In Their Words, Part III: Reflecting on the Concert

I have a confession to make: I didn’t let all of my students perform in the concert. When I was first contemplating doing this, I had mixed feelings. I felt like excluding kids from the concert would send the message that I was giving up on them, and it also felt like cheating.

But, I’m so happy I did this, and I’ll tell you why in just a second. First, here was my criteria for deciding whether or not they could participate:

1. If they had consistently participated in class, and had consistently demonstrated appropriate behavior, they were required to perform. Concert participation = their performance grade.
2. If they had not consistently participated in class, but had consistently demonstrated appropriate behavior, they were required to attend the performance, but were asked not to participation. Concert attendance = their performance grade
3. If they had not consistently participated in class or consistently demonstrated appropriate behavior, they were required to complete a written assignment. I told them they weren’t quite ready for this performance, but were definitely capable of  getting prepared for the next concert if they participated more and made positive changes to their behavior. Written assignment = their performance grade

Now for the reasons why I’m so happy I did this:

1. I’ll admit the first one is selfish, but it was such a relief to basically not have to worry about behavior. I knew there were be some chatting, but I did not have to worry about the students doing anything seriously inappropriate. This was especially a relief during the dress rehearsal when the only adults in the room were the accompanist and myself, and I was only working with one choir at a time on stage. There other students were in the audience, behind my back. Not a good position for a teacher to be in.
2. Setting a very high standard of performance readiness, and sticking to it, showed all of the students the importance of hard work during class-time and increased the value of the performance. The students who got to perform knew that their diligence had paid off, and the students who didn’t get to were (hopefully) shown the significance of their lack of effort.
3. Increased motivation for the next concert: When I showed the video of the concert to ALL of my students, I saw awe in the eyes of those who didn’t get to perform. They watched the video extremely closely, and wrote thoughtful responses on their “Concert Evaluation.” The majority of them said they were disappointed they didn’t get to perform, were proud of their peers, and looked forward to the next concert. I feel really confident that setting this high standard, and sticking to it, will pay off as we prepare for the final concert.

And now back to their words… 🙂

Concert Evaluation Questions

Question 1: How do you feel about not performing in the concert?

Bad because I could of been there. 8th grade boy

It was exciting to watch others in the concert. This 7th grade boy is well-behaved but never sings in class, so I asked him to attend the concert but not perform.

Question 2: How do you feel about performing in the concert? Are you happy about it?

I was kinda nervous at first. I don’t think I wanna do another performance, cause it was nerveracking. 8th grade girl

Yes it was fun and concert came out great 8th grade girl who has seriously resisted being in choir and outwardly expresses her frustration, but manages to remain positive most of the time.

Happy because not everybody got to go. 8th grade boy

Question 3: Do you look forward to our next concert? Why or why not?

Yes. I’ll try. Same 8th grade boy from the first question. This boy has sung probably two times throughout the whole semester. I’ve also had to send him to the office multiple times for disruptive behavior and have called home several times. It is amazing to read that he wishes he could have been there – assuming this is in an honest answer.

Yes, because I like the song’s they sing. 8th grade boy. This boy has never sung in my class, and was asked to attend the concert but not participate. 

Yes, I look forward to performing especially with the Honor Choir. Also I wanted to see how we had grown as a class. 7th grade girl who had an outside conflict and did not get to perform in the concert.

No. I’m afraid next time my grandpa will bring a camera. 8th grade girl

Yea because this one turned out better than I thought 8th grade girl

Yes, because there fun and cool. 8th grade boy

Question: Is there anything else you would like to tell me?

There is not really anything else. EXCEPT it was a lot better and more organized than I thought it would be. Same 7th grade girl

I like the group I was with. I got to meet a new friend while there 8th grade girl

Question: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the concert?

My grandparents and mother being annoying. Same 8th grade girl as above who is afraid her grandpa will bring a camera next time.

How do you feel about the fact that I didn’t let all of my students perform? Do you agree with the criteria I set for whether or not they go to perform? Which response was most memorable for you? Thanks for reading!