Kvetching

kvetch

\ KVECH \ , intransitive verb;

1.

To complain habitually

*Disclaimer* Today's Dictionary.com Word of the Day was "kvetch." I have been in a kvetching frame of mind this week, so this seemed awfully appropriate. I don't like to complain in an non-constructive way, but it's kvetch day! Please forgive me, and let's hope I can get this funk out of my system.

*Begin Kvetching*

This week, after sixteen weeks of marching band season (ten weeks of school), I really feel like I lost it. Overtired, haven't seen boyfriend or family in a month, running a three-ring circus as my job (read: totally in over my head). Waking up early, commuting to work, 5 competitions (hosted 1), 5 home football games, two parades, two long weekends that weren't (a parade+IMEA).

Living alone, being the only band director in my district, and moving far from home sometimes allow me to sink too much into my neuroses. The stress buildup has peaked. I even went to the pet store and held baby bunnies as a possible source of company/entertainment. I have spent this week trying to bury myself in comfort food (mac n cheese twice in a week is a bit excessive), watching a minimum of 3 hours of TV/night, and hiding from reality about as much as possible with the unrealistic hope that I'll step outside having finished my first year of teaching. I know I can improve from now to next week, but I will be much more able to teach with the end in mind next year. Teaching is haaaaard.

*End Kvetching*

Just play like you used to

In my opinion...advice to all band teachers: If you have time, just play your instrument like you used to before you started teaching. Practice a little bit for the heck of it. :)

I'm currently in a community orchestra in a town nearby where I teach. We aren't professional or super amazing at what we do, but it is really fun to get together with other folks who love music and just play my clarinet. To just be the one sitting and making music directly instead of being in charge for once. It also helps me keep in mind what it feels like to be IN the band so I can relate with my students better in that way.

Just a thought ....as Nick, Glenn, Mary, Emma, and I all prepare to head back to our alma mater this weekend to play in the alumni band for our school's 100th homecoming!



flashback to freshman year with the Chief.....
they must've joined a bunch of different gamedays together in this video because sometimes the alumni band is there and sometimes it's not.....

Pleasant Surprises

As a first year teacher with a lot of plates spinning, I sometimes put off things that a. require lots of planning b. might be unpopular or c. I don't know how to do just yet. First quarter ends this week, and I have yet to really do any assessment with my middle schoolers. I was daunted because I have a full band with no pull out lessons. How do you do a performance assessment in a class of 48 kids? I have heard of people doing video or audio recording in a practice room with some success, but I just didn't get it together because it required prior planning and I didn't see my students jumping on board (and I'm not exactly popular with my 7-8th grade band yet). Assessment just kept getting pushed to the back burner.

My middle school cooperating teacher did a great form of assessment called "solo-tutti." In this arrangement, students alternate between playing an exercise in full ensemble and one student playing as a solo for assessment. There is a specific tempo and procedure, and the process goes on "auto-pilot" so the teacher can assess easily. Students are actively engaged the whole time because they need to make their entrance at the right time. My cooperating teacher did this in sort of a "sniper" style, where she would put kids on the spot, but I like to decide who will go before we begin to make the process a little smoother. The whole band can be assessed on, say, a Bb scale in 3-4 min. a day within a week. Of course, students have to be comfortable playing individually and be quiet as their peers play, but it is a good system for technical exercises with a goal of note accuracy (like scales).

Well, I introduced the idea in class on Friday, expecting a tepid response. Instead, I had students' eyes light up! "Can we play for you one at a time?? Great!" I had more volunteers to go on the first day than we had time for. We started assessment on both Bb and F scales because my students were so pumped about it. Wow, I guess I'm not the only one wishing I could give these students more attention. I thought they acted sullen in my class because they disliked me. And don't get me wrong, I am sure a few of my students don't like me! But I see now that they just want more attention and feedback than they receive in full band, which is exactly what I keep wishing I could give them. Wow! Really hoping that I can get some group lessons going. Have to keep exploring this with my administration over the course of the year. Wish me luck!

