What happens when you look at your choir’s packed performance schedule and realize you’ve been teaching the repertoire, but not the actual skills? But aren’t middle school kids too young for a rigorous choir class experience? Besides, won’t it drive them away if we don’t make it an easy A with lots of fun concerts?
We often talk about wanting music classes to be treated with the same respect as core academic subjects, but are we holding ourselves to that same curricular standard?
Joining me today is Ryan Lindley, an outstanding middle school director who found himself asking that exact question after finishing his eighth year in the classroom. Ryan realized his grading structure only measured one standard: performance. He set out to rewrite his entire curriculum to focus on deep, sequential music literacy, proving that middle schoolers are never “too young” for high expectations. We talk about the logistics of individual testing, building student autonomy, and modeling growth in real time.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
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Ryan Lindley is a music educator, conductor, and clinician based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He currently teaches fourth through eighth-grade chorus for the Oshkosh Area School District, serving students at Perry Tipler Middle School and the Advanced Learning Program charter school. His teaching emphasizes project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and the creation of inclusive, student-centered music spaces.
Mr. Lindley holds a Master of Music in Music Education from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. In addition to his school teaching, he is the Music Director of Badger State Youth Choir: Oshkosh and serves as President of the Oshkosh Chamber Singers. He is actively involved in professional leadership as the Middle Level Repertoire & Resources Chair for the Midwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association and as the Middle Level All-State Coordinator for the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association.
An accomplished musician, Mr. Lindley is a frequent clinician and presenter, with professional interests that include middle level choral pedagogy, SEL-informed rehearsal practices, and curriculum design. Outside of music, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Madeline, and their two children, Isaiah and Eleanor.
@choralosophypodca