Central Coast Section Update

reading up on articles and Band Director forums on how and what Directors were teaching their students during lockdown. I focused on Music Theory and Music Fundamentals such as embouchure and warming up well. We also spent a considerable time on virtual performances and recordings.

by Diane Gehling

Happy Holidays from the Central Coast Section!

The 2020-21 school year was one to remember. But then again, 21-22 might just make last year look like a walk in the park. After 18 months without in-person schooling, students have returned to us, and they have returned with a great deal of gusto. Many students are happy to be back in person and are excelling in their learning, while others have found it very hard to make the transition back to the classroom. While having the students back on campus and having in-person learning, teachers are finding out that trying to teach students at grade level is almost impossible. Unfortunately, not being able to be on campus and learning in person, students not only lost some of their academia but also lost their social and maturing skills that happen when networking with other students, along with the structure following a school schedule brings.

In conversations all over the state, people are talking about how some students are acting out; how some students just don’t know how to be at school. If you listen closely you will find that most of the students who are having difficulties can be found in the transitional grades. Those are the grades where students who, when they came back, came back to either a new site or a new level of expectations. Students who were in kindergarten came back as 2nd graders, 4th graders now find themselves as 6th graders and, for many, at a new site. The 5th graders were at the top in their elementary school only to now find themselves as the middle child in middle school and the 7th and 8th graders now find themselves in high school woefully unprepared for the new setting they now find themselves in.

Many of this year’s 8th graders have lost a year and now, back on campus, act and perform like 6th graders. Students are not ambitious to complete their work with the thoughts that it will not affect their grades or placement heading into high school. The 6th graders did not get the opportunity to be the “big dogs” on campus at their elementary school before the transition to middle school took place. The adjustment has been rough. Many of them are not ready for the structure of middle school and act like they are still in elementary school.

At the high school level, juniors and seniors were already in high school when the pandemic started and know what is expected of them. Unfortunately, sophomores who were the “king of the hill” at their respective middle schools have moved up to high school with the same attitude. These students were not prepped/prepared for high school and their behavior is reflective of that.

While all grades/students have been affected, these grades seem to be the most affected. For many students, their music teacher is the one teacher, the one class that has stayed consistent. You, my overworked, under-appreciated, often forgotten core subject teacher, are the one adult who can support and help transition back many of these students from the chaotic world they are now attempting to navigate. You are meeting your students where they are and not necessarily where we think they should be in a “normal” year.

I applaud all of you, primary, elementary, middle and secondary teachers, for having the patience and flexibility to recognize what is happening. For restructuring your plans to fit the needs of your students. As we know, just because we are back to in-person learning, this year is still anything but a normal year. In trying times like this, everyone needs a hero, and you, my esteemed colleagues, are not only my hero but you are the calming, steady force that beats through the chaos of your students’ lives. To all of you, I give thanks and praise.