menc: the national association for music education on ginott.pdf · beat the drum lightly:...

MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Beat the Drum Lightly: Reflections on GinottAuthor(s): Edith RoebuckSource: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 88, No. 5 (Mar., 2002), pp. 40-44+53Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for Music EducationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3399824 .

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BEAT THE DRUM LIGHTLY: REFLECTIONS ON GINOTT

Following the advice ofpsychologist Haim Ginott can help teachers create a positive learning environment, even when faced with problem behaviors.

S S S S

his is a tale of a brief conversation between a music teacher and fifteen four-year-olds in a prekindergarten class. It is an example of positive communi-

cation in response to problem behavior. To put the conversation in context, the story begins with a description of the teacher's unit of study, which had content and style of presentation appropriate for an early childhood classroom. When the conversation that took place in the final lesson was ended, the teacher knew that she and the children had experienced a significant moment, one which impacted the days that fol- lowed.

The music teacher was guided by principles of positive communication as set forth by Haim Ginott, a teacher, psychologist, and authority on child- rearing. His untimely death at age fifty- one was just one year after his last book, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers, was published. His principles are as pertinent today as they were when his book was first published in 1972.

Edith Roebuck is former lead teacher in K-12 music and director of music in early childhood for the Boston University/Chelsea School Part- nership in Chelsea, Massachusetts. She now resides in California.

Children can learn to play percussion instruments and to match their loudness/softness to each other.

The Unit of Study When the conversation occurred,

the students were learning about percussion instruments. The instruments included drum, maracas, rhythm sticks, tambourine, and triangle. Over a peri- od of time, a sequence of activities unfolded:

1. Children took turns playing one pair of rhythm sticks.

2. Children played together on a classroom set of chopsticks.

3. Children took turns playing each percussion instrument individually.

4. Children alternated playing and listening to groupings of different instruments.

5. Children chose one from all the instruments; then they alternated playing together and marching.

On a number of different days, the children had taken turns with an instrument, repeating and playing its name and discussing how the instru-

MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL 40



ment produced its sound (i.e., do we shake it or tap it?).1 There were games in which the children identified the instruments by sight or sound or touch. The instrument was used to add a beat or rhythm pattern to previously learned songs.

The introduction of each instrument was a controlled, structured activity in which the children had to be patient about taking turns and relinquishing their turn. A classroom set of chopsticks was used to give all the children a playing experience.2 The children enjoyed the practice game of placing the sticks on the rug in front of them, picking them up when signaled, tapping randomly in a slow or fast tempo, and putting them down. They performed the three-tap pattern of "When You're One, One, One" (figure 1). To conclude this lesson, the children tapped the beat to a recording of "Alley Cat," alternately tapping shoulders, knees, legs, and floor for each phrase.3

As the school year proceeded, some of the children discovered that they could make alphabet letters with their chopsticks (T-I-Y). Everyone was eager for that game. The guideline was to finish using the chopsticks as musical instruments before using them to create letters. By the end of the school year, the children discovered that if they partnered with the child next to them, they could produce many more letters (M-N-W). The children themselves had added a literacy bonus to the music activities.

After this, the children were grouped with different sets of instruments and called on alternately to "Make a Pretty Sound."4 This gave the children the responsibility of playing only according to the signal of the teacher and the words of the recording.

With these activities behind them, the teacher felt that the time had come to give the children the opportunity to choose their own instruments and play freely all together. It was during this activity that the significant conversation took place.

The Conversation The word "conversation" is used

deliberately to suggest the desire to cre-

Figure 1. "When You're One, One, One"

When 3 one, one, one, play on your drum, drm, drum. When you're

4 j j- j 7 j jo j J J When you're one, one, one, play on your drum, drum, drum. When you're

two, three, four, five,

two three, four, five,

two, three, four, five,

play on your shoe, play on your knee, play on the floor, do a little jive,

j1 j 3 l

shoe, knee, floor,

J.

shoe. knee. floor. jive.

When you're When you're When you're When you're

six, six, six, put down your sticks!

ate an atmosphere for an exchange of ideas and opinions rather than the teacher telling the children what to do.

