Feedback On Good Feedback

Today I received some feedback on how important it is for me to give good feedback.

I have a hard time doing in-depth playing assessments sometimes.  I get wrapped up in rehearsal mode and there is no easy way to assess individually in a timely manner.  Since I am the only person, and I don't want to sit and make the kids go down the line and play once a week and waste a lot of rehearsal time, I decided last year that I would set up my laptop and let the students record their playing tests on my camera.  It's not my favorite way of testing, but it definitely allows me to take my time in grading, go back and check things again, and most importantly, give thorough feedback.

I have a young trumpet player who doesn't always have the confidence in herself like she should.  She is GOOD!  Great kid, practices her butt off, and really knows her stuff, but is always a bit timid.  Yes, she reminds me of myself, only she is much better than I was.  She is also the only trumpet player left from my very first group of beginners.  I spend a lot of time trying to convince this girl that she is a great musician and she needs to play out more.

Anyway, I was doing binder checks today.  This is where the kids have to come up and show me their band binders and flip through the sections they are supposed to have.  She came up and as I was having her show me that she has all of her stuff, she decided to show me one of her folders that she had in there.  There was a piece of paper taped to the front of this folder with some writing on it.  As I looked closer, it was the comment section from one of her playing tests last year.  I wrote that she was a great trumpet player and that she needed to believe in herself more.  I said that if she did, she would go very far.  At the bottom I wrote in all capital letters, really big "I BELIEVE IN YOU, __________!"  I was speechless.  And kicking myself for not doing more assessments where I can give kids in-depth feedback.  This student appreciated hearing words of encouragement from me so much that she kept them and taped them into her band binder where she could read them all of the time.

So, I learned my lesson today.  Those long evenings where I thought I was wasting my time writing out all those comments about an exercise out of a method book were not wasted at all.  I must make more opportunities to give kids individual feedback.  They know that I care about the band and how well we perform and our work ethic and attitudes, but I need to make sure that they know I am there to help them and that I believe in them.  Yes, they are one band working together, but they are my students and it is my responsibility to make sure I help them grow individually as much as I can.  More importantly, they need to know that I care.