Building Bridges to the Students of Today

ADRIANNA JAGODZINSKI, EPSILON EPSILON

How music educators can meet students where they are

Kids will be kids. Every kid is the same. As music educators and individuals, we need to understand these statements are problematic. A double-edged sword. In a perfect world, our students could have the same wants and needs; however, the climate of the decade changes, and it influences what is popular and what our students face every day. Students can be like the toys, fashion and technology of the different decades; they change, evolve and/or adapt based on world events and the environment of the life they live in.

For example, with video game consoles, we started in the late 1970s with the Atari, one of the first popularized video game consoles. It was one simple rectangular box with a couple of joystick controllers. As technology advanced and the entertainment mediums changed to include video games rather than board games, newer and different kinds of consoles have developed. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the 90s was the first console that had controllers with tons of buttons that had different functions. Modern consules like Wii U and the Nintendo Switch have standard motion sensor technology to track your body’s movement in a variety of games in response to arguments that video games lead to laziness and lack of exercise.

Everything is constantly changing, including human beings. Can we put groups of people together based on age and characteristics? Sure we can. There are archetypes like Generation Z, Millennials and Boomers that society has put people in, different categories based on the world events they have lived through. Even though we have these named generations, it is not a direct answer on who today’s students are, what they are facing and how we can help them. As much as we like to put people in categories, students these days are more diverse than ever, so game plans to teach these students should reflect the differentiation of our students. Before we can figure out who the students are and how to best help them, we as educators need to address the elephant in the room.

The Students Nowadays Attitude

A simple Google search of “students nowadays” brings up pages of results that reflect a generally negative attitude about today’s generation. Whether it be opinions that “Students are not the way they used to be,” or that “Students are ruined due to x,y and z,” it seems society is pessimistic about today’s students. Each generation has gone through events and scenarios in their life that have changed who they are and each generation has their own strengths and shortcomings. Today’s students, raised through the COVID-19 pandemic, are not the worst. They’re different due to changing times and if we want to have the ability to help these students, we need to stop the notion that they are horrible and instead determine how to best teach them.

The Good and The Bad: Factors That Affect the Students of Today

Mind: Students today have gained awareness and understanding of their mental state. Overall mental health has been a big topic and due to many different factors, mental health disorders are increasing. Students are conscious of who they are and are starting to find their own identity and self earlier in age. These identities are becoming more diverse and progressive.

Hands: Technology is more involved in our students’ lives than ever before. More than half of American children now own a smartphone by the age of 11. The student’s mind has changed dramatically in the past few decades, both physically and mentally. As technology evolves, students receive more exposure to digital media rather than the traditional pen and paper.

Backpack: Everyone has a lot of baggage, but today’s students are carrying more than in years past. Adverse childhood events (traumatic events that happen from birth to age 17) are being experienced by more students and the trend is that children are more likely to experience more than one adverse childhood event.

Ball left behind: There is a debate about whether today’s kids are growing up faster or slower. More kids are getting more exposed to adult/mature content due to media intake; however in recent studies, teen populations are less likely to go on a date, drive a car or get a part-time job than past decades. One thing that is agreed is that the children of today face different situations and circumstances then before, therefore they do not fit the historical definition of what a child should be experiencing.

The Job For Us

It starts with us making the first step to build a bridge to our students. As educators, we instigate the learning process and we are the frontline to these students. Use their strengths and support their weaknesses.

That requires taking the first step by continuing to educate yourself. This doesn’t exactly mean going back to college and getting more degrees. It means that the educator never stops being the student. Keep up to date with research, attend conferences, sign up for different professional development opportunities and acquire knowledge about your students. As a music educator, my first connection with my students was learning what kind of music they like. Every day during vocal warmups, I take song requests from my students and every day I learn new songs and music artists from them. Being in a diverse inner city school, I was introduced to artists like Queen Naija, Ella Mai and King Von and I used that knowledge to pick out repertoire that my students will like and help them grow and expand to other genres of music.

As a teacher, we wear many hats and one hat that has been really important for these kids is the therapist/counselor hat. Social emotional learning is a trending concept that helps students with mental health issues. Techniques like meditating, breathing and taking a break might sound contrary to the usual busy rehearsal plan in ensemble classes, but if students are not in the right mindset, they will not work as efficiently. Students go through a lot of traumatic experiences and events so we must meet them in the middle and compromise. An activity that helps my students destress but still get work done, is learning how to draw musical symbols. It is music-related and a skill that needs to be learned that helps students relax and calm down from everyday life.

Due to the high demand for Texas music educators to get superior scores in the University Interscholastic League, we put tons of expectations on our students and expect them to give 100% every single day. With such a big expectation, students may be anxious, tired and discouraged. One day when my 7th grade treble class was in this mood, I inquired how they felt and when they all blurted out how tired, stressed and depressed they felt, I said “Do not give me 100% today, I want you to give me 85%.”

I elaborated that we are just going to have a good time today in class. I adapted my word choice and my strategy to how they felt, and they gave more participation and singing than they had in a long time. Giving 85% is sustainable and achievable while still challenging them to keep going. Most of my students are at risk of not graduating, so 100% for them is a miracle, 85% is a struggle, but something to be attained. UIL scores are important, but not as important as keeping student mental health alive, thriving and instilling a love of choir. There are many ways to meet them where they are while encouraging them to strive for more.

Building bridges for students today can be summarized in three words: Listen, Evaluate, Engage. Listen to students, teachers and mentors and be open to feedback, different perspectives and the stories of these students. Evaluate your philosophy and your teaching style; stagnation on your part will stagnate your students. Lastly, engage and initiate the action of helping out a student. Don’t hesitate to build these bridges. This is the time to dig deep to advocate for your students and make the change for yourself and your music program.

Adrianna Jagodzinski is an emerging music educator in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Vocal Music Education. Currently, Jagodzinski is the head choir director at Haltom Middle School in Haltom City, Texas. She has performed in multiple ensembles — TCU Chorale, TCU Cantiamo, TCU University Singers, UCC Chapel Choir, Arlington Master Chorale and many more — and performed in venues and festivals such as Bass Hall and South West American Choir Directors Association. She has presented at the TCU Research symposium and the Mu Phi Epsilon International Convention about trends in online learning during the pandemic and building bridges to students. Jagodzinski moves forward, striving to continue to learn and research about music education, vocal pedagogy and social emotional learning while continuing her career as a middle school choir director.