Little Victories, Small Catastrophes

Things really are getting better, bit by bit. I'm just going to toss out some recent highlights and low points from the past few weeks. In about a week and a half, I'll be writing a full blown post on my second take on teaching some improvisation concepts through Radiohead's "The National Anthem" in jazz band. Until then, however, pardon my randomness.

Victories:

I have been following David Newell's prescription for rhythmic independence pretty strictly since day one, and I have noticed significant improvement in most students. His method is based on the Pestalozzian principle of the thing before the sign. Say you want to pass out a tune that has dotted quarter note rhythms. Newell would suggest that a few weeks before you pass out the song, follow this process, spending just about 2 minutes per day:

1) Perform the rhythm. Using a call and response format (I call it My Turn/Your Turn), simply have your students perform the rhythm. Do this for a few days.

2) Count the rhythm. Newell likes to teach his kids that all rhythms have secret hidden lyrics known as counting words. Have the students perform the rhythm by singing it on "du" using call and response. Next, do the same rhythm again, except with its counting words, such as "1 and 3 4." Do this for a few days. Eventually you get to the point where you say the rhythm on "du" or "tu" and the students respond with the counting words.

3) See the rhythm. Make rhythm flash cards with the rhythm written in large font on it. Continue to sing, play on instruments, and use counting words on these rhythms, but each time students go, hold up the flashcards so students can begin to make the connection between the rhythm pattern they already know how to play and the notated pattern that they are seeing.

4) Apply it. After a week and a half or so of this process, students should be able to nail this in the piece. If they can't, keep working on it.

5) Understand it. At this point, you can get into the specifics of rhythm trees and note durations, etc. This comes last, not first.

I'm going to keep this up with the idea that we can become more and more independent in our rhythm reading to spend more time on music. (Of course, this approach doesn't work if you have a group of percussion boys who are determined to not even look up during this exercise. That back row can't read a lick, and it's a shame that they don't participate in this activity geared towards helping them read the music in front of them.)

-Speaking of that, I get percussion lessons with my 6th graders once a week, and we had our first one this past Wednesday. We went straight into rhythm tree and counting stuff and I had them write in the counting to their band music and an easy snare drum etude I pulled up. Hopefully this blossoms into something!

-Beginners started two weeks ago, and if nothing else, I have pretty nice instrumentation. 3 flutes, 5 clarinets, 1 oboe, 1 sax, 3 horns, 9 trumpets, 7 trombones, 2 baritones, and 1 tuba. Yes, no percussion. I have had such a tough time with my JH Band percussionists, that I wanted to give myself a chance to get a better grip on teaching percussion before I start a few next year.

I'm a brass player by nature, so I feel really comfortable helping brass players sound great, and my brass players are strong already. I'm seeking to feel as comfortable on diagnosing and solving woodwind problems. Workin' on it!

-I have a handful of kids who, for one reason or another, just need a heck of a lot attention. They are constantly by my side, in my office, raising their hand, sitting by me on the bus, and just telling me all sorts of random stuff. It's easy to get frustrated, especially when they all compete against each other for my attention and speak at the same time. I am trying really hard to just love these boys, however. Mr. Clark's comment the other day about the importance of character education really resonated within me.

Here's an example, with a 5th grade baritone player who plays alright, but he is a real space cadet. I do know, however, that his dad lives in another state and his mom just got out of jail. He really needs some attention and love.

The other day, he stayed after school to practice, and he played for a few minutes and then was running around, playing football with another kid outside. Instead of yelling at him and telling him to practice some more, I thought the best thing I could do for him was to do some good, solid, guy stuff. So I tossed the football around with him for a few minutes and waited with him until his grandma came to pick him up. I know that he rarely gets that kind of special attention from a positive male role model, so it was a feel good moment for me, and I hope it was for him, too.

-I had some kids initiate a "Clean Up the Uniform Room" afternoon the other day, which was awesome to see. I love kids taking some ownership about the state of the band program.

-I got to put away the marching percussion on Saturday after our last parade! I was elated.

Catastrophes:

- I am still having difficulty with my pacing. I often feel like class happens to me instead of me running class. Many times, I'll forget to check the time, make certain announcements, pass certain things out, etc. I'm working on slowing down the teaching process so that it doesn't feel like such a whirlwind.

