High Expectations

[eddie]

High Expectations, Structure & Positive
Reinforcement


There is always a need for innovative teaching in our society. The
Rhythmic Arts Project accomplishes this by other than conventional
means. By integrating drums & percussion into otherwise traditional
teaching modalities, we’ve made significant strides where conventional
methods have failed, particularly in the underserved intellectually
challenged population.
Introducing this rhythmic concept in any class gives the participants
a fun way to approach basic life skills and scholastics that is as
enjoyable to teach as it is to learn, a win- win situation all
around.

I remember quite well the conventional classrooms of my childhood
learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. Although the teachers may
have had unique personalities, they all seemed to adhere to the same
“By the book” scholastics. This allows for little if any innovation
and a kind of stubbornness that stops creativity and possibility in
its tracks. This restrained in a “typical” setting, you can only
imagine what happened in an intellectually challenged arena.

I can recall my 4th grade teacher Miss Scarpa in all her 4 foot 3 inch
glory, ruler in one hand, and a pointer in the other. If you didn’t
pay strict attention to the pointer, she’d slap your knuckles with the
ruler, ouch! Hold your hands out, palms down and then, smack! Most
kids didn’t need a reminder after one or two knuckle crushing blows,
personally, my knuckles looked like spam going into the fifth grade.

In my experience as an educator in the field of developmental
disabilities I have often enough dealt with this old school mentality.
Sorry, I’ve heard say, our students will never understand this sort of
thing, reading musical notes? Are you kidding?

The point is, this attitude has outlived its validity…. as if it ever
had any, and sorry, the teachers who still adhere to this old school
methodology should move on and or out of the business.
I’ve been to many classrooms across the nation where teachers have
simply been there- and done that- way too long.

Don’t tell us what we can’t do, help us to achieve everything we can!








The TRAP program has been successful in addressing basic life skills
concerning cognitive, emotional, and physical disabilities. Through
inventive exercises, the program teaches and enhances basic life
skills, such as: maintaining focus, using memory, socialization, turn
taking, developing leadership, recognition and use of numbers, shapes,
and colors, spatial awareness, fine and gross motor coordination,
following instructions, and communication. Group teaching occurs in an
environment that is supportive, cooperative, and fun, and members
naturally develop confidence and a positive self-image.

This is an excerpt from our new TRAP Book 2, as described by Seiko
Niimi and myself.

Make Your Class Fun!

The behavioral process is one of the most significant aspects of The
Rhythmic Arts Project. Our main purpose is to have fun and to learn in
the process. However, it is important to keep in mind that learning
requires high expectations, structure, and reinforcement. We believe
that when a person exhibits unacceptable negative behaviors, it is
most often an inability to communicate their thoughts, or they may
very well be in an activity vacuum (where there is nothing of interest
going on) and bored. Whether a group of 10 students, or individual
lessons, these are the things to keep in mind in the course of your
teaching.
High expectations:
Our students are all unique in their strengths and weaknesses. No
matter what an individual’s ability level, we expect them to actively
take part in a class. Those who are able to understand and perform the
more advanced concepts can become model ‘teachers’ or ‘aides’ during a
particular activity. Not everyone will fully engage in all the
exercises. Some of our students may not have full use of their hands
to grasp or the full range of motion to strike a drum. In this case
adapted equipment is used if possible or we can play the instrument or
voice the responses for them, everybody participates. It is important
to remember not to get discouraged if active participation does not
occur immediately – Eddie tells a story where it took over 1 year to
get a young lady to independently respond to him. The most important
thing is to always expect more from your students; never tell us what
they can’t do, concentrate on what they can.

Structure:
There is nothing worse than not being prepared for your class. Your
students will know and will take advantage of you, or you will lose
the attention and respect of the class. Before arriving for class
create a lesson plan. For example, a 1hour class of 10 people might
be:
Open with getting instruments out and set up (5 min)
Play your names as a greeting (2 min)
Work on Laterality (alternating hands) and Counting to 4 (5 min)
“Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho” for turn taking (8 min)
Fast-Slow and Loud-Soft (8 min)
Color Matching (8 min)
Adding and Subtracting (5 min)
Obstacle Course (14 min)
Clean up and put instruments away (5 min)
Share with the class what will be covered during that day’s lesson. Be
structured and consistent in the verbal or visual directions that you
give. Always model the basic technique and exactly what you want to
teach for the day.


Positive Reinforcement:
Everyone wants to be recognized and appreciated for his or her
individual accomplishments. Sometimes recognition comes positively,
but often it may come from a very negative place. How often do you
scold when this happens or give negative feedback rather than practice
active listening? If the only recognition that a person gets from you
are reprimands and anger, they will not respond at all, or ‘act out’
more, just to get attention. The alternative is to find positive
actions that result in positive reinforcement. High fives, playing the
drum in a group, being the leader, and giving high accolades are all
examples of positive reinforcement.

A behavior modification technique can be as simple as temporarily
moving a drum away from a disruptive student. This form of non-
exclusionary time out by ignoring the disruption and increasing the
accolades, high fives and eye contact to everyone else in the class is
often more effective than a verbal reprimand.

It is also important to remember to make direct eye contact. Eye
contact is a high level of respect. In some severe cases, eye contact
may cause the student with Autism to become more uncomfortable so use
your discretion in this situation. It is important to let your
students know you care about them. Above all, never give up, you will
make a connection, and learning will surely follow.

Be real and be considerate. You will find that their instincts will
outshine those of typical children every time so, trust them.
Understand that your students need the same guidance and direction as
their typically developed peers. (Important) Always give them room (do
not hover over them or behind them) and time to think to execute the
task on their own before you quite rightly then offer to do it for
them.

If you feel you are becoming overwhelmed or frustrated due to negative
behaviors occurring in your students, take a staff time-out. Time out
can be for staff to evaluate a situation and see it from a different
perspective.

In the event of extreme behavior (aggression towards others, loud, or
property destruction, etc.,) remove the student, accompanied by a
staff member who can reason and talk with them about the specific
problem. When the individual calms down and understands what he/she
did wrong, they must further understand that a true apology is in
order upon return to the group.

Behavioral processes are extremely complicated, yet at the same time
simple. “For every action there is a reaction”. By choosing to react
with positive reinforcement, the aforementioned concepts have been
proven highly successful in TRAP facilitation.


We’ve added about thirty new exercises including more mathematics,
sequencing, new expanded perceptions, colors, accents, and musical
notation. We are addressing emotional stability and confidence with
more applicable tools for building stronger social skills.

TRAP has a rigorous schedule to finish this year including Delaware
County ARC in July, two new facilities in California in August,
training in Nashville and Chattanooga in September, four cities across
Canada in October with workshops in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and
Vancouver, Austin in November and an inevitable trip to Miami where
The Coral Rock Academy has just signed on to include the TRAP
curriculum in their fall schedule.

Early next year will bring us many opportunities in cooperation with
The DDNA in Orlando Florida where we have already scheduled training
in February and keynote speeches and workshops at the Orlando DDNA
conference at Universal Orlando in May 2009.

The Pearl Drum Corporation has been supporting our efforts for many
years now here and in Canada manufacturing our program and helping us
on every level including marketing, promotion, and distribution.
Asking little in return, they understand that we are dedicated to an
underserved population. I know they share the same sense of gratitude
and satisfaction as I do.