Don’t bring work home with you. Grading practices and making literacy the core of the curriculum can lead to better choirs, less stress for the teacher and more time in class for a rich and in depth learning experience.

This episode takes on a unique format, in that it was birthed from listener response from a past episode on teaching literacy, and grading practices. John Sargent had been sending me some questions mostly centered around Episode 18: Ripping Off the Bandaid. I was finding answering the questions via text was too tricky, so I asked John to come on with me and flip roles and just grill me on how all of the ideas I talk about in the show play out in the real world. As we prepared to record, Nathan Connell jumped on over on Patreon with a bunch more questions.

So, tune in for a real nuts and bolts discussion about how a strategic curricular approach to literacy, vocal technique, and grading practices can make your job more fun, more fulfilling, less stressful and WAY less consuming of your free time.

Mr. Sargent is Choral Music Director at Newbury Park High School, where he conducts the Concert Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Chamber Singers, Men’s Chorus, and Advanced Women’s Ensemble. John graduated from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Music Degree in voice and music education There, he sang in major opera productions, and studied under the tutelage of John Alexander. At Littlerock High School in the Antelope Valley, he initiated a choral program from the ground up with an enrollment of over 120 singers in three choirs, and from 2000-2003, he served as Assistant Conductor of the Antelope Valley Master Chorale at Antelope Valley College. John earned his Master of Music degree in choral conducting at California State University, Los Angeles, where he studied with Dr. William Belan and Donald Brinegar. Also known affectionately as “Sarge,” this is his 18th year teaching at Newbury Park High School.

Below are video examples of many of the ideas discussed in the episode