Well, I think it's pretty evident from our lack of blog posts that the end of the year is BUSY for music teachers. Final spring concerts, musicals, grades, turning in registration forms for fall events, planning next year's calendar, preparing for or actually doing beginning band recruitment, organizing rosters and lesson schedules for the summer and fall, picking music for marching band, cleaning out your room/desk, and all of the little administrative things all teachers have to do at the end of the year etc...the list goes on! And it gets hectic!
It's all fun though, in my opinion, because the things you have to do to prepare for next year, well, that's exciting because you're thinking about your new year - your second year of teaching! It sounds promising! And the things you're doing to wrap up this year....while it's hectic, it's all coming to a close and it becomes quite a relief when you look at the calendar and you see that you have some free time during school because private lessons have ended for the year. Or when you see "band party" on the calendar. That doesn't sound too stressful!
For me, our district-wide concert is over and I only have one individual school concert left (tomorrow) and then I'm done. 4 regular days left of school and 7 "work" days (including our annual 6th grade band trip). I love how things wrap up around here. Summer is just around the corner!
I wanted to write about one more thing while it's on my mind. I think that one of the hardest things I've dealt with this year is recruitment. Numbers. I think there is a lot of pressure for a first year teacher to have at least the same number of kids in band or choir as the year before, if not more! It's almost a way to judge your success. If you have less students in band than they did last year, then you failed somehow. At least, it's easy to fall into that mindset. While I know that is not necessarily true - numbers fluctuate every year - it is the hardest thing to deal with when you have kids coming up to you saying "I don't think I'm gonna do _____(band/choir/anything) anymore."
I haven't had too many come up to me during the year, but today I just had a BUNCH of 6th graders that are moving into jr. high tell me that they changed their minds and are not going to be in jr. high chorus anymore next year. It was a big hit; they are some of my best musicians and I had counted on them to be there next year for my first year of teaching jr. high chorus. And so I had a really hard time figuring out how to react to them when they kept coming up to tell me they changed their minds about chorus.
(Side note: the main reason they changed their minds, I think, is because yesterday they were allowed to sign up for classes and saw all of the other electives. With this being their first opportunity to choose classes, they were excited and wanted to choose as many different and new ones as possible. I understand why they would want to! But still, it's hard to hear that they didn't want to be in my class.)
You know, it's just very hard not to take it personally. Also, professionally, how are you supposed to have an excellent ensemble when you only have like 10 kids? Numbers don't necessarily guarantee musical greatness, but they do help a lot, I think.
Anyway, those are just my thoughts on losing kids in your program. I have no advice on how to deal with it other than to realize it's probably not a personal thing - kids have all sorts of silly or sometimes good reasons for not joining band or chorus. I wish I could say I've won the battle, but it's only beginning for me. I have to figure out how I am going to turn my future high school chorus with 52 girls and 4 boys into something more balanced. Recruitment suggestions welcome!
Happy end of the year, everyone. :)
Showing posts with label first year blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first year blues. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"You Know What's Easy?"
"Nothing."
It's a saying that my parents lovingly said to each other, and still say, when they are faced with challenges of things going wrong. It makes a lot of sense to me now, as I have tried to establish some things at my middle school band program that have been met with some mixed reviews from students and parents. The main thrust of this post will be about my experiences with my attempts to have high standards and a thorough system of accountability, and kids quitting band because of it.
In order to fully grasp this, you need a little background information to set up the stories about quitting: In college, they taught us all these creative, educationally and pedagogically sound ways to enhance band, to make it more than just deficit style teaching. These methods include things like comprehensive musicianship teaching presentations, student centered questioning, and other activities that help students learn and do music that are a bit more than "no, that's wrong, play it again."
A big component of this new way of thinking about band is assessment. We were taught that it is crucial for music education to show that it is a serious, academic subject just like anything else, in order to appease administrators who are looking for evaluation tools, and to advocate for music programs by showing that we are not just an extracurricular, we are a core subject. Music (or band) is not just an activity where students are just given As if they show up. It's a course that requires lots of hard work that can and should be assessed and evaluated. So we have evaluation tools and assessments such as playing tests and practice reports.
I do believe in that, I really do. And as I sat in my undergraduate desk, I was so excited to get out there and give kids that well-rounded, comprehensive music education. Then I got a job, and now I'm trying to make it work, and it is tough (you know what's easy?)
