I am so technologically impaired.

I spent at least 15 minutes fighting with a photocopier today.

I feel like a real teacher now.

And, for the record, I won the fight and managed to make several hundred copies for the high school final exams.

Shannon = +1
technology = 0

wrapping it up

The more I dwell on the fact that I'll soon be leaving, the more sad I feel . . . so, I need to quit thinking about leaving and start thinking about how to make my last week as awesome as it possibly can be. I feel like the last few pre-concert rehearsals are tricky. I want to rehearse the pieces straight through and see what the trouble spots are, so I can go back and fix them. It's challenging, though, because you need to gauge how much change you can effectively make. Whenever you're working on new concepts, you need to make the change/teach the idea and then REINFORCE it as much as possible - the students really need the reinforcement in order to solidify the concept and adjust to the change. Since our concert is on Wednesday, the B day classes will rehearse twice (Mon. & Wed) before the concert and the A day classes will only rehearse once (Tuesday). So, there's limited "reinforcement" time and I have a hard time gauging what adjustments can effectively be made. At the same time, though, it's important to keep pushing the students forward and encouraging musicality.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it at same point already, but in case I didn't, the orchestra teacher asked me to accompany the orchestra on piano for the concert (the band & orchestra share a concert). Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a good pianist. At all. My only piano experience is the two terms of piano that Lawrence requires for music ed. I took those two classes my freshman year, which is now four years ago. I was so nervous for my piano final that I totally panicked and blew it; it was terrible. My piano teacher was amazingly understanding and let me have a second go at it, since she knew it was just nerves. But really. I haven't taken or played any piano in four years, and four years ago, I had to take the final twice in order to pass. I warned the orchestra teacher, but basically I am the only person who can do it. I practiced the parts and actually felt pretty good about it . . . until I rehearsed with them last week. I assumed that beginner orchestra = slow tempo. WRONG. They are whipping through Jingle Bells and Ode to Joy like nobody's business. Suffice it to say that I have my work cut out for me.

People ask me fairly often which age group I prefer to work with, and I've actually spent a fair amount of time thinking about it, but I have a hard time coming up with a definitive answer. Everyone assumes that middle school kids are awful, and while they have sometimes frustrated me in ways that high schoolers never have, I also find working with them to be really rewarding. I love beginners - if I could teach beginner band all day every day, I would love it. I love their excitement and enthusiasm; I love their eagerness to learn. I like that they do not come in with bad habits to be redirected. I like the feeling that I'm giving them the musical foundation they will have for the rest of their lives - and I like knowing that setting a strong foundation will help them every step of the way as they continue on. I like knowing that I'm instilling a love for music, and I like that the results are so easily seen - it's very much an "instant gratification" thing at the beginning. Middle schoolers in general have a TON of energy, and I think this is why people seem to either love them or hate them. Tons of uncontrolled energy = chaos and misbehavior. On the other hand, tons of controlled/directed energy = awesome potential to work together and create something great.

I find that high schoolers tend to have less of this energy because they're more self-conscious. Middle schoolers aren't afraid to say or do anything, but high schoolers are worried about being cool and are very aware of everything they say and do, because they don't want to look silly in front of their peers. Because of this, I find it harder to start connecting with the students. Younger kids are inclined to immediately open up and they really want your approval. High schoolers are more reserved and kind of size you up before letting you in. Once you've established a relationship, though, I really like the relationship with older kids. I like that we can have in-depth conversations, because they can communicate on an adult level. I 100% feel that middle schoolers should be pushed to think and perform musically, but because of their age and musical experience, high schoolers are able to delve further into musical concepts, and I like being able to explore more intricate aspects of music. I like the sense of humor high schoolers have, and I like the general social atmosphere and the "school spirit." Also, high school music students are generally pretty committed to music, so between their personal investment and the maturity added on by the few extra years, a lot of the classroom management/behavioral issues have weeded themselves out.

I guess I'll figure it out as I go. :) At this point, I feel pretty open to teaching different levels.