The AB form of the folk song "Angel Band"5 was reinforced by having two different actions-marching and then playing. The activity began when the teacher placed a class set of different instruments in the center of the rug. Each child, in turn, got up and chose an instrument. Students were reminded to place their instruments in front of them until it was time to begin. ("How many of you think you can leave your instrument on the rug until we're ready? Good! That's a hard thing to do.") They were also directed to hold, but not play, their instruments during the march. As they counted off, each student was assigned a number. When a student's number was sung, he or she was tapped lightly on the shoul- der, the signal to move into the march. Numbers were added as needed, so that the whole class was included in the activity. The children marched around the room during the first section. Dur- ing the second section of the song, the children stood in place as they played their instruments.

The assorted percussion instruments were tapped and shaken, but Jason, who had chosen the drum, was beating it with excessive energy. The teacher said nothing. She sang the song twice again. Each time the children moved and played with greater

agility, and each time Jason beat the drum with excessive energy. Still the teacher said nothing.

Waving her hand to indicate direction while continuing to sing the "Angel Band" melody, the teacher improvised words to end the activity:

Let's go back, let's go back, let's go back to the rug now.

Going back, going back, going back to the rug now.

Here we are, here we are, here we are on the rug now.

Listen, I'm going to need your help.

When the children were settled with their instruments on the rug, the teacher said:

I liked the way you performed "Angel Band." You marched around to the beat of the music in the number part of the song, and you stood and played your instruments in the different part. But there was a problem. The drum can make a very loud sound, and then it is hard to hear the other instruments. That is the problem. What can we do to hear all the instruments? Jason, do you think we should put the drum away the next time we play "Angel Band"? Do you think we could make the drum sound soft enough to hear the other instruments?

MARCH 2002 41

J J iJ J JJ J i i J-70



The seriousness of the moment was palpable. There was no movement on the rug. Jason, after some seconds, in a very small voice said, "We should keep the drum. We should try to make the drum soft." The teacher, who understood that four-year-olds would developmentally be more imi- tative than analytical, did not antici- pate a broad variety of responses from the other children. Nonetheless, after the drummer himself had responded, her eyes scanned all the other children as she said, "What do you think we should do?" Each child was given the opportunity to voice an opinion and, indeed, the consensus was to keep the drum.

The teacher remarked that it is hard to play softly, but that the class could practice. A few minutes remained of the thirty-minute music lesson. "Let's play 'Angel Band' once more before I leave," the teacher said. "We'll stay right here on the rug." The teacher and children picked up their instruments. During the A section, they moved around some on the rug. When the B section began, and with a nod from the teacher, all played their instruments. Jason's pro- found effort to tap his drum lightly was such that the other percussion blotted out his sound! He was delighted when the teacher praised him for his success.

Principles of Positive Communication

Haim Ginott was an elementary school teacher who felt he was not suf- ficiently prepared to deal with "live" children in the classroom. He became a psychologist, and his life's work was as a child psychotherapist. In the preface of Teacher and Child, Ginott stated:

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task. Schools, however, cannot survive on mir- acles. Every teacher deserves effective tools and skills. The question is: Can psychology provide them? Can therapeutic con- cepts be translated into specific educational practices? This book says, "Yes."6

The preceding description of a child's behavior and a teacher's response illustrates the concept of at versus with. The teacher ignored inap- propriate behavior at the moment it occurred and did not give an instant negative character evaluation directed at the child. This delayed response allowed the teacher to engage in problem-solving with the children. The children were invited to alter a prob- lematic behavior and to think and express opinions. This approach allowed the teacher to begin to develop a positive relationship with a chal- lenging student.

Telling a child that he or she is bad does not help that child to

"be good."

The objective of the lesson was a musical one-learning about instruments and being a musician.7 How- ever, related to every content-driven objective is the overarching objective of supporting the developing child. Ginott said in Teacher and Child, "Where do we start if we are to improve life in the classroom? What counts most in adult-child communication is the quality of the process. Talk to the situation, not to the personality and character, is the cardinal principle of communication."8

Ginott was a teacher of teachers. Teachers both contributed to his understanding and benefitted from his wisdom. They also took home with them and into the classroom such wise sayings as, "The beginning of wisdom

is silence, and then comes listening. Authority calls for brevity. Learn to talk less and listen more. When things go wrong, it's not a good time to teach lessons (e.g., when someone is drown- ing, it's not a good time to teach him or her how to swim). Don't blame, look for solutions."9 See the sidebar for more of Ginott's thoughts.