My students, who have never experienced any sort of accountability, responsibility, or assessment, are suddenly getting smacked in the face with all this stuff that I'm introducing to them that I was taught in college. We're doing daily listening logs, playing tests, fingering worksheets, studying the rhythm tree, and other things that are completely foreign to them. They are used to barely scraping by at a sub-mediocre level, and the director singing their parts at them enough times to essentially memorize the few songs they are working on. They aren't used to being asked to figure things out for themselves, to work hard, and be held accountable for their playing. You've probably read me say that enough times now over the past few months.
The thing that really worked against me was, with all these assessments, some kids' grades suffered, because they turned in hardly any practice reports, if any, put forth no effort on listening log answers, and did not prepare at all for playing tests. But they idea that they are ingrained with is that you just get an A in band, right? That's what my they thought, that's what the parents thought, and that is naively not what I thought. I still believe in a band program based on comprehensive musicianship, assessment, and the like, but I made a big mistake in thinking it would work flawlessly from day one. It's something you have to build up and do piece by piece. I still think it was ok to do for me to start some of these new things, but I shouldn't have made it impact grades so severely from the beginning.
Because I had a bit of a revolution on my hands. Around progress report time, I heard rumblings about students quitting. I talked with some upset parents and some upset 8th graders about why their mid-term grade was what it was and how they can pick it up. Many of them did not make that effort, and when report cards came out, many students had earned Ds and Cs, which was the coup d'grace of their band careers. The best musician in the band quit, the worst behavior problem in the band quit (hallelujah?), and another 8th grader. Morale was low, from both me and the band.
I began to see that I made a real mistake. I still believed in the changes I was making, but I did not implement them in a way that would make the transition feasible for many of my students. After 3 years of a totally different system, they were unable and unwilling to jump into mine, baptism-by-fire style. So I carefully amended many grades, raising Ds to Cs and Cs to Bs, all the while trying to not compromise the solid A that most students earned. But it was too late. How could I slap my kids in the face with this new system, give them Ds and Cs for it, and then expect them to stay in this elective?
As I write this, I realize that the essence of my problem is that I am trying hard to find that balance of fun and high standards/accountability. They can coexist. They should. Some of my students don't know it yet. It's not fun to be lost every time you come to band. But it's also not fun to see a bar set too high for where the students are at this point. They weren't ready, and I just didn't realize it.
How can I create a fun, healthy, safe educational environment where standards are high and there are many systems of accountability without students feeling constantly pressured? I want the best for them. I want them to learn a ton and perform well, all the while having fun. Any teachers or anybody out there, how do you inspire and motivate your students to work hard to meet high standards while making it fun and achievable? This may be a dilemma that is solved with time, as the rebellious 8th graders are phased out, and my own kids are raised up through the program.
That's the perfect plan to turn things around, isn't it? Do as much as you can with the kids you inherited and then grow some super players who love band, love working hard, love music, and don't want to disappoint you. But then again, you know what's easy?
More on the subject of 5th grade band and motivation in the weeks to come!
It's a saying that my parents lovingly said to each other, and still say, when they are faced with challenges of things going wrong. It makes a lot of sense to me now, as I have tried to establish some things at my middle school band program that have been met with some mixed reviews from students and parents. The main thrust of this post will be about my experiences with my attempts to have high standards and a thorough system of accountability, and kids quitting band because of it.
In order to fully grasp this, you need a little background information to set up the stories about quitting: In college, they taught us all these creative, educationally and pedagogically sound ways to enhance band, to make it more than just deficit style teaching. These methods include things like comprehensive musicianship teaching presentations, student centered questioning, and other activities that help students learn and do music that are a bit more than "no, that's wrong, play it again."
A big component of this new way of thinking about band is assessment. We were taught that it is crucial for music education to show that it is a serious, academic subject just like anything else, in order to appease administrators who are looking for evaluation tools, and to advocate for music programs by showing that we are not just an extracurricular, we are a core subject. Music (or band) is not just an activity where students are just given As if they show up. It's a course that requires lots of hard work that can and should be assessed and evaluated. So we have evaluation tools and assessments such as playing tests and practice reports.
I do believe in that, I really do. And as I sat in my undergraduate desk, I was so excited to get out there and give kids that well-rounded, comprehensive music education. Then I got a job, and now I'm trying to make it work, and it is tough (you know what's easy?)