My last week in New Mexico

I was trying to talk quietly since I made this video at night, after I got home late from work. . . so, I'm attempting to speak quietly and I think it made me sound really sad. Just for clarification, I wasn't sad, just quiet. And we all know that I don't have an indoor voice, so "quiet" was really hard for me and this was the end result. :P

Facebook prevails

Also, on a totally unrelated note, I just had a band parent send me a friend request on Facebook. I love technology.

expect the unexpected

So, of all the weird, unexpected things that could POSSIBLY happen, my band concert just got snowed out. In New Mexico. And no, I am not kidding.

In coming to New Mexico, I assumed I would be snow-free, and was proven wrong. It doesn't snow much at all in Albuquerque itself; I think it has snowed three days that I've been here, and each time, it's never more than flurries. Nothing sticks.

Outside of Albuquerque, though, the mountains get a LOT of snow due to the elevation and temperature differences. A good amount of the students, especially at my high school, live in the mountains and travel about a half hour or so to school every day. So, sometimes Albuquerque gets flurries or rain, but the kids in the mountains have heavy snow. This morning, all Albuquerque Public School District schools were on a 2 hour delay because of the weather. Instead of just calling off school for the whole day, they push the schedule back, hope the weather will clear a little, and start two hours later to give the kids in the mountains a chance to get themselves to school. This is a nice idea in theory, but half the mountain kids still show up late throughout the day due to car problems, and half the kids that DON'T live in the mountains just never show up, because if they're coming in late, they figure that they might as well not show up at all.

This morning, there was some ice on the ground in Albuquerque and the streets were wet, but there was no visible snow. The mountains are covered, though, and while it looks pretty, it causes a lot of transportation problems for the families that live there. The high school ended up canceling tonight's concert because a HUGE amount of the band kids didn't make it to school at all, and would have a hard time making to the concert.



The unfortunate part isn't that the concert had to be canceled, but that it cannot be rescheduled this semester. We have two weeks until the end of the semester, and within those two weeks, there's a huge jazz concert, finals, and all the craziness that finals brings. The high school director is also going to be out of town for a few days, and there are other events going on in the gym, so space is limited. The way it works out, it just won't be possible to reschedule the concert until January, when I'll already be back in Wisconsin. :(

So, it's disappointing, but it's life. Really, most of the valuable learning moments occur during class, and performing is an exciting experience because you get to share what you've learned. It would have been nice to perform with the high schoolers and I'm disappointed that I can't, but at the same time, it's just not possible to reschedule and I feel good about the musical progress that we made, performance or not.

Also, once I'm back in Wisconsin, telling people that my New Mexican Christmas concert got snowed out will be an entertaining story.

crazy behavior and high schoolers

Noteworthy things that have happened/are happening:

One of my students is pregnant. I won't say anything else because I don't want to compromise anyone's privacy, but she is not 18 or a senior in high school, which means staying in school will be an additional challenge for her on top of all the other challenges she is going to face.

I went to a a pep rally at the high school last week, which was interesting and surprisingly fun. For a variety reasons, I am glad that my high school did not have competitive sports teams, but the pep rally here highlighted the positive side of sports and competitions. It was nice because all of the different teams and organizations (the basketball team, dance team, cheerleading squad, band, etc.) got a chance to perform something for the school. The sports teams did little drills and scrimmages against the teachers, which all the students were really into. I also found it really interesting, because the stereotypical "cheerleader" image brings to mind a peppy little blonde girl. . . and there was one blonde girl on the cheerleading squad. I don't think there was a single one on the dance team. Just a reminder how the standard of beauty isn't necessarily a universal standard. Welcome to New Mexico; there aren't many blonde girls around.



There is a particular boy in the eighth grade band that has been really difficult all year. He is disrespectful, loud, talks back, doesn't pay attention, doesn't seem to even attempt playing the right notes . . . the list is endless. The part that drives me crazy is that he rarely ever behaves this way for Mr. Johnson, and I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing differently that's getting such negative behavior from him. However, having talked to the other teachers in the school, the consensus seems to be that this kid's religious and cultural beliefs don't look highly on women. Basically, he was raised to view women as submissive, staying in the home, etc., and was never taught to treat them with respect, because he is used to a very male-dominated way of life. So, none of the male teachers really have issues with this kid, but ALL of the female teachers do. That is an issue that I never saw coming, and am not quite sure how to handle.

