Teaching kids is tough. There are 2 main aspects to balance when teaching kids: interest level and discipline. Teachers need to make the class engaging enough that young students find the classes fun, but at the same time not to compromise on the learning. Vice versa, we cannot expect the child to drill drum exercises for 45 minutes straight, they’ll lose focus after 10 minutes. This is a stressful dilemma that teachers face.
I recently came up with an interactive point system in class; I bought a bunch of magnets (different colours and sizes) and a whiteboard (this is used as a scoreboard for the student to see). For every correct exercise that a student plays, he or she will get 1 small green magnet. Collect 10 of these green magnets, and they can exchange for a medium sized orange magnet, collect 4 of orange magnets, and they can get a big blue magnet. Collecting 2 blue magnets, and the student can exchange for a sticker! This interactive point system will motivate students to keep playing their drumbeats and fills correctly, at the same time having fun collecting the magnets, with an ultimate reward at the end of the class.
I hope that this point system will be effective for all my young students, I’ve used this method for a week, and the result has been encouraging.
~Teacher Joel~
~Private Drum Teacher from Pasir Ris, Elias Road, Singapore~
Leave a Reply