My students, who have never experienced any sort of accountability, responsibility, or assessment, are suddenly getting smacked in the face with all this stuff that I'm introducing to them that I was taught in college. We're doing daily listening logs, playing tests, fingering worksheets, studying the rhythm tree, and other things that are completely foreign to them. They are used to barely scraping by at a sub-mediocre level, and the director singing their parts at them enough times to essentially memorize the few songs they are working on. They aren't used to being asked to figure things out for themselves, to work hard, and be held accountable for their playing. You've probably read me say that enough times now over the past few months.
The thing that really worked against me was, with all these assessments, some kids' grades suffered, because they turned in hardly any practice reports, if any, put forth no effort on listening log answers, and did not prepare at all for playing tests. But they idea that they are ingrained with is that you just get an A in band, right? That's what my they thought, that's what the parents thought, and that is naively not what I thought. I still believe in a band program based on comprehensive musicianship, assessment, and the like, but I made a big mistake in thinking it would work flawlessly from day one. It's something you have to build up and do piece by piece. I still think it was ok to do for me to start some of these new things, but I shouldn't have made it impact grades so severely from the beginning.
Because I had a bit of a revolution on my hands. Around progress report time, I heard rumblings about students quitting. I talked with some upset parents and some upset 8th graders about why their mid-term grade was what it was and how they can pick it up. Many of them did not make that effort, and when report cards came out, many students had earned Ds and Cs, which was the coup d'grace of their band careers. The best musician in the band quit, the worst behavior problem in the band quit (hallelujah?), and another 8th grader. Morale was low, from both me and the band.
I began to see that I made a real mistake. I still believed in the changes I was making, but I did not implement them in a way that would make the transition feasible for many of my students. After 3 years of a totally different system, they were unable and unwilling to jump into mine, baptism-by-fire style. So I carefully amended many grades, raising Ds to Cs and Cs to Bs, all the while trying to not compromise the solid A that most students earned. But it was too late. How could I slap my kids in the face with this new system, give them Ds and Cs for it, and then expect them to stay in this elective?
As I write this, I realize that the essence of my problem is that I am trying hard to find that balance of fun and high standards/accountability. They can coexist. They should. Some of my students don't know it yet. It's not fun to be lost every time you come to band. But it's also not fun to see a bar set too high for where the students are at this point. They weren't ready, and I just didn't realize it.
How can I create a fun, healthy, safe educational environment where standards are high and there are many systems of accountability without students feeling constantly pressured? I want the best for them. I want them to learn a ton and perform well, all the while having fun. Any teachers or anybody out there, how do you inspire and motivate your students to work hard to meet high standards while making it fun and achievable? This may be a dilemma that is solved with time, as the rebellious 8th graders are phased out, and my own kids are raised up through the program.
That's the perfect plan to turn things around, isn't it? Do as much as you can with the kids you inherited and then grow some super players who love band, love working hard, love music, and don't want to disappoint you. But then again, you know what's easy?
More on the subject of 5th grade band and motivation in the weeks to come!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Jazz Update
Remember that post I made a few weeks ago about the improvisation curriculum we were going to put in place in my jazz band class? Remember how uplifting it was and how I was going to lift my students out of their musical shells and take musical risks and create? We were going to gel as a musical unit and overcome our instrumentation problems and our shyness. Remember how musically and personally rewarding it was going to be?
My kids hated it.
The entire concept was met with incredible resistance, as my kids wanted nothing to do with musical risks, creativity, and self expression. It really is hard for me to describe how much they resisted participation in our improvisation games, in the idea of playing for playing's sake, and in the value of playing this type of music.
Needless to say, this was super frustrating. I was so excited about the prospect of making improvisation the centerpiece of the class (since the instrumentation stinks and they read really poorly anyhow), and I couldn't believe it when I saw it completely fall apart.
So I want to briefly analyze the failure, because I want to put it in my back pocket to try it again later, I think it is incredibly valuable, and I want to see how I can improve as a teacher. I see two main reasons why it didn't work.
1) One of the key components of the failure of the improv curriculum lies in the fact that it was completely different than anything they had done before. People hate change. Kids hate change. It is clear to me that they are very used to a very different system than what I was trying to implement. That system, which is probably practiced by the majority of band directors (which I have resorted to often this year, sad to say) goes like so: 1) Pass out some music, 2) sightread it terribly, 3) kids wait for band director to tell them how to play it, 4) perform at a concert with varying quality.