My concert with the high school is tomorrow night! I don't feel nervous yet and don't think that I have anything to be nervous about . . . . but I know the way my body works, and I'll probably get nervous right at the last minute. My high school experience has been a little funky since I only meet with them twice a week, I didn't start with them right at the beginning of the year, etc. . . I just always felt more like an outsider and observer than really a part of their classroom. It's getting to the point now where I am starting to feel involved and I enjoy the kids there. Of course, we're also nearing the end of my time here, but better late than never.

There are a few kids both in band and music theory who seek me out regularly to ask for help with their work, and it's nice that they look to me first. I think sometimes high school girls find me intimidating in a way that middle schoolers don't, since middle schoolers are less self-conscious, and since they're younger, they view me as an "adult." 17 and 18 year-old high schoolers realize that while I'm older than they are, I'm still somewhat close to their age. I think some of them either feel that they don't know how to interact with me, since I'm not their peer but I'm not "old" like their other teachers, or they get on the defensive and do the catty girl thing where they feel like they need to "prove" that they're cool. I don't feel that I'm a terribly threatening person, but I guess others do. There's one particular student that I've really been getting the catty vibe from, but today she came into the office and said hi to me and asked me how my day was. . . and she was just really nice. She asked if I'd be staying for her class later on and I told her I was and she said something silly like, "Oh cool. . . well, me too. . . so I'll see you." It made me laugh. A lot of the girls will now will compliment me on my hair or clothes. . . one of them stayed after class to ask me if I could show her how I tied the scarf I was wearing. So, I guess we've moved on to girl bonding.



*AND*

You might remember that I had huge problems a clarinet player at the high school that just had a terrible attitude. Over time, she's calmed down and began to respect me. I think part of her initial reaction was that she is insecure and felt threatened by the fact that I came in and was telling her do things differently than she'd been doing them before. For the last five or so class periods, every time I'm in her class, she stays a few minutes after and asks me to help her with her music. Amazing. So, bottom line = high school kids (especially girls) are a lot different, but they are fun and I like them.

the final interview

So, Teach for America application process = 100% done. If I've been kind of MIA for the past week or two, it definitely was not personal, so I'm sorry if anyone feels ignored . . . I've been entirely consumed with paperwork, lesson planning, etc. I'll try to respond to emails within the next day or so. Between school, upcoming concerts, work, and Teach for America, I've had more than my fair share of work to do.

That said, I think I feel pretty good about everything. My piece with the high schoolers is coming along well, and my cooperating teacher is happy with both how the group sounds and the improvements he's seeing in my conducting. At the middle school, we ended up dropping the 8th grade piece that I thought would have to go . . . and although I was initially disappointed, I'm over it at this point. There's only so much I can do, and I did everything within my capability. Without worrying about that piece, though, we can focus on more musical details in our other repertoire, so at least there is a positive tradeoff. The 7th graders have made a lot of improvements on our piece, and the flute choir should come together because the 8th graders are doing a great job.

On the Teach for America front, I've done everything there is to do . . . at this point, all that's left to do is wait until January 21st to receive results. Today was my final interview and although there's never a way to know anything for sure, I feel positive about the experience. I feel that I did the best I could, and that I presented myself honestly and professionally. I feel that I was very upfront about my experiences, interests, and motivations. I was positively surprised to find that the other candidates were very friendly and receptive. Since this is a competitive program, you never know what to expect. . . . it's almost like an audition, and auditions are infamous for rude, cold interactions. There were only 6 of us in total, and weirdly enough, there were only women. Some of us had educational experience and some did not; some were recent college graduates and some were not. I was pleased to find everyone welcoming and encouraging; it didn't feel like a cut-throat environment, thank goodness. Both of the Teach for America staff members were laid-back and easy going, and I felt that we were able to relate well in my interview. So, all together I feel positive and hopeful and, as I've been saying, I would love to be accepted. If I'm not, though, I think I can be at peace with it because I gave it my best. If I don't make it in, I will be disappointed, but I'll know that it wasn't because of a failure on my part; I feel good about everything I've contributed and I've done everything I can. I hope that I'm what they're looking for. We'll find out next month, so send me all the good vibes that you can. :)