Who is served when we label a child "bad"? Telling a child that he or she is bad does not help that child to "be good." While the problem behavior may be momentarily halted, the process of eliminating troublesome behavior has not been supported. Because the teacher in the above sce- nario presented the situation, not the child, as the problem, the door was opened for further exploration, discus- sion, and performance of the percussion instruments' dynamic capabili- ties-how to play, where to tap, and when to use different dynamic levels. Indeed, these four-year-olds were on the first rung of evaluating music and music performances.10

Changing Negative Communication

In the spring of 1993, I was asked to observe and provide professional development to music teachers who taught in preK, kindergarten, and first-grade classrooms. At that time, the teachers traveled from one classroom to another. The teachers ranged from an inexperienced first-year teacher to a teacher with many years in the school. As an observer, I focused on:

* whether the music objective was apparent and appropriate for the age group

* whether the lesson was teacher- or student-driven, passive or interactive

* whether any assessment was inter- woven in the lesson

* what the teacher's communication style was.

I recorded twenty-one teacher quotes during the classroom presenta- tions. Among them, only the following two comments might be catego- rized as supportive:

* "That was pretty good. " While this

is not a negative statement, ending an activity with this statement suggests a missed opportunity for musical




growth. Why not say, "That was pretty good. Your voices changed from loud to soft nicely. Which part should we practice to make it sound even better?" Music vocabulary might be introduced here by using the words forte and piano.

* "It takes a lot of practice. " The children were snapping fingers to the beat. Many had difficulty. The teacher did not provide a practice opportunity at that moment, but this was the only comment recorded that addressed the situation and not the behavior.

Here is a sampling of some of the other comments, which might be viewed as attacks on the child's character:

? "Are we having a problem?" * "Why are you talking?" ? "I wish you would sing and not

get in the way." * "Do you need to be reminded of

how to act in class?" "I didn't ask for your comments." "I'm very disappointed in you.

Alternative words that a teacher could use that would evoke a child's feeling of being supported would include:

* "Can I be of help?" ? "I'm interested in your com-

ments. When I finish, it will be your turn."

* "The activity now is singing. Let's review what we are doing to be sure everyone understands."

"I see that you would like to say something."

"I think this activity may be con- fusing."

"I feel angry when your singing is interrupted."

When the climate in the classroom is one of positive communication, stated in "I" rather than "you" terms, the student can be guided through the process of musical growth and com- prehension. Ginott said that labeling is disabling and that positive correc- tion is direction that describes process without judging product or persons.

A comparison of the previously described prekindergarten conversation with the comments of these observed teachers reveals that the preK teacher addressed the situation, while the observed teachers' comments sounded like judgments of the chil-

Some Thoughts from Haim Ginott

"What counts most in adult-child communication is the quality of the process. Talk to the situation, not to the personality and character, is the cardinal principle of communication."

"Teachers often ask psychologists how to motivate children to learn. The answer is 'make it safe for them to risk failure.' ... To welcome mistakes is to encourage learning."

"The beginning of wisdom is silence, and then comes listening. Authority calls for brevity. Learn to talk less and listen more."

"In every classroom encounter, a teacher asks himself, 'How can I be helpful right now?' This approach avoids finding fault, establishing guilt, and meting out punishment."

"I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate.

"The teacher can ask, 'What do you suggest?' Thus rather than sup- plying a ready-made answer, the teacher involves the child in finding an answer.

"I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal."

"Teachers at their best display a common orientation: They do not believe in the power of pontification. They neither preach nor mor- alize. They give no guilt and demand no promises. ... They deal with the present."

dren themselves. Ginott speaks of learning a new language of communication and unlearning the language of rejection, which includes blaming and shaming, ridiculing and belittling, and threatening and bribing.

Ginott states that learning a new language of acceptance creates an atmosphere of trust and goodwill in which learning can thrive. He speaks of innovations and money meant to upgrade education that do not succeed because "what children need and what only teachers can provide is quality of instruction and equality of dignity."11 Ideas to enhance the quality of life in the classroom include, among others, helping children ask the questions, teaching listening skills, and suspending judgment.

As music educators, we highly value what we do and why we do it,

m Ginott's Teacher and Child, 1972

yet we can find ourselves in situations where we feel undervalued. We might be traveling teachers or teach in schools that underrate the value of the arts. We find ourselves outside the core teams; we deal with difficult students. Within our schools and professional organizations, we work continu- ously to improve conditions for and attitudes toward the arts. Despite these difficulties, each teacher can say, "Much of what needs fixing is not within my personal control. What is in my control is the climate in my classroom."

