Playing Racquetball with Harry Wong

No, that's not the title of a cheesy informational movie about how to play racquetball. It's my dream. I'm somewhere around halfway through his "First Days of School," and was zapped by inspiration and awe for about the millionth time when he said:

"At 4 o'clock, I go play racquetball, drink margaritas, and teach my Itlanian bride how to cook Chinese food. You don't see me dragging out at the end of the school day groaning, 'I can't take this any longer'...The reason teachers are so tired at the end of ths chool day is that they have been working...The person who does the work is the only one doing any learning."

I've been preparing for the beginning of the school year at my middle school by setting up 5th grade band demonstration nights, applying to march in local parades, sending out letters to my students, thinking through curriculum, etc, etc, etc, this serves as a great reminder. Instead of thinking about teaching in terms of what I, the teacher, am going to cover, I should be thinking about what my students will accomplish and experience. I can whip up all the snazzy powerpoints full of the most exciting information, but as long as the students are not doing work, they aren't really learning. That's not to say that I don't think I should prepare these kinds of things, but every lesson I prepare should be centered around students doing something, working toward a goal.

This section hit me particularly because I have been mentally preparing for long, arduous days that result in me feeling exhausted and lost. But maybe it doesn't have to be that way? Obviously, I'm going to find out. I'm going to work hard to prepare myself, but I have a renewed desire to make sure that my preparation is centered around I want my students to accomplish and experience. This obviously benefits my students, and it certainly benefits me. And my racquetball game.

Whistle While You Work

I. AM. SO. TIRED.


school hasn't even started yet.

I have spent the last few days cleaning and preparing my classroom and meeting fellow staff members. First off, I have to say, I LOVE MY SCHOOL. Everyone has been so helpful, and I feel truly blessed to be so supported already. The stressful and tiring parts have come from all the cleaning. The room was a part time music room last year, so a lot of materials sat and collected dust. It's been not only challenging to clean, but also to make it feel like MY room, and not me borrowing someone else's... I'm not quite there yet. I must say though, that between killing spiders, vacuuming up plaster that is falling off the wall, moving furniture, going through music books from the 60's, and securing a desk, it IS starting to take shape. It's going to be a wonderful year, and I mean that with every bit of my heart!

For those interested, here is what my room looks likes after two 8 hours days of work.


happy working!
Mary

Lots to prepare

The title says it all.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO PREPARE FOR SCHOOL IN A FEW WEEKS!

I have to emphasize though, the "First Days of School" by Harry Wong, as I mentioned before, is an incredible book that touches on everything you need to have ready to go. I read something, take notes on it, consider how it will apply to my own classroom, and then dwell for a few minutes on the things I need to do to make it happen....before August 18th.

First day of school: 23 days, 15 hours, and 10 minutes. (I just downloaded a countdown widget on my mac)

Quick Update

I have a short & quick update for you ...simply because I was excited and wanted to share.

Got my teaching certificate in the mail today! (And my college degree came last week) Boy it feels good to have that - to know that what I've been working hard at (and paying a lot for) for the past 4 years has finally paid off!

I also got two really awesome teaching supplies today from my school (for free!): A Class Record (gradebook) and a Lesson Plan Book. You know, those really big thin books that always sit on the teacher's desk and carry important info....like grades & lesson plans?? :)

(Ok, I know it's totally nerdy to be excited that I just got those for free from my school. But c'mon, that's partly why I'm a teacher! I love that stuff!)


In other random news....I just walked across my front lawn and a snake quickly scattered across my path. Scared the heck out of me! I had never seen one in my front yard (or backyard for that matter) before.

Preparations

It seems like Glenn, Mary, and I are all starting to prepare things for the new year (our first year!). Mary is working hard on curriculum and packing, Glenn is getting a lot of information from his predecessor and getting things organized, and I am teaching 6th grade lessons and reading material on teaching methods like nobody's business. (I seem to be doing the least work right now....reading isn't actually planning yet i guess...oops)

Anyway, it's that time of summer where we have to start focusing ourselves and getting in the teacher mindset. I've been telling my students this week during lessons that if they haven't yet practiced this summer now is the time to start getting back into the swing of things to prepare for school in the fall. And "Back to School" ads are coming out right and left!