-I still have lots of 8th graders and a few 7th graders who have not at all bought into me and what I hope to do with the band. They are fighting everything and intentionally ruining some things. I'm not sure if it's a case of me being the new guy they don't know or ineffective teaching or classroom management, or just breaking bad behavior habits.

-I had a parade about a month ago where we arrived too early and we just cooked in the sun for 2 hours before stepping off. We were dead tired before we even started. Yesterday, however, at our last parade, we arrived a tad late and stepped off about 2 minutes after lining up! I am still getting the logistics of dragging a gaggle of middle schoolers across the state down.

-The best student in my band wants to quit. He's an 8th grade trumpet player who got a D on his progress report because he did 1 out of 5 listening assignments and failed to turn in many other things. I have given him an opportunity to make up the lost points, but he hasn't even told me that he wants to do so. He very well could quit, but he might even get an F as well. I've talked with his folks and with him, but no progress at all yet. I am clueless. I just don't know the best way to approach the situation in a way that reaches out to this student so that he doesn't miss out on a chance for music education, but still does not compromise my principles as a teacher.

Anyway, that's a mouthful. After our jazz band concert, I'll update on our "National Anthem" project.

A personal goal

Life in the country schools is all-around good; my kids are pretty darn good kids and I work with good people. But I'm realizing more and more (through failure) that teaching is really about having a lot of patience and love.

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to get my kids to work super hard on a marching band song we're playing from memory in a Halloween parade. It's been slow-going, and I've been getting extremely frustrated with small things and with my students in general. I have been jumping all over them and giving them lots of talks about how they have to take this seriously and get memorizing and pay attention in class more. I get angry quickly. I snap at students who interrupt me or who just happen to be looking away at the moment I look to them to see if they're paying attention. I sometimes talk down to them when they irritate me. And I realized last week, that is not the teacher I want to be.

The teacher I want to be is one full of love and patience. I don't want to be consumed with getting my students to create the best performance they can and with doing whatever it takes to get them there. No; I want to be consumed with developing young musicians - young people - that are going to work hard but still enjoy what they are doing. ...That are going to be good people who have experienced love and respect from adults and who are eventually going to become those adults. I shouldn't have to jump all over them for small things just because MY patience is lacking and just because I may be getting frustrated. We should be able to get things done AND have fun. And I really do think that if the students are enjoying band and having fun, they will want to keep working and practicing and making things better.

So I've come up with a personal goal this week to just be more patient and loving towards my kids. Love is what they need most anyway; so many of them get yelled at enough at home and from other teachers - I don't need to contribute to that. And I think what will help me most with being patient is just trying to have fun with them and laughing more. Like, by remembering the day they all held their instruments on their heads as hats. Wish I had had a camera. :)

And for a nice laugh...you can enjoy watching this trombone tumble: (Look near the 40 yard line on the right side of the 50)

Student Ownership

A nice article I recommend reading on giving students a little more ownership of the band and giving them an opportunity to help you out more: http://www.keynotesmagazine.com/article/?uid=297

reading music? No problem!

I am seeing progress every day with my students and FINALLY feel like a teacher (instead of a big joke).. Once again, my middle school children are amazing! Yesterday, I had a several 7th graders start class saying "I don't get this, I can't, this will be hard..." and by the end were saying "This isn't so bad! It's easy!" and, to boost my confidence I even heard "Mr. X last year made this so much more complicated!" YES!!! Success! Kids can read music! Also, preschool is amazing. Seriously, how many other people get to say that they get to smile and sing with 4 year olds for their job?!


Also, to follow up from my last "life lessons" post; today one of my eighth graders told me "I save my science project twice last night! To my hard drive and my flash drive! I remembered your life lessons!" I felt good.

Life isn't all roses, things are totally stressful and crazy and frustrating right now too, but it's good to find some good moments. I feel like I had another cute story to tell from today, but I'm too tired to remember right now.. Oh well!

