Judd Blake 1/8/23

Choral Cultures Summary

The culture in a classroom is something that can set the tone for years at a time, and it is

crucial that a positive culture is inspired by the teacher. From the readings given, I have found

that it is this culture that creates flow beyond the standards of learning, which makes perfect

sense when making transfers to my own experience. Senior year of high school I remember

being so emotional when singing Stand By Me during my senior graduation. I was emotional

because I was commencing a new chapter of my life, but, when looking around me, I began to

weep seeing the wonderful friends that I had made due to the amazing classroom environment

that was fostered by my choral director. The culture she, my director, had created had, in turn,

created who we, the students, were becoming. It fostered our love of music and our abilities to

work as a team, to be kind to one another, to problem solve, and so much more. That

responsibility is a hard yet rewarding part being a music educator.

In the Conscious Choral Cultures powerpoint, I particularly resonated with the Mills

2008 quote on the 23rd slide. It really centered around avoiding behaviors that lead to othering

within the choral classroom, and I feel that is so vital to the choral culture that I hope to create in

my future classroom. I have heard many horror stories of bullying and judgment within the

classroom, and I feel as though those trends can begin due to inadvertent othering behaviors like

forcing people to sing solo and not mixing up cliques like the slide mentions. I also love where it

mentions that empowering interactions between student and teacher can lead to a positive

culture. This is so important to me and for who I would like to become as an educator. The most

memorable teachers in my experience are those who are friendly, patient, and positive in their

interactions with students, so keeping this conscious when reflecting on cultures and the culture I

would like to inspire is highly important to me.

Judd Blake 1/8/23

I also enjoyed the series of slides on applied behaviors of safety as well as the inclusions

in the Manning outline about safety. The emphasis on inspiring feelings of safety and success

really resonated with what I would like to create in my future classroom. The hardest days as a

student were the days when the choir wasn’t able to nail a passage or when we felt like there was

too much work ahead of us for a big performance that was coming up. In those instances, the

behaviors of safety and security really shine within the classroom. On those frustrating days, it

becomes the responsibility of the teacher to take those moments to help the class to decompress

and focus on the good work that was done with the time in class. When talking about creating a

positive choral culture, I find that those moments are so important. The students deserve to be

seen for the good progress that they’ve made, even on tough days when their capabilities are

really pushed.

I don’t have a lot to add on this, but I did appreciate the inclusions about Macro and

Micro Interactions throughout these resources. In my experience as a student and as a leader, I

have seen the small interactions and a vested interest in the interests of those you work with go a

long way in fostering comradery and rapport between teacher and student.

One thing that I hadn’t put much thought into is the student leadership aspect of a choral

culture. I feel that this can sometimes be a slippery slope, as kids who aren’t used to being a

leader can inadvertently speak down to their fellow classmates because of it. However, I feel that

there are also a lot of upsides to this. Having positions like choral managers can help to cultivate

a level of responsibility and investment in the well-being of the choir. In my classroom, I foresee

myself opting for something that is collaborative in nature. Perhaps a role that can rotate each

week to allow each student to have a turn with some added responsibility within the choir.