basics basics basics

Being that today was the last day before Thanksgiving break, the kids were (of course) a little antsy. We still managed to get a fair amount accomplished, though. I spent most of my time working with the flute choir. There are three seventh grade flute players who are playing the piece and about eight eighth graders. The seventh graders are a little slow, but they are getting it. I was actually very impressed by the eighth graders - the lowest part is in some ways the hardest, because it's in the very bottom of the flute range. The eighth graders ROCKED it today and I was really proud of them. :) I had an interesting moment with the seventh graders the other day . . . I was demonstrating how I wanted them to play something, and one of the girls stopped me immediately afterward and said, "How do you get it to sound like that? You know. . . . how do you make it sound pretty?" She was referring to my tone and vibrato. It caught me off guard because I think so easily, music teachers (myself included) are quick to ignore tone because
1. it is difficult to teach in a group setting
2. it is difficult to work on no matter what. . . . it's a very individual skill, and
3. we fall into the "prepare ourselves for the concert" trap where all focus gets placed on learning notes and rhythms so that we can perform particular pieces, rather than working on big-picture skills (which would be useful, because they then apply to other pieces and the student's musical development).

The more I student teach, the more I find this similar in many ways to the academic curriculum's struggle with No Child Left Behind. NCLB forces teachers to "teach to the test," and when testing is the only emphasis in a classroom, so many learning experiences and possible discoveries get pushed to the backseat. We want them to do well on tests, but teaching them only by testing doesn't help them get there. They need a safe atmosphere with questioning and exploration and the opportunity to work together, discover things themselves, etc. If we just drill and drill and drill exams, of course they won't learn well. How does that engage or motivate anyone?

I think it's the same with music. When all we focus on is being able to run through a piece from beginning to end without letting it fall apart, what have we really accomplished? Sure, they can place something for a concert, but it isn't their best work. They aren't being musical or expressive or creative. They still have flawed fundamentals, like instrument position and posture and articulation. Getting through isn't enough. It's tough because you need to have enough faith in yourself as a teacher to know that if you take yourself away from the concert repertoire, you will teach them valuable skills that will enhance the concert music when you return to it. . . I think too many teachers are concerned that if they use the non-concert/test-related teaching strategies that they'd really like to use, they're somehow wasting time, and that the kids will then be behind on the tests or concerts. This cannot happen. Music is so much more than starting at the top of a page and making it to the end at the same time. By only teaching kids to make it through a piece, we are cheating them of musicality and expression and all the things that make music worth pursuing in the first place. To refer back to my flute choir example, the seventh graders were frustrated that they couldn't sound as "pretty" as I did, but they had no idea what they needed to do to improve their tones. Students get easily frustrated when they feel that they can't do something, and teachers get frustrated when they aren't doing it. . . . but we need to give them all the tools to succeed. And we need to do it all the time. Basic fundamentals need to be reinforced all of the time. No matter how you look at it, a strong foundation benefits the teacher and students and allows for higher levels of musicality and performance.



On a different topic, I had a great day teaching music theory at the high school. I've had a slightly difficult time making personal connections with kids at the high school, whereas I was able to relate to the middle schoolers almost immediately. A lot of it had to do with the scheduling, but I'm finally at the point where I think the high schoolers and I feel comfortable with each other. Several students sought me out to ask for help, and a few just kind of wanted to talk and hang out, which is really cool. Working on music theory one-on-one with high schoolers reminded me what I like about that age level; I like that they are able to think about complex topics and reason things out for themselves. I like the advanced conversations you can have with high schoolers. Musically, I like that you can work on broader musical topics rather than mechanics. However, I think the challenge is to have high expectations from the get-go. If you aren't constantly trying to push the boundaries for younger students, they aren't just going to wake up as competent high schoolers one day.

To end with two positive anecdotes from my day. . .
1. Since it's almost Thanksgiving, one of the beginner band flute players left made a little card for my cooperating teacher and me thanking us for teaching her and encouraging her to do her best. It was pretty cute.
2. I had this conversation in the hallway today when I ran into another beginner band student:

me: Hi, Kaitlyn!
student: Hi.
me: You don't sound very excited.
student: No.
me: Not even a little? It's almost time for break!
student: I know . . . but I love school.

