212 | Are Things Really Working? A Classroom Self-Audit for Music Teachers

Two weeks into January, the “new year energy” can already feel like it’s fading. Routines that felt solid in August may suddenly feel clunky or exhausting, and it’s easy to blame student behavior when things start to feel off. In this episode of That Music Podcast, Bryson invites you to pause and ask an important question: are things actually working?

Instead of adding more to your plate, this episode guides you through a simple mid-year self-evaluation to help you uncover which classroom routines and planning systems are quietly draining your energy. Through reflective prompts and practical insight, Bryson helps you identify small, meaningful shifts that can reduce chaos, increase efficiency, and help you reclaim your focus for teaching music and taking care of yourself.

Episode Chapters:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:50 Question 1
• 2:12 Question 2
• 2:28 Question 3
• 2:43 Question 4
• 3:00 Routine Audit Takeaways
• 4:08 Question 5
• 4:36 Question 6
• 4:52 Question 7
• 5:23 Question 8
• 5:39 Final Takeaways
  
  

Links and Resources: 

• The Elementary Music Summit®
• Elementary Newbie Guide
• Disabilities Guide
• Steady Beat Survival Guide
• Join Elementary Music EDGE™

Use coupon code PODCAST at checkout for 50% off your first month of Elementary Music EDGE™ today!

Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit

Have questions or want to share feedback? Reach out to us at hello@thatmusicteacher.com - we’d love to hear from you!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:40 Question 1
• 3:02 Question 2
• 3:18 Question 3
• 3:33 Question 4
• 3:50 Routine Audit Takeaways
• 4:58 Question 5
• 5:26 Question 6
• 5:42 Question 7
• 6:13 Question 8
• 6:29 Final Takeaways

Transcript

Bryson Tarbet: 0:50

Hey, it's Bryson. Before we dive into this episode, I have to ask, are you already feeling that post holiday slump? If the thought of battling behavior challenges, curriculum overload, and the sheer exhaustion for the next six months is ruin your energy, I get it. The isolation of being the only music specialist makes it impossible for us to recharge. That's why I created the Elementary Music Summit, January Refresh. It's your free, high quality professional development happening January 17th and 18th here on the wonderful internet. We're bringing in experts to give you the precise, actionable strategies you need to conquer the burnout and walk into a strong second semester with confidence. Don't wait and let the exhaustion win. Get your clear path forward. Grab your free ticket now@thatmusicteacher.com slash summit, or by clicking the link in the description of this episode. Trust me, you're not gonna wanna miss this.

Speaker 2: 1:41

You are listening to that music podcast with Bryson Tart, the curriculum designer and educational consultant behind that music teacher in the elementary music summit. Each week, Bryson and his guest will dive into the reality of being an elementary music teacher and how music can truly be transformative in the lives of the students you serve. Show notes and resources mentioned in this episode. Can be found@thatmusicteacher.com.

Bryson Tarbet: 2:15

Welcome back. We are two weeks into January and the New Year energy might already be fading. The routines that you set in August have either become a smooth groove or you might have hit a frustrating snag. We often think that the problem that we see in these situations is student behavior, but honestly, more times added than not. The real problem is a failing system in our classroom and energy spent managing chaos is energy taking away from teaching music. So I'm gonna change things up today with this episode. Rather than me sharing information, I'm going to ask you to do a little bit of work. I'm gonna guide you through some questions to do a little bit of a mid-year audit. I don't want this to be about guilt or judging your past performance. I want you to really think about the efficiency and. How a lack of efficiency can really make it hard for you to do your job, because when you fix the system, you're really saving your energy for what really matters. So what I want you to do is grab a notebook, a piece of scrap paper. Honestly, even just a note on your phone. We're gonna be tackling four questions about your routines and four questions about your planning systems to audit, where your energy is truly going, and then you can make some shifts once you have that information. So are you ready? Because this episode you're gonna do a little bit of work. I'm kind of here for it. So let's dive into question number one. What is one recurring moment of classroom chaos that drains your energy? Is it your entrance routine, getting out instruments or putting them away? Transitioning from sitting to standing? What is that specific routine that is currently failing? And what tiny, practical descriptive change could you implement this week to tighten it up? Question two. How many times a day do you find yourself repeating the same instruction, rule or consequence? What visual aid or student-led cue can you put in place to empower your students to follow the routine without the need for you to repeat yourself? Question three, when a student makes a mistake, are you immediately clear about the expected replacement behavior or are you assuming that they remember the rule? Your students know exactly what safe, responsible, and respectful look like in action for your most common activities. Question four, are you still chasing one or two students, or are you creating systems that hold the entire class accountable for their choices? How can you shift the focus back to empowering the students to choose a different path and make good choices instead of just enforcing rules? I really want you to take a few minutes on each of these four questions because routines are so important. I am a, I love routines. I love systems. I love operational efficiencies. I'm a little bit of a dork about it because, not only because it makes me feel more in control and like I have a little, there's a little bit less chaos in the world, but because it works, it really helps. It's such a good investment of your time because it makes it this thing, you know, you can really reclaim. 10 seconds here a minute here. Over 30 years of your career, that's a lot of instructional time. You're gonna be able to pull back by putting in 20 minutes of work here today. And that's really where I want you to think about this is what are those things? If you are coming at this high level, you know, let's, let's pretend we're in the corporate world, right? You're this high level consultant, you're coming in, you're getting paid millions of dollars a day. What would you change about the operations in your classroom? How can we make it more efficient? How can we make it so that everyone is more involved? Those are the questions I want you to ask about your routines, the student flow, and how your students know your expectations. So let's flip a coin a little bit and move into the next four questions. So it's just all about planning and your systems that are just moving things along. So let's move on with question five. Are you still planning your curriculum to a rigid calendar date or have you implemented a more flexible lesson number system that prevents you from feeling derailed when you miss a day? Or students might have a field trip. If you haven't switched, what's preventing you from breaking down your lessons into a flexible sequence of learning? Question six, if you or one of your children woke up sick right now, on a scale of one to 10, how stressed would you be about your sub plans and what can you do to make that more efficient? What in your sub plan flow. Is holding you back right now. Question seven, if you haven't taken a sick day when you truly needed it, was the barrier a complicated system or was it a guilt trip from feeling like your students would fall behind? Which of these is a systemic flaw that you can fix versus a mindset issue that you need to cover yourself? And PS typically it's giving yourself permission to rest. I'm also aware that it's very real, that it could be a systemic issue, like you're out of sub plans because you just came back from maternity leave, but like, let's address it at least. And question eight, looking at your weekly schedule, what teaching activity or required duty consistently drains your energy? What is one small, practical way that you can mitigate that brain this week? Perhaps by simplifying the materials or changing the resources that you use. So that's all I have. Those eight questions I really think will help you think about what you're teaching and doing it in a little bit more purposeful way to create systems that are going to allow you the teacher to be set up for success. Because the reality is we talk a lot about setting our students up for success. We need to set ourselves for success too, because when we are set up for success, so are our students. This audit, the questions that I had you ask, it's not about perfection, it's about progress. Because when you fix one system, you're essentially buying back energy that you can reinvest in your teaching or into your personal life to build up your own wellbeing. My challenge for you is to just pick one area of chaos, one routine, one planning flaw, one energy drain to fix. This week. A small fix really can lead to a huge impact. Your students need a healthy, present teacher. Auditing your systems is truly an act of self care that benefits your students, your family, and yourself. With that being said, thank you so much for joining us for this week's episode of That Music podcast. If you would, do us a favor and leave us a comment and a review wherever you're watching or listening, that would mean the world to us, and as always, thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of the students that you teach.