Carrots and Sticks: Motivating the Elementary Choir
Elementary choir rehearsals can be some of the most rewarding rehearsals of a music teacher’s day. This is true because elementary students are some of the most transparent of the age groups. They can be unashamedly enthusiastic. I can’t tell you how many times my day has been made better after one of my elementary rehearsals. However, even with their enthusiasm, one of the biggest issues I have found is that of motivation. Some days, the choir is just more interested in chatting with each other than they are in singing. Motivation can be especially hard when you have a lot of them.
This year, my elementary chorus (5th and 6th grade) is 50+ students. And it has been very difficult to keep them focused and to accomplish tasks. I only get them one day a week for 30 minutes, and there never seems to be enough time to get everything accomplished.
I did learn a neat trick, however. This trick has made all my elementary choirs do better. I started to use. . .wait for it. . .candy. I know this is just astounding to all of you out there. I never said I was trying to reinvent the wheel:).
I created a system whereby they are rewarded, not as individuals, but as a choir. This is important, for choirs are corporate, not individual. Everything is connected. One misbehaving student may ruin the experience and musical growth of another.
The system is as follows: If my students, as a choir, earn less than 6 tallies in two weeks, they all get candy. They receive tallies for talking, not paying attention, and not trying. One student may earn a tally for the whole choir. The reason for this is simple. Choirs are only as strong as their weakest musician. A weak musician may not always be the least talented. I would rather have a less-talented, highly-motivated student than a highly-talented, less-motivated one. It is the choir director’s job to make sure the students are all giving as close to 100% as possible.
This system creates a culture that is rewarded for focused, intentional behavior. The penalties are generated by the students, and peer pressure is positive. Even with this system in place, however, sometimes there comes a need for more individual punishment. That punishment should be very clear and direct, and will be the standard punishments used at your school. In my case, the punishment is the student being issued a “demerit.” If that student earns a significant amount of demerits in my classes and rehearsals, I send them down to the principal’s office. My elementary principal definitely has the ability to reach students’ hearts. I also contact parents when the need arises.
I hope these methods will help you in your own classes. They have been of immense help to me. I would also say that I have still not found the perfect balance of rewards and punishment. I am still learning when it comes to discipline. The ideas are not original, but they are effective. If you have trouble in your music classroom/rehearsal, I recommend that you try these and see if they work for you.