In this system, the kids learn nothing, don't do any of the work, and the director does all the work. (I've already had to do this with my 6-8 grade band that marches parades, because we had a parade right at the beginning of the year. I see how easy it is to slip into this system).
Well, the kids are very used to this system, and when I presented a different approach to our class, they did not handle it very well. They responded to the improv curriculum with comments like "when are we going to play real music?" "this sounds dumb," etc. (The irony of the first comment is that they can't read a lick, which is one of the reasons I went the improv route in the first place. If I put music in front of them, at this point it's pretty much always a disaster).
So this is one of those things that, as the students get used to me and as I develop a reputation over months and years and I get to start doing things they way I think they ought to be done, this'll change. They won't be so used to it anymore. Our fellow blogger Nick sagely reminded me that "Rome wasn't built in a day."
2) The second point of failure in the improv curriculum is a classroom management one. This lies on me and the teacher before me. It was clear from day one that my kids are used to talking whenever they want, getting up whenever they want, and pretty much controlling the class. Obviously, that's something I wanted to change, and I'm working hard at it. My mentor teacher said that it's going to be December before I make a lasting dent, but I'm working hard at it, and we're getting better, but man, it is exhausting.
The 8th graders in particular are tough to deal with. They think they know it all, are super cool, and they are used to having zero structure and zero consequences. So they didn't immediately see the value of the improv lessons, and they just went buck wild. They didn't do what I requested of them, sometimes flat out refusing to do so, and they just wouldn't focus or work toward any goal. They're content with sub-mediocrity and goofing off.
And I guess this comes back to a problem that's even larger than the failure of the improvisation lessons. I hate being the bad guy. I have this concept of a good classroom manager in my head as someone who just doesn't have to punish students because of their mystical, esoteric ability to inspire respect, motivation, and a healthy amount of fear in their students. And man, I am so not there. If I were totally consistent with my rules, I would hand out 20 demerits a day, and that just seems ridiculous to me. I am striving for consistency and firmness, and it's easier in jazz band with just 12 kids, but in band with 45, it is just out of my reach right now. It's overwhelming.
So I guess the nexus of the problem really lies in motivation. If I can sell to my kids the value of my educational vision for them, then they'll focus, do what I ask of them, and put in the work. If I don't, then I'll be fighting my kids, dragging them along forever.
Wow, this reflection was helpful. And now I'm pumped! I have a renewed zeal to just impart my passion for music and music making in my students. I know it's not gonna stick for all my kids, especially some of these hardened 8th graders, but 5th grade beginning band is just around the corner.
My kids hated it.
The entire concept was met with incredible resistance, as my kids wanted nothing to do with musical risks, creativity, and self expression. It really is hard for me to describe how much they resisted participation in our improvisation games, in the idea of playing for playing's sake, and in the value of playing this type of music.
Needless to say, this was super frustrating. I was so excited about the prospect of making improvisation the centerpiece of the class (since the instrumentation stinks and they read really poorly anyhow), and I couldn't believe it when I saw it completely fall apart.
So I want to briefly analyze the failure, because I want to put it in my back pocket to try it again later, I think it is incredibly valuable, and I want to see how I can improve as a teacher. I see two main reasons why it didn't work.
1) One of the key components of the failure of the improv curriculum lies in the fact that it was completely different than anything they had done before. People hate change. Kids hate change. It is clear to me that they are very used to a very different system than what I was trying to implement. That system, which is probably practiced by the majority of band directors (which I have resorted to often this year, sad to say) goes like so: 1) Pass out some music, 2) sightread it terribly, 3) kids wait for band director to tell them how to play it, 4) perform at a concert with varying quality.
In this system, the kids learn nothing, don't do any of the work, and the director does all the work. (I've already had to do this with my 6-8 grade band that marches parades, because we had a parade right at the beginning of the year. I see how easy it is to slip into this system).
Well, the kids are very used to this system, and when I presented a different approach to our class, they did not handle it very well. They responded to the improv curriculum with comments like "when are we going to play real music?" "this sounds dumb," etc. (The irony of the first comment is that they can't read a lick, which is one of the reasons I went the improv route in the first place. If I put music in front of them, at this point it's pretty much always a disaster).
