an advanced concept for most parents?

Good luck, DLTBGYD,
SS

Yes - I'd wondered something like this - it's all in a name !

At the end of the day if you lose a couple of children it doesn't really matter

I think that's right - you might end up with a more manageable group !

What you're doing sounds great - hang in there !

wow! go straight in for the debate, I mean, speech

It gives you a chance to explain to them and answer all questions and not get "mummy sais....".

You can make them look like idiots if you explain everything really well and then say, "so, what did you want to ask?"

Ok, this shouldnt be funny, but I would go for the meeting, it would be useful to everyone, even you!

If they specifically signed up for recorder lessons does that mean that the parents have already purchased recorders or were the instruments provided by the school? If the parents have actually bought intruments I can see why they may be annoyed at the change of direction and is an issue that will need to be addressed.

I do think the change I direction seems like a good idea.

A further thought about a meeting with all the parents. A group of parents can be almost as unpredictable as a group of children (personally I would much rather have a class of children than a group of parents to deal with). As I said in my earlier post, if you are not careful, you can have one or two parents who monopolise the meeting and if the ones who do so are very critical they may sway a few people who didn't really have an opinion. If you have agreed to meet them it is too late to back out now and cancel. However, depending on how you feel about dealing with a group of adults (or the atmosphere at the start of the meeting) you might want to decide just to present your decision to them, explaining your reasons and then, rather than allow questions (which might degenerate), say that you don't want to hold everyone up and if any parents still have concerns about their child then they you will be happy to fix a time to meet them individually to discuss their individual concerns.

yeah it sounds to me like the parents just don't really understand why they're not getting what they signed up for - even though your efforts have been noble.
I think the musicianship classes are a brilliant idea, especially with the additional class for the more advanced ones. I wish we'd had that in primary school - I hated someone asking EVERY recorder lesson "what's a beat? what's a bar? what's a note?" grrrr *grumbles* it's a fantastic idea to sort them out with all that before moving on to actually learning the instrument.

I think the meeting is a really good idea - sorting it out face-to-face is so much better than having a piggy in the middle type relay of letters going on.

Let us know how you get on

Oh gosh, how true that is! We have this problem at the moment. We call her the 'Fox Terrier' because she's always yapping and her voice is very grating!


I agree with kerioboe etc that the parents MUST be respected and kept fully informed.



Yep, been there, got the teashirt etc. As usual of course, the majority will be too scared to open their mouths!

But...



Sorry, but I find this very arrogant and no better than the 'parents who yap'!
Just because your painter is qualified doesn't give him the right to paint your living room red if you've asked for blue! And please don't get me started on 'professional judgement'! We had enough of this in the 70s when children were routinely thrashed at school due to 'professional judgement!' In fact I think that this expression is used by only by those clutching at straws!!

I think that aspiringmusicteacher is taking the correct and sensible action of inviting the parents to observe and discuss any reservations. To be honest, I think she should combine both recorder playing and musicianship. Keep everyone happy.

Steve

The thing is Parents are just looking out for their children and won't understand why learning Recorder at such a young aage, in a large group, is not a wonderful thing. They will get defensive and possibly feel the children are in some way being given up on/branded failures. I would have probably felt the same if it had happened to my girls at that age. I now know that it's the right thing in the circumstances and there are more ways to progress musically for someone so young.

The good thing here is that the parents have complained. It means they are keen for their off spring to learn Recorder which will be good for the future. No doubt that this is the right decision for everyone at this point in time.

Just tell them that this is vital for progressing towards recorder. It may well be that they have not had good experiences with previous music teachers if they have older children or even with this group. Talking to them will let them see you are different and have the children's best interests at heart.

I think the musicianship class sounds like a lovely idea!

It seems you have really gone out of your way for this class despite all the problems you've had.

As others have said, it's just a matter of letting the parents see that, and explaining all the benefits the children will get. They are getting an excellent grounding for future instrumental lessons, and you could also say that you envisage they will then progress to actual recorder playing when they are more secure with the basics.

Hope it goes well!

Would the same people question why maths teachers spend ages on arithmetic instead of trigonometery, calculus; why English teachers teach spelling as well as Shakespear, why football coaches spend time on basic skills instead of 'playing football'? You do wonder.

Stick to your guns AMT. YOU are in charge. Not the parents, or the kids, or anyone else.

In fact these people do - I know this from having taught in a secondary school for years. The school used to organise parents meetings for each class. Each subject teacher in turn would present their subject (aims for the year, work expected from the children both in class and at home etc.) and the parents were just supposed to listen and take notes; the opportunity to discuss their own child's progress individually with the various teachers took place on a different day a few weeks later. Invariably a few parents would start trying to criticise every teacher and two of the things which came up every year and in every class were the time "wasted" on spelling and on arithmetic.

Of course I don't mean that they are right to do so, just that Aspiring Music Teacher needs to know what she is up against. I know I felt very ill at ease after the first of these meetings when I just wasn't prepared for the criticisms and had no idea how to fend them off (especially as my "kind" colleagues had let me go first so I had no idea what was coming).

A parents' meeting is a good idea and I'm sure that you will handle it well.

Just as a matter of interest, how many children in this age group have fingers large enough to reach all the holes on the recorder, and to cover the holes?

If you are teaching individual instrumental lessons to a reception or Y1 child, you tend to layer the information, so that is all you are suggesting that you do, building up to the exciting moment when you begin to play with an idea of rhythm etc behind you. So this is a perfectly valid suggestion and as someone has already said will benefit the children later on with other instruments.

I think I would be quite clear on the kind of progression you have in mind - eg so long on musicianship covering x, y and z, moving on to pre-recorder sessions covering melody, looking at the written music, and finally recorder or something like that. You could leave the timescale a little hazy depending how you progressed (and maybe taking into account any missed sessions due to other things). Write it on a board in the room, but don't give out hard copy so they can refer to it later. Allow yourself leeway.

Yes, up to a point - but "he who pays the piper calls the tune". Are the parents paying for these lessons or are they provided free by the school? As a parent, if I had paid for recorder lessons, that is exactly what I would expect.

I do agree that this group is both too large and too young for you to teach recorder effectively, and that musicianship classes (by whatever name) are a better bet. Therefore, it might have been best to say exactly this to the parents, whilst giving them a get-out clause, i.e. saying that because what was now on offer had changed, they were welcome to withdraw their children if they liked. If you'd approached it in this way I'm sure most would have gone along with it, and anyone who felt strongly enough about it to leave could have arranged for lessons elsewhere.

We had a situation similar to this at our music centre about 12 years ago, when the brass teacher decided to spend a term doing rhythm exercises and so on with the beginners (aged 9 or 10). Parents were so incensed that many took the children away and enrolled them in local bands, because they felt that there they would learn to play instruments!

Good luck on Monday whatever you decide!