It seems to me there are two mindsets in the choral classroom.
You can be student-focused, or you can be music-focused.
A student-focused choral educator will always prioritize the mental and emotional needs of their students. They create a safe space for student expression, teach leadership, collaboration, and trust as fundamental concepts.
A music-focused choral educator will always prioritize students advancing in their music literacy, working on appropriately challenging repertoire, behaving professionally, and focusing forward on the next concert or performance.
Are you student-focused or music-focused?
There is no wrong answer, of course. Both types can make excellent educators. But I think the best way to teach is to have two centers. Rather than thinking of your teaching as a circle, with one center, think of it as an ellipse, with two focal points.
With two focal points, you are sometimes closer to one, and sometimes closer to the other. Some days you’re more student-focused, sometimes more music-focused. But always, the two are working together to create the shape of your teaching.
That way, both foci strengthen each other, and your students. The leadership and collaboration and emotional connections you work on will strengthen the music. The literacy, repertoire, and performances will strengthen the students.
Not one focus. Two.