BRATS PROGRAM OUTLINE
The BRATS Progam Outline is developed primarily for college level teachers but can also work for private studio teachers dependant upon age and level of students.
- THE BRATS TEAM. Pick 5 students in your studio who are interested in teaching and who could use some classroom experience or already have some classroom experience. Music education majors who are also taking viola are superb in this situation because generally they are comfortable in a large class room format.
- WHERE TO GO. Contact area high schools who you feel would benefit from a “viola visit”. These could be schools with a great music program already and terrific viola students or schools with no music program at all. I would suggest making arrangements to visit 5 schools per academic term/semester.
- THE VISIT. Ask your students to prepare 5 minutes of playing (they could rotate each visit or you could simply ask the most experienced performers to play as a good example will go along way to encouraging all the students in that class to listen to what you have to say about the viola). Then include about 10 minutes of a presentation (more below). Leave time for questions and answer and then also 15-20 min’s for a separate sectional with the violas in a different room (make sure you request this room ahead of time so that you can talk with the existing violas during the sectional part of the visit). Show the class how to use the BRATS NOTEBOOK and leave a copy behind in the classroom. Inform them of when you will be hosting a BRATS DAY at the local university or Saturday/music school.
- PRESENTATION. There are many ways to go with the presentation. You or your students could talk about their experiences starting as viola students; what they see in their futures; different careers one can have as a violist; the kind of repertoire violists often play; their greatest hero’s of the instrument (perhaps play a CD and show pictures) or/and they could pick various technical issues to address such as practicing; posture, how to bow straight, vibrato. Any games or fun exercises are great in this context and the clinic can be any and all of the above - try to keep it fun. Classroom visits are about 30-45 minutes so you want it to be full of life, exciting and inspiring. Chances are, those viola students don’t have anyone to help them get better and feel isolated from the other students. Anything that can be done to bring a happy experience and some pride in their instrument will go along way to their experiences in music class and outside.
- SECTIONAL. As with all aspects of a visit, the sectional should be well planned before the students go. In the start of our school visits, I played, started the discussion and ran the sectional. Shortly, the students knew what to do and could do it themselves. I do feel it was a terrific experience for my students and with instant feedback on their classroom skills and problem solving techniques they had real tools for the future.
- FUNDING. The BRATS program is an ideal way to apply to your university for funding. It is by nature an ‘outreach’ program. The BRATS program at the University of Washington was fully funded to supply 3 students with some sort of significant scholarship. If you already have students on scholarship it could be something that you require them to do.
- THE BRATS DAY. Once you have started to build a reputation in the community and have visited at least 5 schools you should be able to host a BRATS DAY with great success. The format of the BRATS day is already very clearly outlined on this web site (see Host your own BRATS Day).I would only add that the BRATS TEAM who go out into the community to give clinics should be required as TEAM LEADERS to organize the event (with your supervision) at your institution. It is a marvelous way for the students in a studio to bond and to learn how to put on an event together, to see the natural progression of each part of the program and the results gained from it. The BRATS DAY event will include advertising, printing t shirts, compiling registration packets, registration, schedules, events, mailings, booking facilities etc.
Benefits of the BRATS Program
The overall aim for the BRATS program is for everyone involved to get something significant out of it. Benefits include the following:
1. The professor/teacher is exposed to a multitude of students from which to recruit. They also get to fulfill their community service requirements of university loads and expose their teaching skills to local high school teachers who in turn recommend the music program at your school to their students.
2. The college level students get to learn how to arrange and organize outreach visits. They learn how to make a presentation to a classroom and how to organize a big event with lots of students. They get to design classroom plans for the BRATS DAY, teach and connect with younger students. They are supervised and so received feedback and improve for next time. They might even get a young student or two out of it too! But more importantly, they gain confidence and learn techniques that will help them as they get started after college.
3. The younger viola students get to meet other violists. They get to see students studying at college, sounding good and working towards a career as violists. They get introduced to a college professor and get to go to a fun day camp just for violists! (Only violists allowed!) They learn, they play and they meet other violists and make friends. They no longer feel isolated and realize that there are great viola players and if they wanted to, they might be able to be one too! They will have access to teachers, to resources, get a tour of the campus and take home a prize and a t shirt.
Once you have a BRATS day under your belt you could consider hosting a viola congress and your BRATS TEAM could be your CONGRESS TEAM!
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