Today’s music session turned into something more than just rhythm drills — it became a real lesson in empathy, responsibility, and leadership.
We were working on a basic snare drum pattern — Right, right, left. A seemingly simple exercise in hand coordination.
Most students picked it up quickly. But one student couldn’t get the beat. He struggled to coordinate his left and right hands. Even after I broke it down slowly — “When I say right, play with your right hand. When I say left, play with your left” — he still found it challenging.
Instead of supporting him, some students began to giggle. One of them, in particular, who was sitting at the drum kit — and had himself struggled with a simple beat earlier — started teasing the student.
At that moment, I paused the class.
I turned to him and asked calmly: 👉 “Should we laugh at you now? You also didn’t get it the first time. How would it feel if we all laughed at you?”
The class went completely quiet.
Then I spoke to everyone: “In this space, if someone doesn’t understand something, it’s your duty to help — not to humiliate. That’s how bands work. That’s how teams grow. And that’s how we grow as people.”
From there, I shifted focus back to the student who was struggling. I worked with him slowly, step by step, breaking down the pattern and giving him hand-mind coordination exercises. He stayed focused, didn’t give up, and gradually — he started getting it.
That moment was important.
Not because the rhythm clicked… But because the respect in the room shifted. Because a culture of mockery was interrupted and replaced with a culture of patience, support, and reflection.
💬 In music education — or any classroom — it’s easy to focus on the students who shine quickly. But the real work often lies in noticing the ones who struggle silently… And the even harder work lies in shaping the group to become more supportive — not more judgmental.
📌 As educators, we don’t just teach skills. We set the tone. We build the emotional architecture of a classroom.
Sometimes, teaching rhythm means realigning values.
🎶 To fellow educators, musicians, and school leaders: 🔸 How do you build classrooms where students feel safe to struggle? 🔸 What’s your way of handling group behavior when it crosses into insensitivity?
Let’s teach beyond technique. Let’s teach how to be human — one beat at a time.