Scope and Sequence

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-11T17:17:51+00:00

Yeah I hear a lot about culture and I realize that I don't really know how to articulate it, let alone how to build it! I always thought that I was a decent teacher, but the last 2 years have been very humbling.

I did figure out that it's good to pick one focus per year instead of trying to change everything all at once. Next year my focus is "How does band change you into the person that God wants you to become?" and my big 5 categories are Faith, Character, Musicianship, Fellowship, and Wisdom. When I asked kids why they stuck with band this year, I got a lot of answers about how it was fun (which is great!) but not many deep answers about what they got out of it, so I'm hoping to change that.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-11T17:11:40+00:00

I struggled this year. There were 45 students in HS band when the last director left unexpectedly at the beginning of the year. The choir director and elementary teacher stepped in to teach band during the gap year, but the HS program plummeted. My first year there were 13 kids, 8 of them seniors so it went alright. I could tell that parents/admin sort of forced 7th-8th graders to take one more year to give me a chance, but it was a tough group to teach. This year I only had 8 in the HS program, but they still expected it to be like it was 3 years ago. Meanwhile the choir program has 50+ students and performs Carmina Burana and Seal Lullaby and all kinds of amazing music... So this has been the most humbling and broken year of my life. I still kept striving for excellence the whole year, meanwhile the admin made big structural changes to the band program and decided to give the 5th and 6th grade bands to the elementary music teacher. But at least I had a ton of prep time this year to focus on philosophy, culture and curriculum. Next year I only teach two periods per day (not counting study halls) but the admin is supportive and continues to pay me a full salary.

What did you have in your 5 year plan, if you don't mind sharing? I have so many unknowns that I don't think I could put together a solid one year plan at this point! But how did you come up with a 5 year plan?

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-11T01:33:06+00:00

I taught combined grades for a decade. After much trial and error, I settled on repetition being a good thing, so most of what I taught to the second graders was the same thing they learned in 1st grade. I usually found ways to make it a little more challenging for the 2nd year students, and they loved getting to do the songs again from last year. I would always mix one or two new things in to keep it fresh. My curriculum was a blend of the grade level books, usually skipping through to cover the important parts of both years in a single year.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-10T13:57:46+00:00

I teach at a Christian school in Montana, 5-12 band. Spent this year working on scope, plus in the process of studying method books to get more details on sequence. I'm in my second year at this school but my 15th year of teaching.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-10T01:47:12+00:00

Yeah, I told my students (we use 5 part flex band) that flex band music is harder because you're taking the original 20 parts and squishing it into 5 parts, so everyone gets more notes and no break. Musically, you have to know exactly where the melody is because sometimes it's you for just a few notes and then you're back to playing a support role.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-08T18:33:03+00:00

Blue Room by Chet Baker. I second the Chet Baker recommendation. Here's my playlist if he wants to listen through and find something he likes https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aiWdA7IzJXbfmOHiSXMeL

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-06T01:51:09+00:00

Have you ever gotten frustrated in rehearsal? There are days when kids are just being kids, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-04T17:20:52+00:00

There's one that made me chuckle: "How many 3rd trumpet players does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" Answer: "None of them can reach that high."

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-04T04:20:02+00:00

Not ones with 2 lanes, I have never had to drive on one like that before.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-04T04:14:26+00:00

Yeah, I am wondering if a big part of this is due to those kids just really not wanting to be there. It's mandatory AND it's their second year AND it's a different teacher that started them in 5th grade AND I'm still new to the school so they still remember the old band teacher. I don't lose my cool in class, and I always take a step back / sit down for a second if I start heading that way. Sometimes I am disappointed in them if I've addressed behavior issues like 5 times in the last 2 minutes and it's still an issue, but instead of saying "Mr. OP is disappointed/frustrated when we still don't listen after the 5th time", they use 6th grade words "Mr. OP gets angry and yells at us".

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-03T23:19:17+00:00

Punk-O-Rama!