TGIF

I look so attractive in the still frame that I don't know how you could possibly NOT watch the following video. . . .

something about drummers

In band today, a beginner percussionist walked up to me to ask a question. While doing so, he unwrapped a piece of gum and put it in his mouth. Of course, they are not allowed to have gum in band. I'm totally shocked that he did this right in front of my face. The conversation goes something like this:

me: "....did you just put gum in your mouth?"
drummer: "oh. . . wait. . . yeah, I forgot about that."

He then spits the gum out into his hand, which involved a lot of drool, and re-wraps it in the foil wrapper, which he puts into his pocket. He turns around and walks away. So, there is more conversation:

me: "What were you going to ask?"
drummer: "oh. . . uh. . . I don't remember anymore."

adolescent PDA

While walking down the hallway, I just saw one of my little sixth grade students (and I really mean little, he's about 4 feet tall) run up to some girl and kiss her on the cheek. I can't decide if it was cute or creepy or both.

placement regions

My final Teach for America interview is scheduled for December first. :) I'm really excited and would love to have a position teaching with them. I need to prepare a 5 minute lesson that I will teach to the other applicants on the interview day. It can be for any grade level and subject area, but I only have 5 minutes and I need to both teach a concept and measure their understanding of the concept. I'm a little nervous because that's such a small amount of time, but I'm already thinking of ideas and I know I'll come up with something solid.

I also need to finalize my grade level, subject area, and regional placements by the 27th, which doesn't give me too much time. Of course, I love New Mexico and that will definitely be one of my highest, if not my highest, priority. I love Boston. I haven't been to California and was considering it but not completely sold. . . I found this on TFA's info page about California:

"This year, San Francisco Unified will pioneer the nation’s first family diversity curriculum to build awareness among its students on issues related to LGBT families and households."

I am now completely, 100% sold. I would LOVE to teach this. I think acceptance and understanding are crucial and this needs to be done. I would go to San Fran in a heartbeat to teach about LGBT families.

Other interesting things I discovered....I clicked on the South Dakota placement more or less for laughs, thinking that nothing interesting could possibly be in South Dakota. I proved myself wrong. It turns out that the South Dakota placement involves living out in the country and working at Native American reservations. The schools are centered on Lakota values like courage and respect, and the land out there is beautiful. There is a strong push to stay in touch with the native heritage, and as a TFA member, I could take local classes to learn about the culture and language. I would REALLY be out in the country. . . we're talking a half hour drive to the grocery store. It seems like an interesting, rewarding experience, though, and I'm definitely considering it.

Here is the link to the list of Teach for America placement regions:

https://www.teachforamerica.org/corps/placement_regions/placement_regions.htm

If you have any recommendations or see anything that you find particularly interesting, let me know. :)

update

I've been pretty busy trying to get everything ready for the next round of Teach for America. I need two "recommenders" to fill out online recommendation forms for me, one person to act as a reference, and a copy of my official transcript. I need to complete several readings so that I'm prepared to discuss them, and I need to prepare a five-minute lesson that I will teach on the day of the final interview. I don't have all the details about the lesson yet, but I'm eager to find out the exact requirements. For those of you that have been asking about when and where I interview, I'll find out on the 17th.

I think the flute choir piece is going pretty well. Most of the kids seem very excited about it, and each time the seventh grade band meets the girls immediately run up and ask if we can work on it . . . so, if nothing else, I'm happy to give them something musical to look forward to. There are a few strong players in the eighth grade that will help carry the piece, so even though we haven't made it all the way through yet, I feel good about it.

The cooperating teacher at the high school had encouraged me to come up with creative ways to teach music theory, which I actually found surprisingly difficult at first. Once I'd spoken with a few other student teachers and gotten my brain into the creative gear, I came up with a few "fun" ideas and wrote up a version of music theory jeopardy. I think it's cool, and hopefully they will, too. :) There are several different categories - sightsinging, rhythmic dictation, intervals by ear, written intervals, and inversions. They will play in teams and can pick a topic and a point value 100-500. The only thing I'm slightly unsure about is what to do since we don't have buzzers of any kind. If a team gets it wrong, does it just go to whoever raises their hand first? That's tricky because kids raise their hands all of the time before you even finish asking/answering a question. Hmmmm.

