"We Have a Concert Tomorrow?"

In a previous QuickNote article, I addressed the issue of staff communication. This time I'll focus on effectively communicating with our students (and parents). Here are some suggestions that worked for me.

Print a yearly calendar. Give it to them at the end of the year, the first day of band camp, and the first day of school. That way, they have the summer to schedule their important events. Some of you will post on your band website, Facebook, and other social media platforms as well. Post the schedule in many places and many times. There should be no question about big scheduled events.

Use group texting platforms for more options. The BAND app, GroupMe, and Remind are good options. You need to find what works best for you and your students and teach them that these platforms are not meant to be gripe session or platforms to vent. If you want to keep your personal phone number private, you can use Google Voice to set up a special number the will forward to your phone. I always limited the number of students and parents who had my direct number. Be careful with this.

Back when I was in band, it was "Band directing through intimidation"! Now, you must know your students well enough to know how each individual will best respond to you. I actually had a student tell me to call her out if she made mistakes, but I knew that the rest of the kids would take offense to that! Draw careful lines of communication in rehearsal and communication in the band room. This is sometimes very difficult if you have a rock star student. Treat each student equally and have the same expectations for all.