Planning

I am a "devil's in the details" individual. I specialize in what my mother likes to call "rearranging deck chairs on the titanic:" a myopic obsession with details that may not contribute to the end game. However, that tendency is rooted in what I think is a rational credo. I believe that successful, effective teachers are detail-oriented. They front-load learning with a plan that includes objectives, an assessment strategy, and logistical preparation.

My confession: over the past several months, I have only planned a handful of lessons. Unexpected schedule changes, assemblies, fire drills, and student absences have all limited my ability to control my beloved details. I am still finding my students' ability level and what works with them. What planning I've done feels wasted when it backfires for one reason or another. Plus, the range of courses I teach (6th grade band, 7-8th grade band, marching band, music appreciation, beginners) can be overwhelming. Usually, I feel like a full day of school takes so much out of me, I don't have the energy to look even two days ahead.

This is stressful for me. I have seen teachers that teach without a plan for twenty years or more, and I have seen first year teachers who put out fires instead of planning ahead. I told myself I was not going to be "that teacher." I imagine my college professors looking on with horror at the lack of preparation in my teaching. In particular, I just imagine Dr. M.'s signature concerned face: looking up from his clipboard with raised eyebrows and a slightly cocked head, and deciding your fate with a stroke of his pen (dun dun DUN!!!!!). Okay, so this anxiety is getting pretty out of hand.

As I described these problems to some of the other DSTC contributors at a meeting the other night, Sara said something along the lines of "but what about Rule Number 6?" (I.e. "Don't take yourself so god damned seriously"). And as I read this post and examine my thought processes, I realize that I haven't been doing a very good job of following that rule, even though I wrote about it. The sky is not falling; my program is not in dire straits; Dr. M. is not, in fact, going to rescind my teaching certificate and diploma based on my performance as a first year teacher. I think the biggest obstacle to actually planning is the anxiety/burnout caused by not planning. This cycle needs to stop. I love teaching effectively and helping students, and by not planning, I'm not giving myself the chance to enjoy my job.

I'm seeing a pattern here: Emma: Calm down. Move on. And remember Rule Number 6! For real this time :)

something new.

Instead of posting yet another blog about my mishaps with classroom management, how there is a really big difference between behavior in the fall and behavior in the spring, or the many annoyances and frustrations of the week, I am going to share with you two great stories about jr. high... (shocking, I know.)

1. "Life lessons with Ms.Blazier." I started doing this on a whim with my eight grade after someone asked why I had a bandaid on my hand. We had story time while I told how I burned my hand the day before (trying to make the story as funny as possible)... The life lesson? "Ovens are HOT!" About a week later, I lost ALL of my lesson plans. That day, I had eighth grade, so I continued my life lessons. This week's moral? "Save Twice!" and finally, that same week, the rain and humidity got to my projector and it stopped working during mass and class... Life lessons again! "Rain ruins things!" What started out as a quick story has turned into something that my eighth grades ask about EVERY TIME they see me! "Ms. Blazier! What are your life lessons for today!?" They've even started asking other teachers for life lessons in those classes, too! It's really awesome. I've got to hold on to their interest and attention for this, because it's about the only way that I have all the either graders focused and paying attention in music... At least they will know something about life at the end of the year!

2. 7th graders are awesome. Who knew? This week I went to see our 7th and 8th grade girls basketball teams play a home game. The game itself was really cool. I enjoy seeing the kids outside of the classroom environment. I felt like a parent, I was so proud of them! But more than that, the moment that myself and another teacher walked in the gym for the first game, the whole 7th grade team smiled and waved at us. After the game was over, the 7th grade team (minus the few who play with the eighth grade team) came at sat with me and their english teacher in the bleachers...for the WHOLE NEXT GAME. and do you think they were watching the game? not a chance..they were circled around facing us like my first grade playing the penny game. It was ADORABLE! they were so excited to just talk to us! (Granted, it was a little annoying cuz I actually wanted to watch the 8th grade game!) I would have NEVER EVER sat with my teachers when I was in jr. high. These kids are crazy! It felt really good to see that the kids don't hate me, and I feel that it helped me get to know some of the kids that I haven't connect with as well yet. Yay!