Ginott presents his own thoughts from the time when he was a young teacher:

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates

MARCH 2002 43



the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. My response decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized.12

We are in the midst of enormous educational reform. We are incorporat- ing national standards, new assessment tools, and critical-thinking techniques into our teaching. As we train teachers, we must help them develop and practice a communication style that speaks to children with patience, respect, expectation, and challenge.

Conclusion The brief conversation described

could be viewed as an example of the Arts PROPEL approach explained by Bruce Torff and Howard Gardner in their essay honoring Bennett Reimer. The Arts PROPEL approach empha- sizes production and reflective thinking. Torff and Gardner "view reflection as encompassing not only the verbal behavior often connoted by the term, but including as well reflection that takes place outside the verbal realm."13 When individuals critique and revise their own work as they are working, their reflection operates directly on the materials of music.14

The preK teacher in the conversation was myself. From my first encounter thirty years ago with a classroom of four-year-olds at the Cleve- land Music School Settlement in Ohio, we were a match. With many successful interactions thereafter, I began to write the following comments on the edge of my lesson-plan page:

* "children so responsive" * "good balance of review and new" ? "How many children really know

the song? Begin an individual performance activity with wooden micro- phone."

* "That was a bomb" "100% for this lesson"

* "The magic of instruments-even the shy ones have to take a turn."

I began to ask myself, "Why are they so responsive? What am I doing that works? What makes a successful

lesson?" The questions came with greater ease than the answers. In recent years, our profession has pro- vided meaningful ways of evaluating what we do and what children should do. We have defined strategies and evaluations that guide our work: checklist, portfolio, outcome, interactive outcome, assessment, authentic assessment, and curriculum frame- works. Thus, I found words that describe a well-planned lesson:

? the chosen music is of high quality * the context is age appropriate * the teacher does not talk too

much * the time is weighted toward chil-

dren's actions: imitating, performing, describing, and creating.

Ideas to enhance the quality of life in the classroom include,

among others, helping children ask the

questions, teaching listening skills, and

suspending judgment.

But how successful is a good lesson plan when students behave inappro- priately? Real-life students do not always act according to a lesson plan, and real-life teacher training does not always prepare teachers to deal with "live" children in the classroom.

Ginott provides the missing piece in the "successful lesson" description. His cardinal principle of talking to the situation, not to the personality and character, provides the atmosphere for responsiveness and successful learning:

Translated into classroom procedures, this principle would change a teacher's basic approach to children-his expression of anger and the tenor of his com- mands, his method of criticism and style of praise, his system of evaluating and categories of grad- ing, his ways of comforting and means of reassuring, his routine of testing and manner of speak- ing.15

The Winter 2000 edition of Gener- al Music Today includes an article about real-life cassroom management concerns. In the concluding state- ments, Nan McDonald says, "It may be in the best interests of music education for teachers to assume the respon- sibilities of improving classroom envi- ronments themselves."16 How will that happen? Ginott says, "Improvement seldom occurs spontaneously. More often it is attained by deliberate effort. Every teacher can become aware of attitudes that alienate, words that insult, and acts that hurt. He can acquire competence and caution in communication, and become less abra- sive and less provocative."17 As we reframe our observations of children's behavior, we move away from viewing all activities as right or wrong and good or bad, and we begin to observe what children do and how we can help them do better.

If we return for a moment to the teacher comment, made in anger or frustration, "Do you need to be reminded of how to act in class?" and restate it as "I see that you are having a hard day. Can I help?"-have we moved from a moment of shaming to a moment of caring?

We need to rid ourselves of the language of rejection and learn from Ginott to express anger or frustration without insult and to use words that invite interest, challenge, questioning, and understanding.

Notes 1. Songs for this activity are available in

Lynn Kleiner, Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music, Too (Miami, FL: Warner Bros Publica- tions, 1998). Recording and video also avail-

continued on page 53




Beat the Drum

continuedfrom page 44

2. If the instrument inventory is insuffi- cient, packages of chopsticks can be pur- chased inexpensively in a party supply store. They are lightweight, easy to handle, and soft of sound. They work easily for a first experience with everyone playing together.

3. "Alley Cat" is available in Rhythmically Moving 3 (Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press, 1983).