Also, coming from Wisconsin, I find it very strange that people here wear winter boots when it's not really winter and there's definitely not snow. I've seen students of mine wearing winter boots, like



with dresses and jeans, when it's not even cold out. I find it kind of ridiculous, since in Wisconsin, huge boots are practical and sometimes necessary. . . in New Mexico, they are not and they seem really out of place. According to Google, the average January temperature in Albuquerque is a full 20 degrees warmer than the average in Appleton, WI.




Seriously, Albuquerque? Boots?

angry kids :(

Is it normal for middle schoolers to get in fights so often? One of my sixth graders came in today with a black eye, so I asked her what happened. . . and she told me she got in a fight with another girl . . . who is also a sixth grader in our band, and who plays the same instrument.

!!!

Teach for America liked my application so much that they not only let me past step one, but they let me skip step two entirely and moved me right into the finals!!! I'm really, really excited. :)

High school attitude

I find out if I make it to the next round of the Teach for America interviews tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, but more than that, I think I just want to have an answer rather than sitting around in suspense.

I'll also be conducting band rehearsal at the high school tomorrow. Since they were doing marching band at the beginning of the year, I wasn't as involved with them as I was with the middle school. I've done a fair amount of sectionals/lessons with the kids there and I've enjoyed it, but for some reason, I'm kind of nervous about conducting the whole band. I'm not sure if it's just because they're "new" kids to me or if it's because they're older, but I'm a little anxious.

I had the weirdest experience at the high school yesterday. There are four clarinets in the lower band, and to be quite honest, none of them play well. Every time I'm there, they also seem to be fussing over their instruments so often that it interrupts their ability to even attempt playing. Yesterday was another one of these days, so Mr. Dubbs, the high school director, asked me to take the three of them (one was absent) into a practice room and see if anything was obviously wrong with their instruments.

Two of the three instruments were actually just fine and the last girl needed some minor adjustments but her instrument was fine to play for rehearsal. I was trying to let them each play a little individually so I could hear what they were struggling with and how to help them, since their issues are due to embouchure, technique, etc. rather than mechanics. One girl just blew me away, and not in the good way. She was just MEAN to everyone, including me. I was so shocked that I didn't react as well/quickly as I should have . . . what she needed was some smackdown and to really be put in her place. For some reason, the other girls just took her bad attitude, and since they took it, she kept giving it. I was trying to listen to one girl who was really struggling, and while I was giving suggestions about her setup, this other kid walks over, interrupts me, and tells the struggling girl to take apart her instrument and give it to her. The struggling girl mutely does what was demanded of her. The mean girl then puts her mouthpiece on the other girl's clarinet, plays two notes, and says "Look, don't you see how it doesn't sound fuzzy when I play it? What are you doing?!" Of course, I said something to her, but she continued with her rudeness. She interrupted me almost every time I tried to say something and physically got in the way and took instruments out of my hands when I was helping another kid.

When I was having all three play together, she would stop playing when she heard a mistake and blame whoever she thought was responsible (she was often incorrect, not that it makes it any better). She did play slightly better than the other two, but she was by NO means a hot-shot clarinet player (not that it would have been acceptable behavior had she been phenomenal, but it might have been slightly more understandable). Her behavior was inexcusable, unacceptable, and really difficult to work with. She thought she knew everything about everything and was condescending to both her peers and myself. When I mentioned it to Mr. Dubbs, he said she's always like that and we have our work cut out for us. At least next time, I'll be prepared.

Observation

My university supervisor, Mr. Dalby, came over from the University of New Mexico today to watch me teach the beginner 6th grade band. I wasn't especially worried about him coming in since I feel like I generally do well with that class and I planned out everything I wanted to rehearse. . . I was still a little anxious when he showed up, though. Altogether, the class went well. We didn't get through as much as I hoped we would, which I actually sort of expected, but I think it's better to over-plan than under-plan. If you plan too much and don't get through all of it, you're still going through material in a logical sequence and you can pick up right where you left off. If you don't plan enough, you end up having to wing it, which sometimes turns out okay and sometimes does not. I'd rather be prepared and safe than unprepared and sorry.

Anyway, that was a slight tangent. The 6th graders were a little feisty because they'd had several days off from playing. Monday and Tuesday were conferences and they didn't have class yesterday because of the A/B day schedule. We got through less than I wanted, and although it was a slow process, we made progress.

