“One of the primary challenges for the music educator is managing and motivating the young musicians in the classroom,” says MENC member Don P. Ester. A professor of music education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Ester believes this is especially true for music educators in their first few years of teaching. “While we may think of discipline as the responsibility of the individual student, the teacher’s behavior has a significant impact on the students’ behavior.”

“The word CARE represents the essence of what I’ve learned about student management and motivation. If you care about students, you help them do what they should. If you simply want them to like you, you allow them to do what they wish.” Those who truly care for our students have

Ester concludes, “One of the ironies of adolescence is that young people crave limits while claiming they are old enough to make their own decisions. Many educators confuse earning their students’ friendship with earning their respect. Be a gardener in your classroom. Praise, like fertilizer, stimulates growth. Like pruning, appropriate management of unruly growth will help the overall student. Proper care and feeding of your students will result in a fine harvest, but it takes time and effort. Be patient. Make your garden grow.”

—Ella Wilcox, April 22, 2008; © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org). Don P. Ester’s comments are distilled from D. P. Ester, “The CARE and Feeding of Students,” Indiana Musicator 56, no. 1 (2000): 32–33.