4. "Play Your Instruments and Make a Pretty Sound," recorded by Ella Jenkins, is available from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

5. "Angel Band," a South Carolina folk song, is available in Music and You, grade K (New York: MacMillan, 1991), and The Music Connection, grade 1 (Parsippany, NJ: Silver Burdett Ginn, 1995).

6. Haim Ginott, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers (1972; reprint, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 15. In

turning to this expert on child-rearing and teacher-child communication, I found the words to discuss my own experience as a practitioner.

7. National Standards for Music Educa- tion, Content Standard 2: "Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music." See Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, National Standards for Arts Education (Reston, VA: MENC, 1994), 26.

8. Ginott, Teacher and Child, 84. 9. Ibid., 13. 10. National Standards for Music Educa-

tion, Content Standard 7: "Evaluating music and music performances." See National Stan- dardsforArts Education, 28.

11. Ginott, Teacher and Child, 260. 12. Ibid., 15-16. 13. Bruce Torff and Howard Gardner,

"Conceptual and Experiential Cognition in Music," Journal ofAesthetic Education 33, no. 4 (1999): 93. This is a special issue titled Musings: Essays in Honor ofBennett Reimer.

14. Ibid. 15. Ginott, Teacher and Child, 84. 16. Nan McDonald, "Constructivist Lis-

tening: Real-Life Classroom Management and Discipline Concerns," General Music Today 13, no. 2 (2000): 3-7.

17. Ginott, Teacher and Child, 63. -

Love of Music

continuedfrom page 46

* What are the dreams, hopes, and fears of music teachers?

* How do music teachers maintain their sense of calling and altruism when faced with disillusionment in music teaching?

* Why do teachers receive so little professional status in their schools and within American society?

* How do music teachers reconcile their original idealized images of "sav- ing" students from a troubled youth, negligent family, or poor environment with their actual experiences?

Are music teachers valued and are their contributions recognized in their communities?

Few music teachers, even during their professional preparation (not to mention during high school years), reflect on these questions. By capturing and sharing the range and multiplicity of experiences, feelings, and attitudes toward music teaching, we join with our students on a journey of discovery about ourselves and our sense of what it means to be a music teacher.

When we care about serious music students and want to assist them in their career decisions, we relate to them as individuals. We tell them that teaching is the drawing out, not the pump- ing in. We tell them that an optimistic spirit is a requisite to finding happiness as a music teacher and that the best music teachers know that being more than a bit theatrical is a key to success. We tell them that great music teachers offer an environment in which students can bloom. We tell them that the best music teachers can be playful and serious at the same time. Finally, we tell them one of the ultimate truths expressed by Haim Ginott: "Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task."5

Above all, we share our discovery that music teaching is far more than conducting, rehearsal techniques, and executing lesson plans. Teaching music

is cherishing and encouraging young people's talents by offering friendship, guidance, and even love. We also tell them that even good music teachers- on bad days-close doors by being occasionally unfair and short-tempered. We tell them that music teachers are valued and that their contributions are recognized in their communities-and sometimes not. Given society's percep- tion of teaching, which offers compara- tively low pay, few opportunities for professional advancement, and modest levels of perceived job prestige, one wonders why anyone would major in music education.

Selecting a Life in Music Why do students choose to dedi-

cate themselves to and strive to excel in a field like music teaching, which appears so undervalued by society? Why don't all high school music students just follow the crowd by major- ing in, say, accounting, computers, or marketing? There are many answers, of course. Fortunately, most students use their hearts, as well as their minds, to select a major. Indeed, those students realize that, in decid- ing to major in music education, they are selecting a life in music and music-making, rather than learning to tolerate what one may not find interesting. Students who follow their hearts in choosing to major in music education will most likely end up laboring at what they love. These music education majors are the ones who will find a sense of purpose and the satisfaction that underlies most human happiness.

Notes 1. Edward R. Ducharme and Mary K.

Ducharme, "Reflections on Some Current Situations," Journal of Teacher Education 50, no. 2 (March-April 1999): 83-84.

2. Ducharme and Ducharme, "Reflections on Some Current Situations," 84.

3. "Fearful of Shortages, States Set Low Teacher Standards," USA Today, 8 June 1999, sec. A, p. 24.

4. Stephanie Armour, "Fear Could Drive Teachers Away," USA Today, 4 June 1999, sec. A, p. 1.

5. Haim Ginott, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers (New York: Macmillan, 1972), 67. m

MARCH 2002 53



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