I met with Mr. Dalby for a few minutes afterward and he had very positive things to say. He told me that the first thing he always looks for in student teachers is to see if their personality is well-suited for teaching, and he told me that even though he only watched me for about half an hour, he is very confident that teaching is the right place for me. He told me that I looked confident, commanded the classroom well, included all sections/students, and had a good balance between discipline and warmth, both of which are necessary. He also told me that I do the evil eye well, which is awesome. You know what I mean, "the look" the teacher gives you when she's waiting for you to stop talking/being obnoxious. Apparently, I have that mastered. Sweet.

He gave a few suggestions, and most were vague, but a few were specific.

1. Try to walk around more to get a better idea of what individual students are doing/need help with. He is right and I should do that. I don't really at this point because I need to be watching what they're playing, so I need my copy of the music. . . which is at the podium, in front of the class. I'm going to try to give them more to play by ear, and when I'm doing that, I can move around.
2. Set a more specific expectation about when they can and cannot talk. Nobody should be talking if I have my arms up and I'm ready to conduct. Usually I end up standing there with my arms up for a while, though, because I'm waiting for them to be quiet so I can say something or get their attention. He suggested creating a system where the second I step on the podium and fold my hands in front of me, that's their "listen up" cue. That way, when I raise my arms to start, we can start right away and the raised arms still signify immediate attention. I think he's dead on about this and that hopefully it will help with some of the noise issues.

He also suggested that I try to find ways to get them to think musically, even this early on. Although they're motivated now, they will get frustrated soon because it's a LONG time before they play anything longer than 16 measures and more complicated than a quarter note. He challenged me to try to think of ways to get them hearing music in their heads so that ideas translate immediately to an instrument. For example, if students are singing, matching pitch, learning solfege, vocalizing rhythms, speaking syllables like "tu," "ta," etc. . . . once they pick up an instrument, they can already articulate, count, and listen. He seemed very into singing and body movement as ways to help students "feel" music, which I think is a great idea. He more or less said that they need to be thinking and feeling music or else they're bored and reduced to pushing buttons. He's right, but when they have so many mechanical things to learn at this point, it's easy to get caught up just in the mechanics. So, my goal is to make 6th graders think musically.

On the topic of "feeling" music, he also mentioned that he thinks our kids are struggling a little right now because of the method books we're using. Our book starts with whole notes on the assumption that longer notes are easier to play. However, it's really hard to "feel" a whole note. When we feel music, like when you're listening to the radio and you tap your foot, you don't tap whole notes. . . you tap quarter notes. Shorter notes are easier to feel. I don't think that most beginners really "get" that there are four small beats within a whole note, so when you move on and get to half and quarter notes, they want to play everything too long and they don't realize that you change notes every beat. . . . I don't think they really get the beat. He suggested that when I have my own program, I look into books that start with shorter note values. I think that he made a great point, and I think that starting with shorter notes also fits in really well with the singing/body movement and "feeling" the music.

So, a lot of those ideas are big-picture, but it gave me a lot of ideas to think about, and I really think I'll like working with Mr. Dalby. . . so, all is good. :)

movie time!

Catfight

Our seventh grade beginner band only has about 9 students, and 2 were not in class today because they were suspended for fighting . . . they got kicked out of school for fighting each other. Mind you, they're 12 year-old girls who play in band together. They sit in the same row, about 3 chairs away from each other.

Step 1 = complete!

We finally had to turn the heat on at school this morning. :( Although, I guess waiting until October 21st is an accomplishment of sorts . . . .thank you, New Mexico. The weather has been weirdly strange and rainy and dark, which is abnormal, but it's supposed to get nice again and be back in the 70s this weekend.

In other news, I'm virtually done with my Teach for America application! There are a few quick things I need to double check regarding financial aid/technical details, but for all intensive purposes, I've done all the hard work.

I had to write 500 words to answer these questions:

* Why do you seek to join Teach For America?
* What would you hope to accomplish as a corps member?
* How would you determine your success as a corps member?

I'm pretty happy with my response. I'm copying and pasting it here and would love any feedback you guys might have. I'm aware that there are a few sentences that need grammatical tweaking (especially in the last paragraph), so if you see one and have a suggestion. . . bring it on. I'll be fine-tuning it later this evening.

