According to Howard Swan in the book Choral Conducting: A Symposium, there are six unique schools of choral singing in America. Between these six schools, and the personal preferences of choral directors, there are countless differing opinions about choral tone. Ask any two conductors and you will likely notice differences in their approaches to vibrato, […]
ChoralEd: Developing Appropriate Student-Teacher Relationships
The relationship between a student and teacher has a significant impact on a student’s success in the classroom. As choral educators, we have a distinct advantage in the development of this relationship as we work with students for multiple years. Unfortunately, at times, student-teacher relationships have been tainted by the inappropriate actions of educational professionals. […]
ChoralEd: Classroom Management, Part 2
As discussed in last month’s ChoralEd post, there are two primary sections to any classroom management plan. In part 1, we looked at preventative classroom management techniques, which addressed ways to minimize and prevent behavioral issues before they occur. While it’s every teacher’s dream to prevent all behavioral problems before they occur, we must also […]
ChoralEd: Classroom Management, Part 1
One of the major hurdles in any new teacher’s professional development is classroom management. If you are a younger teacher who lacks experience disciplining a child, let alone a room full of them, the responsibility of managing a classroom can be a daunting task. Even though it may be overwhelming at first, through planning and […]