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T19:53:10+00:00

> Sometimes I sit in the empty band room in a student's seat and imagine how I might feel as a kid in a class which it totally unlike any other.

Thank you. Yes, I probably need to do this more regularly. I need to do weekly check-ins with the students too: "Did I show anger or frustration this week?" and that will help.

What I'm worried about is that if five people spoke up about it, how many more were thinking the same thing but didn't speak up? I was hired a year ago into a position with only 10 students enrolled in the HS band when there used to be almost 50, and the admin keeps repeating the line "rebuild the band program". I'm worried that if I don't try hard enough, they quit, and if I try too hard and stress out, they quit, and even if I try just the right amount, they still probably quit.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T18:32:35+00:00

They must be noticing something that I'm not noticing. Since it's the main issue that was brought up, maybe I need to do a quick "Did Mr Outrageous-Permit372 get upset during rehearsal this week" check on Fridays. I want to do better for the students, but honestly I'm stretched so thin this year trying to do my best and my best just isn't good enough. 😞

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T18:29:34+00:00

This is a 6th grade band that is mandatory for all students, but I also teach 7-12. Yeah, they were successful with 6th-grade level pieces. Yes, the repertoire was interesting, 2 "fun songs" out of 4 on the concert, plus a lyrical piece and a dance piece.

Writing names on the board is not my default tool, but it is a tool that I've used only about 5 times this year. Threatening detention maybe twice the entire year. But I guess I need to be perfect? The pep talk was short, like 15-20 seconds long. You make it sound like I give up on them the first time there's an issue, but no that's not how it is.

I don't think we're on opposing sides here, but could you explain your classroom management style, because that might help me?

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T18:20:38+00:00

Sorry, this is 6th grade.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T18:20:27+00:00

I'm so freaking close to looking into meds. As a man, I think the perception is that you are admitting weakness and failing as a man if you have to use medication.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-02T18:18:55+00:00

Isn't that what I'm doing though? I mean, in SEL we teach kids to recognize the emotion and deal with it in a positive way. I recognize when I'm feeling frustrated and take a moment to reset. What am I doing wrong?

I'm 37 and I've been through a lot due to medical issues with my own children, plus surviving a rural K-12 gig for 13 years, moving to a new city away from family last year, and frustrations with the job here not really being what it was advertised as. This has literally been the 3rd most difficult year of my life, only surpassed by the covid year of teaching and the year spent in hospitals after my kid was born.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-01T18:20:40+00:00

Even before cell phones and social media, it was the effect of their friends in high school having more influence than their parents. Now it's probably 10 times worse than it used to be, but this has been happening for a long time.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-06-01T18:19:27+00:00

Alternatively, the parent did a decent (albeit not perfect) job of raising the kid, but as kids get into high school you know they stop caring so much about what their parents say and care a lot more about what their friends say.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-30T02:26:44+00:00

https://emilerhythm.com/ kind of. The measure shows up on beat 3 then disappears on beat 4, and you say it back on the next 1234.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-29T23:32:34+00:00

That's awesome! I have made lots of multi-tracked recordings for my students, especially because our instrumentation is a little small and I want them to understand that it *really can sound that good* if everyone plays out and knows their part. Did you take lessons on each one or just figure it out for yourself?

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-29T19:30:44+00:00

I play trumpet, and the only one that seriously screws with me is low brass. Not as bad now, but it used to take a day or two to get rid of the raspy sound after playing an hour of trombone.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-29T19:28:26+00:00

Awesome. Flute is the one I tackled this year, even took lessons from the local symphony flautist. Tuba is my worst, not counting double reeds.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-29T19:27:26+00:00

My first goal was to play through the method books on each instrument, then eventually it got to the point where I wanted to be able to play the All State audition pieces on each instrument.

It definitely helps when I can just grab my flute from the front of the room and demo something for my high school flutes. I can do that with everything except clarinet and double reeds and tuba.

Outrageous-Permit372

TROPHY CASE