Consistency in Education

Children are impatient.

Spend a day around a five-year-old who has accumulated the knowledge to know how some life-mechanism works but still lacks the focus to see it through, and you will see a small-scale version of the workings of an average teenage mind. Much like the annoying boss in every work-place comedy, they want results and they want them now.

It is our duty as teachers to see these impatient beings, so full of heart and potential, through a process exponentially bigger than themselves and help them understand the lessons they encounter as they go. Often I will refer to this as “herding cats”, but in reality it’s more like leading a blindfolded friend through an obstacle course. The benefit of telling them “I told you to listen to me…” when they stub something is a luxury I would urge you to use sparingly.

But in the same vein, our responsibility to both the students and to the craft of teaching comes completely into focus when viewed from this angle. That is why we plan – not to keep the class from crashing around our ears, but to make sure that the daily and weekly objectives and skills fit into the bigger, grander progression of information and improvement that will place our students at the pinnacle of our abilities as they leave our care. It’s not just our job to give them good information, it’s also our duty to help the wring everything they can out of the experiences we create together. Especially in our field, these are powerful experiences that have ramifications far beyond the football field, gym floor, or band hall. Roll your eyes, but the life-lessons are real.

It is to that end that I urge you to look at one simple, dynamic, and over-archingly huge concept in your planning and pedagogy: consistency.

From point A to point Z, are your students receiving instruction that dovetails with the last idea they were introduced to? Does your forward and backward technique have a similar kinesthetic vocabulary, so that skills from one reinforce the other? Does your visual approach help to reinforce your individual and ensemble fundamental philosophy? Does the way your students enter the rehearsal reflect your desires for them in the last 10 minutes of that same rehearsal?

If it does, awesome. If not, don’t despair. You’re not harming your students – more than likely you are just spending more time re-teaching and clarifying than you should be. There are more elegant ways to accomplish your goals, both visually and musically. That’s what this series is about – finding those ways.

I don’t proclaim that I have all the answers, or even that everything I tell you will work 100% of the time for you and your group. We all have different battles to fight and students to teach, but the universal truth of consistency in your approach (on a micro-, macro-, personal-, and team-level) is the corner-stone to success for anyone doing anything.

I sincerely hope that you find the information I present to you interesting and helpful. Where I have resources, I will link to them so that you can use that information as well. If you have a question, concern, or simply a disagreement with something that I say PLEASE e-mail me. Ultimately, I am creating this blog as an additional resource for directors – I want to make it as useful to you as the information has been for me.

Thanks for reading – don’t forget to e-mail me with your thoughts and reactions.

Bryan Harmsen

Bryan is the owner of Visaudio Designs. He is a wind and percussion music arranger whose arrangements and compositions have helped many ensembles earn numerous gold medals on their local circuits as well as finalist positions, the 2011 PSO Silver Medalist, 2013 PIA Gold Medalist, 2014 PIO Silver Medalist, and 2015 PIO and PSO Silver Medalists at WGI World Championships.

See all posts by

Choose a Show

A Class Playlist Indoor A NEW!
Open Class Playlist Indoor Open NEW!
World Class Playlist Indoor World NEW!
2024 Indoor Shows Indoor NEW!
ALiKE Indoor World
And The Tree Was Happy Indoor A
The Arbor Effect Indoor A Open
Around the World Marching Band
The Art of Illusion Indoor
Balance Indoor A World
The Beast In The Beauty Indoor A Open World
Below Zero Indoor A Open
Bent Indoor A
Blue Voices Marching Band
The Box Indoor A Open
Bring The Heat Indoor A Open
Built For Them Indoor A NEW!
The Cosmos Concert Indoor
Crazy Indoor Open World
Dark and Twisted Indoor Open World
Deep Blue Indoor Open
The Descent Indoor A Open
The Devil Came Back Indoor Open
Ding Indoor A Open
The Drought Indoor A Open
Dying To Live Indoor A
En Route Indoor A
Evolution Marching Band
Flow Indoor Open World
Focal Point Indoor A Open
Follow Indoor A
From Darkness Concert Indoor
Garden of Enlightenment Indoor A NEW!
Geisha Indoor World
Heart Indoor Open World
Hero Indoor A Open World
The Human Element Indoor A Open World
I Can't Change Indoor A Open
Immortal Indoor A World
The Immortal Light Indoor Open NEW!
In The Dark Indoor A Open
In The Name Of... Indoor Open World NEW!
Industrial Revolution Marching Band
Into The Deep Indoor A Open World
The Inventor's Apprentice Indoor A Open World
Invictus: A War Within Indoor A Open
Last Indoor Open
The Last Goodbye Indoor A Open World
A Leap of Faith Indoor A
Lucifer Indoor A Open World
Mended Indoor A Open
My New Obsession Indoor A Open World
Native Echoes Indoor Open
The Native Path Indoor A Open
Nevermore Indoor A Open World
Ninja Indoor Open
Of The Abyss Indoor Open NEW!
Rain Forest Marching Band
Rain Forest Indoor Open
Redwoods & Daisies Indoor A
Repeat Indoor A Open
Salvation Lies Within Indoor Open World
Scitys Marching Band
Set In Stone Indoor A Open
Siren's Fury Marching Band NEW!
Spark Indoor A Open World
Spiritus Ipsum Indoor A Open
Strictly Business Indoor Open
Symphonic Dreams Marching Band
Thirst Concert Indoor
Though I Walk Indoor Open NEW!
Together Marching Band
Together Indoor A
Toxic-City Indoor A Open
Traveler In The Dark Indoor A NEW!
Un Indoor A
The Vessel Indoor World
Waiting... Indoor A Open World
War and Peace Marching Band
The Wharf Indoor A Open
What If? Marching Band
What If? Indoor Open
Word Indoor A Open World
World Fusion Concert Indoor
X Marks The Spot Indoor A Open