It can be really overwhelming to prepare for something you've never done before and for something new and exciting but quite challenging. I've been trying to combat stress over all of these preparations by reading inspiring and useful texts such as "First Days of School" by Harry Wong. I heard it was a great book to use to prepare for...well, the first days of school! I just started it but I love it already. It emphasizes that the first days of school are THE MOST IMPORTANT days of the whole year by far... but the book doesn't leave you hanging there. It helps the reader know how to actually make the best of these important days and start the year off right with practical tips and suggestions.

That's what we all want anyway - to start the year off right. It's clear that the first year is not going to be easy. But it will help if we can at least start the year off on the right foot and prepare as much as we can for it.

Great week of music camp

What a great week! As I said before, I totally felt "in my element" this week. Teaching the marching band flutes & clarinets in sectionals was so much fun, and a great way to get things rolling for my first year of teaching music. They were a lot of fun, they worked hard, and I actually feel like we had enough time to talk about other important musical things like tuning, technique, instrument tendencies, and REED CARE! :)

I got paid to teach sectionals this week and if I come back to help the band at all this fall, I won't get paid any more. But I think that I love marching band so much that I just might do it for free if there's time. You can at least expect to me to be writing about drill camp in a few weeks though! Marching technique is one of my favorite things to teach, hehe. *pushes up band nerd glasses*

Now it's time for me to start planning to teach the cute little 6th graders in summer lessons next week in my very own classrooms! We will be working on remembering the basics about making a good sound, fingerings, and learning their parade song, El Gato. :)

Up to my neck in papers and websites...

Hey all, Mary here...

One of the unique challenges of working in a private school is the lack of a set district curriculum for music. I'm not sure if that is the same everywhere, but for me, I'm pretty much on my own. I know that I need something set and extremely organized. I'm teaching 10 grade levels -If it's not written down how to sequence things and when to teach what, I'm going to be lost. It's really a daunting task! Luckily, I have collected a lot of curriculum info, now I am just sorting through... how is my curriculum going to be different than the ones I experienced in unit 4? What do other districts have that I think would be useful to include? What are the most important things for my students to learn? Lots of questions... I have Kindergarten and 1st grade pretty much done, although I acknowledge that anything I write up now is going to to change, and maybe change drastically when I actually am working with the kids and know fully what resources I have. At least I feel organized. I must say, even though sorting through all the different websites and papers is overwhelming, I am really enjoying it! It's fun to see my classroom take shape in my head. I'm excited for all the things that my students will learn, and I'm excited to create lessons plans to encourage that learning! (We'll see how long this zeal lasts...)

In other news, Not only am I planning my curriculum, but I am also packing boxes. I'm pretty much set to move to Springfield on the 15th of July. 8 days from today. Once I get there, I will continue working on curriculum while setting up my apartment AND my classroom. I am so ready! (freaked out and a little stressed, but excited and ready!)

Well, time to get back to work. Here's to a years worth of funny stories, concerns, and advice from the three of us! I'm excited to see this blog develop!!

~Mary

First post!

Hello! Sara here. I'm so excited to be starting this blog with Mary and Glenn! I hope it can be a source of advice, support, and entertainment for us and for our readers.

It's still summer, so I'm sure things won't be updated too incredibly often.... (or maybe they will since we aren't totally overwhelmed with work yet!) but I wanted to get this blog going because today I started teaching the marching band flutes & clarinets at my district's high school. I don't teach at the high school as a part of my official job, but I am working as their woodwind tech this summer.

It went well today actually, and, fortunately, it was easy to get back into the swing of things after summer break since student teaching. My student teaching experience was really good but difficult for me, and I had left wondering if I was cut out for teaching music. Well I think after a good return to teaching today, I do feel like I'm totally in my element. I felt really comfortable and excited to be running music sectionals with those 32 high school girls today (yeah - all girls!), so things are off to a good start!

I hope tomorrow I can energize them and make them laugh more. Maybe break up some of those blank stares I get when I ask them questions. :)