So this is one of those things that, as the students get used to me and as I develop a reputation over months and years and I get to start doing things they way I think they ought to be done, this'll change. They won't be so used to it anymore. Our fellow blogger Nick sagely reminded me that "Rome wasn't built in a day."
2) The second point of failure in the improv curriculum is a classroom management one. This lies on me and the teacher before me. It was clear from day one that my kids are used to talking whenever they want, getting up whenever they want, and pretty much controlling the class. Obviously, that's something I wanted to change, and I'm working hard at it. My mentor teacher said that it's going to be December before I make a lasting dent, but I'm working hard at it, and we're getting better, but man, it is exhausting.
The 8th graders in particular are tough to deal with. They think they know it all, are super cool, and they are used to having zero structure and zero consequences. So they didn't immediately see the value of the improv lessons, and they just went buck wild. They didn't do what I requested of them, sometimes flat out refusing to do so, and they just wouldn't focus or work toward any goal. They're content with sub-mediocrity and goofing off.
And I guess this comes back to a problem that's even larger than the failure of the improvisation lessons. I hate being the bad guy. I have this concept of a good classroom manager in my head as someone who just doesn't have to punish students because of their mystical, esoteric ability to inspire respect, motivation, and a healthy amount of fear in their students. And man, I am so not there. If I were totally consistent with my rules, I would hand out 20 demerits a day, and that just seems ridiculous to me. I am striving for consistency and firmness, and it's easier in jazz band with just 12 kids, but in band with 45, it is just out of my reach right now. It's overwhelming.
So I guess the nexus of the problem really lies in motivation. If I can sell to my kids the value of my educational vision for them, then they'll focus, do what I ask of them, and put in the work. If I don't, then I'll be fighting my kids, dragging them along forever.
Wow, this reflection was helpful. And now I'm pumped! I have a renewed zeal to just impart my passion for music and music making in my students. I know it's not gonna stick for all my kids, especially some of these hardened 8th graders, but 5th grade beginning band is just around the corner.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Firsts, etc.
If you don't want to be humbled, don't be a first year teacher. Every day, situations come up that I've never faced before, so I can't fall back on prior knowledge and experience. Sometimes I feel like I handle the situations like a pro, and other times I totally blow it. This post will address some of these issues where I've felt bewildered in a sort of scatter-gun fashion.
-My students are incredibly far behind in terms of their ability to read (music, that is). I found out on day one of band camp that the students were just largely unable to read even basic quarter note/half note rhythms. To give you a picture of it, when we read out of Essential Elements 2000, it sounds more like Atmospheres by Ligeti and less like When the Saints Go Marching In. And after about two bars of musical nothingness, the students give up, quit playing, and just look at me.
What do I do? The junior high band is composed of 6th-8th graders, about 45 all together. The jazz band, about 12 kids, faces the same problems (which reminds me, I'll update my post about improvisation in jazz band class in a later post). I am currently in the first stage of David Newell's teaching rhythm with both groups. The sequence begins with performing rhythms in a call and response format, which even proves difficult right now. Next, I will use rhythm flashcards to show them what they are playing translates to in terms of notation. But even this system only teaches one "type" of rhythm at a time. For example, right now, we're only doing call and response with quarter notes, eighths, and half notes. But we have to start there, right? We can't just jump into sixteenth note rhythms, syncopations, and hemiolas?
The problem is that the kids are getting restless. All this work on fundamentals and not enough fun playing is tuckering them out. The ironic thing is that what they want is what we have been taught NOT to do. They want me to put a piece of music in front of them and just tell them how it goes. They want to memorize their parts and play just a few tunes all year using this format. They don't want to learn. They want to be completely dependent on me. I'm trying to convince them that our fundamental work will pay off to the tune of playing way more music and student independence. Right now, they aren't buying it. but it's only been 2 weeks in.
What I must do, however, is make sure that I pound rhythm reading into my beginning band kids' heads like crazy. Which leads me to another thing.
-Beginning band is bonkers. There are so many logistical pitfalls. I had about 35 kids interested in starting band this year, which is great! The problem is many students come from pretty poor families, and they are just unable to rent instruments. Some were turned away from our provider because of bad credit. I've loaned out almost all of our school instruments. What's going to happen for next year?
