Music and Classroom Climate
Creating an atmosphere, and making opportunities for self-disclosure
Any of you educators out there play music before class? This has become a norm for me since teaching in higher ed; I always put something on at the beginning of class. In my former life as a middle school teacher I used to play music in class from time to time, but this is different. This is just about creating a particular classroom atmosphere.
Sometimes it's music connected to the lesson for the day. In my World Regional Geography class, I often use radiooooo.com to play music from the region we are considering. In my science methods class, I often put on Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants. Occasionally, I'll choose a particular song that connects strongly to the lesson for the day, such as when I play "Cool Kids" by Echosmith to introduce a lesson on social and emotional learning in my middle school curriculum and instruction course. Or it might be a commentary on the fact that many students submitted an assignment late at night by playing "Who Needs Sleep?" by Barenaked Ladies. (They don't always appreciate my sense of humor...)
Often, it's just music that I happen to enjoy, or something new that I encountered recently. My students are quick to learn that I have eclectic taste; one day might be pop/folk/hiphop from Judah and the Lion, the next class meeting is ambient rock from Explosions in the Sky or Balmorhea, and the next time they come to class it could be Rend Collective, or Paper Route, or Josh Garrels, or Modest Mussorgsky, or Jars of Clay's old stuff from the 90s, or Adam Young's scores project. Or it might just be my feel-good Spotify playlist that I call "Just for Fun" that has a weird combination of Blue Swede, DNCE, Elton John, Bobby McFerrin, Sonny & Cher, Kelly Clarkson, Pharrell Williams, the BeeGees, Katy Perry, and more. (Can't miss with that one--something in there that will get your body moving a bit no matter your decade or genre preference.) It's a running joke among some students that I listen to music that they don't listen to...because I'm so hipster. (Note: sarcasm here.)
Why do this?
I'd like to say it's about setting an atmosphere that is warm and welcoming, and I do think this is the truth. I like the music, sure. But more than that, I think there is something nice about coming into a room that isn't awkwardly quiet with everyone staring at their phones instead of engaging with the three-dimensional people breathing the same air. Students seem more likely to have conversations with each other when the music is just loud enough to provide a background level of noise so it doesn't seem like everyone is listening to them. It means I try to intentionally get to class early enough to put the music on while students are just coming in, and that also encourages me to take a few minutes to connect with the students individually as their classmates are coming in. And having a soundtrack for our beginning of class time loosens me up, and gives me freedom to share a bit about myself, my tastes, my interests...maybe it's a way to show that I'm a real person.
I'm sure some students think it's kind of weird. Some are probably ambivalent about it. But the fact that students regularly—positively—mention the music on end-of-term course feedback makes me think there is something here. It's just something I'm trying to do intentionally to create a classroom atmosphere that reflects my personality, and is inviting for the students as they come in.
What do you think? Crazy? Or is there something to this approach for setting an atmosphere?
What are your musical preferences for creating a classroom climate? Have a suggestion for us? Drop a comment to share!
Dave’s Faves
Here are three things I’m absolutely loving right now that I hope you might love too…
Dave’s Fave #1: A Live, Solo Version of “Who Needs Sleep?”(Recorded in a bathroom…so you know you want to watch this one…)
Barenaked Ladies is such a strange name for a band that is made up of all men who perform fully-clothed. :-) But these Canadian pop-rockers are one of my favorites, so when our kids were little, we called them “BNL” at our house.
I know I mentioned it above, but I really do love the song, “Who Needs Sleep?” and especially when I was in grad school and often making do on 5 hours or less of sleep per night, I felt like it was my theme song. I particularly like this solo version Ed Roberton recorded in his bathroom:
(One of the commenters on the video called this “musical caffeine,” and I feel that.)
Dave’s Fave #2: Trader Joe’s Seasonings
We don’t have a Trader Joe’s close to us (the nearest one is in Omaha, over 2 hours away—so sad!) So when I get there, I often pick up something fun to try. I’m all about the fun seasonings they have; I haven’t found a bummer one yet! Here are four I really enjoy:
I’ve used a whole bottle of chili lime already this summer (it’s great on fish, chicken, sweet corn…everything!) but every one of these is yummy. Thee sriracha is hot-but-not-too-hot, the cheesy is soooooo cheesy, and the citrusy garlic reminds me of how Key West tastes in my memory. Oh, and I just remembered the “everything except the bagel” seasoning that I like on avocado toast! I’m out of that one at the moment, but I highly recommend that one as well. (I guess I better plan a trip to Omaha to pick up some more…)
Dave’s Fave #3: Threads
I’ve shared in a previous edition of this newsletter that I’m pretty optimistic about Meta’s latest social media option, Threads. Now that we’re a couple months into the Threads experiment, I have found that the time I used to spend on Twitter has plummeted (from about an hour a day to…I only login every other day or so, and usually just spend a few minutes over there.) Twitter (or is it “X” now? I guess?) has lost almost all of it’s appeal to me. Honestly, the only pull it still has for me is that I’ve built a network of amazing educators over there over almost 15 years, and I haven’t (yet) been able to replicate that on Threads. But the trade-off of a much (MUCH) more positive feel on Threads has me feeling like there is still plenty of potential.
There are still some things they could do for the user experience. In particular, I’d love it if they would add hashtags, which don’t really work right now. But there has been one interesting new thing that was just announced: Threads is rolling out a web-based version. (Here’s a piece from Reuters about this development.) Up to now, it has only been an app you could use on your phone or tablet, so this will open things up a bit. It will be interesting to me to see how things continue to develop over time.
If you’re on Threads, or if you’re interested in giving it a whirl, give me a follow—I’m @drdavemulder, the same as my Instagram—and I’ll be delighted to follow you back. Here’s hoping I can build up my network of educators there too, and I’ll be happy to let Twitter drift off.
The Last Word!
The title of this newsletter is “Positivity. Passion. Purpose.” and that’s really the goal—giving you a boost of positivity, a jolt of passion, and a reminder of your purpose. Often, these “last word” encouragements tend towards the positivity…today’s is maybe more related to purpose. It’s a quote from Dr. Haim Ginott’s excellent book, Teacher and Child. Maybe you’ve even read it before…but I think it’s a great reminder for all of us called to teach:
“I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”
Let’s keep this in mind, yeah? Blessings to you, my fellow educators, as you connect with your students. Create that atmosphere that welcomes and invites them in to learning!
This totally resonates with me (excuse the pun)! Along with playing music at the start of class, I found that the my students liked music playing during group activities to provide some extra energy or jazz chill to bring a level of focus during independent work time. I also discovered that some online timers have great beats that provide natural signals for when we are working (and when we are finished). Sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much music is out there and finding what my students like, so I made a collab Spotify playlist and shared the link with the class along with some expectations for acceptable songs - the kids loved having ownership and often asked for "their" playlist. I always found it amazing how diverse the playlists could be and how they represented the different classes.