-Classroom management is a tough art. Thank God for Harry Wong, as his work has helped me tons. My band kids are used to coming into the band room and raising hell, so we've spent two weeks reforming bad habits. Like everything else, we're making improvements, but we have a lot of room for improvement. I've had to resort to handing out demerits, which is a school-wide penalty system. It stinks being the bad guy, but I believe in the concept of sticking to your guns and being firm, 'cause Harry Wong says that kids will respect you and your system more because of it. Hopefully that proves to be true.
-Other bewildering things include purchase orders, transportation requests, Teachers Retirement System, insurance, all sorts of bills. Growing up is tough.
-Among all these things that are frustrating and mind-buzzing, I am loving it all. It's probably still the honeymoon stage, but I am relishing the role of teacher. I love being able to talk with students who need a strong male presence in their levels. I love getting the chance to teach music. Today we had our first parade (yeah, middle schoolers marching....) and it went as well as I think it could have. The busses showed up, I didn't lose any kids, and we played pretty well! These kind of events build so much team spirit and pride. They're awesome. It was so rewarding being on the other side of that this time and facilitating that for my students.
Quick funny story: In between our parade songs, the drumline was playing a simple cadence, which predominantly features the quads at the beginning of it. During one of the cadences, the quad player dropped out unexpectedly, and I was originally irked with him. He got back on, and later I asked him what happened. The poor kid told me his pants became unbuttoned. Haha. He had to get readjusted, then just kept on marching like a trooper!
So the first parade is down, we have a little bit of time to spend on fundamentals, and I'm super excited. There are many pearls to take away from the first few weeks, even amongst the rampant confusion.
-My students are incredibly far behind in terms of their ability to read (music, that is). I found out on day one of band camp that the students were just largely unable to read even basic quarter note/half note rhythms. To give you a picture of it, when we read out of Essential Elements 2000, it sounds more like Atmospheres by Ligeti and less like When the Saints Go Marching In. And after about two bars of musical nothingness, the students give up, quit playing, and just look at me.
What do I do? The junior high band is composed of 6th-8th graders, about 45 all together. The jazz band, about 12 kids, faces the same problems (which reminds me, I'll update my post about improvisation in jazz band class in a later post). I am currently in the first stage of David Newell's teaching rhythm with both groups. The sequence begins with performing rhythms in a call and response format, which even proves difficult right now. Next, I will use rhythm flashcards to show them what they are playing translates to in terms of notation. But even this system only teaches one "type" of rhythm at a time. For example, right now, we're only doing call and response with quarter notes, eighths, and half notes. But we have to start there, right? We can't just jump into sixteenth note rhythms, syncopations, and hemiolas?
The problem is that the kids are getting restless. All this work on fundamentals and not enough fun playing is tuckering them out. The ironic thing is that what they want is what we have been taught NOT to do. They want me to put a piece of music in front of them and just tell them how it goes. They want to memorize their parts and play just a few tunes all year using this format. They don't want to learn. They want to be completely dependent on me. I'm trying to convince them that our fundamental work will pay off to the tune of playing way more music and student independence. Right now, they aren't buying it. but it's only been 2 weeks in.
What I must do, however, is make sure that I pound rhythm reading into my beginning band kids' heads like crazy. Which leads me to another thing.
-Beginning band is bonkers. There are so many logistical pitfalls. I had about 35 kids interested in starting band this year, which is great! The problem is many students come from pretty poor families, and they are just unable to rent instruments. Some were turned away from our provider because of bad credit. I've loaned out almost all of our school instruments. What's going to happen for next year?
-Classroom management is a tough art. Thank God for Harry Wong, as his work has helped me tons. My band kids are used to coming into the band room and raising hell, so we've spent two weeks reforming bad habits. Like everything else, we're making improvements, but we have a lot of room for improvement. I've had to resort to handing out demerits, which is a school-wide penalty system. It stinks being the bad guy, but I believe in the concept of sticking to your guns and being firm, 'cause Harry Wong says that kids will respect you and your system more because of it. Hopefully that proves to be true.
-Other bewildering things include purchase orders, transportation requests, Teachers Retirement System, insurance, all sorts of bills. Growing up is tough.
-Among all these things that are frustrating and mind-buzzing, I am loving it all. It's probably still the honeymoon stage, but I am relishing the role of teacher. I love being able to talk with students who need a strong male presence in their levels. I love getting the chance to teach music. Today we had our first parade (yeah, middle schoolers marching....) and it went as well as I think it could have. The busses showed up, I didn't lose any kids, and we played pretty well! These kind of events build so much team spirit and pride. They're awesome. It was so rewarding being on the other side of that this time and facilitating that for my students.
Quick funny story: In between our parade songs, the drumline was playing a simple cadence, which predominantly features the quads at the beginning of it. During one of the cadences, the quad player dropped out unexpectedly, and I was originally irked with him. He got back on, and later I asked him what happened. The poor kid told me his pants became unbuttoned. Haha. He had to get readjusted, then just kept on marching like a trooper!
So the first parade is down, we have a little bit of time to spend on fundamentals, and I'm super excited. There are many pearls to take away from the first few weeks, even amongst the rampant confusion.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Toughest Day Yet
This week I began teaching private lessons in addition to teaching band and music classes. That means all of the extra free time I had last week is now gone. I knew it was coming, and I knew it would be hectic, but I did not realize I would start to crumble so much today!
When I say crumble, I mean... I started to do poorly in teaching the classes that I thought went well last week, and I started to feel super emotionally and physically drained so much so that I just felt like giving up at multiple points today. I normally need ample time to go over my lesson plan (once I finally create a lesson plan) so that I can be very aware of goals and procedures for the day's class. But holy cow. I did not get that time today. And it showed.
I feel physically drained because I was rushing from one thing to the next. Literally, a couple of times, I was RUNNING to grab things before class because I didn't have enough time to get it together and students were about to come in.
I feel emotionally drained because some of the teachers are getting irritated with kids being pulled out for lessons, me slightly running over class time, and just whatever junk I guess I do wrong.
So my conclusions for this toughest day yet: It's okay to make mistakes - just learn from them. (I just hung that sign up in my classroom) AND GET OVER IT/YOURSELF. (Rule #6 I guess, Emma!) I get really caught up in trying to do everything perfect and never make a mistake that I drive myself up the wall when I eventually do make a mistake and maybe make someone dislike me for a while. (Also, I realized that I care too much about my students liking me. Anyone else struggling with that? I need to get over it!)
My pearl for the day.... umm....making it through?
When I say crumble, I mean... I started to do poorly in teaching the classes that I thought went well last week, and I started to feel super emotionally and physically drained so much so that I just felt like giving up at multiple points today. I normally need ample time to go over my lesson plan (once I finally create a lesson plan) so that I can be very aware of goals and procedures for the day's class. But holy cow. I did not get that time today. And it showed.
I feel physically drained because I was rushing from one thing to the next. Literally, a couple of times, I was RUNNING to grab things before class because I didn't have enough time to get it together and students were about to come in.
I feel emotionally drained because some of the teachers are getting irritated with kids being pulled out for lessons, me slightly running over class time, and just whatever junk I guess I do wrong.
So my conclusions for this toughest day yet: It's okay to make mistakes - just learn from them. (I just hung that sign up in my classroom) AND GET OVER IT/YOURSELF. (Rule #6 I guess, Emma!) I get really caught up in trying to do everything perfect and never make a mistake that I drive myself up the wall when I eventually do make a mistake and maybe make someone dislike me for a while. (Also, I realized that I care too much about my students liking me. Anyone else struggling with that? I need to get over it!)
My pearl for the day.... umm....making it through?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Week one - down.
Week one is done. Some highlights:
1. I'm exhausted! And I still have a lot to do this weekend.
1. I'm exhausted! And I still have a lot to do this weekend.
2. Working in an elementary school is much more uplifting for me than junior highs or high schools. You get to see really stinkin' cute little kids, and it really does lift my spirits sometimes!
3. My enemy: lesson planning. I'm working on changing that.
4. Sometimes, I just gotta let things go. Like, maybe I won't be able to get that stack of papers completed tonight. It's ok. Maybe in the future I just need to deal with the noise level in the gym (where we have class) instead of making a bad impression of myself on a couple of other teachers. It's not that big of a deal.
5. You have got to let yourself have some time to relax. You just do. And, don't feel bad about it.
6. I don't know it all, and I need to let others help me.
Very vague stuff, I know. But I'm so pooped right now I just don't feel like explaining anything else. Haha, sorry!
Have a great weekend!
Friday, July 30, 2010
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.
"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.
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