~*~

The celebrated poet E.E. Cummings once said, “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to …Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder … or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” I share Cummings’s sentiment that confidence stems from a sense of self-worth. Teaching allows me to work closely with students, strengthening their skills, interests, and abilities. The relationships built through teaching, both professional and personal, create bonds between the students and myself. Once communication and trust are established, I am able to strengthen students’ self-worth by reinforcing their talents, praising their uniqueness, and showing them the challenges they are capable of overcoming. Unfortunately, socioeconomic status and its inherent obstacles limit many students from high-quality educational experiences.

I am passionate about Teach for America because it gives inspired educators the opportunity to enrich the students that need it most. Educational inequity is a disservice that prohibits innumerable students from fulfilling their potential. Always having experienced a strong sense of justice, I am driven to create equal opportunities for disadvantaged students. I believe that all students are capable of learning, and that effective education results in increased self-esteem and self-confidence. In this way, a strong education shapes the course of a student’s life. Employment with Teach for America would allow me to work hands-on in the areas of highest need and do so within a community of likeminded, motivated educators.

As a corps member, I would strive to connect individually with my students, as communication and trust open the doors for growth and exploration. Specific academic goals would depend upon grade level and subject area, but I would hope for all students to leave my class with more confidence and ambition than they had upon entering. I hope to create a welcoming, safe classroom environment where students are encouraged to be themselves and express their opinions. I believe this environment is conducive to learning and that students must feel secure and comfortable in order to take risks. It is only when students feel validated and respected that they will truly engage in school. By the time they complete my class, I would like my students to value education and envision the possibilities of their futures.

Some accomplishments are easily gauged while other successes remain somewhat intangible. Increased attendance rates, improved test scores, and measurable gains in content knowledge are victories for which any teacher should be proud. I applaud these achievements but believe that overall success also includes the less definable classroom moments. The expression on a child’s face when he has the “light bulb” moment, the growing relationship between school, parents, and community, the shift in demeanor when a student begins to enjoy school, and the fortitude demonstrated when a student accomplishes a task of which he believed himself incapable – while none of these triumphs can be marked in a grade book, I find them crucial to success and triumphs nonetheless. These intangible victories signal an internal shift within the students and community, and this shift towards independent thinking and self-confidence demonstrates readiness for positive involvement in both local communities and society as a whole.

Laugh it off

The 2 most entertaining things that happened today:

Mr. Johnson: All you need to do is fill in the blank after the prompt. . . . does everyone know what "prompt" means?
7th grader: It's like on E-Harmony.
Mr. Johnson: What?
7th grader: You know, like on E-Harmony you fill out prompts about yourself.

And, at the high school, I overheard this fantastic conversation:

guitar player 1: Dude, do you remember those new scales we learned yesterday?
guitar player 2: Yeah.
guitar player 1: What were they?
guitar player 2: Eb and B minor.
guitar player 1: How do they go . . . like, which one is which?
guitar player 2: Well, Eb starts on a flat and B minor starts on the B string.
guitar player 1: Oh, yeah, thanks man.

That's all for now, folks.

Today was okay, considering it was a Monday

I have almost my entire application finished for Teach for America, and I feel good about that. I need to condense my two-page resume into one page, and then I need to write 500 words about

1. why I'm applying to the program
2. what my goals are for my students, and
3. how I will measure if they've reached those goals.

The application isn't due until the 28th, but I'm hoping to get it done and submitted by Friday. I really like the program and it would be beneficial for me in several different ways, so send me all the good karma that you can. It's nice that I will find out on November 4th whether or not I've made it to the next step of the application process, so at least there's not a big period of tension until I hear some feedback. I kind of feel like I'm applying to college all over again.

On a more musical note (unintentional bad pun, haha), I taught some sightsinging and aural skills at the high school today, which was fun. We just did some basic intervals, where I played an interval and they identified it by sound. Then, I played them a starting pitch and had them hum a given interval above that pitch. They had never attempted intervals that way before, and they actually did pretty well. Most of them also thought it was kind of fun, since it was like a "who can get the right note?" game.

I have two pieces I'm doing with a flute choir at the middle school: we're doing Pachelbel's Canon and Greensleeves. Both are short, easy arrangements and shouldn't be too hard to put together. None of these kids have ever done chamber music before, though, so I'm looking forward to it and it should be a good experience for them.

I'll try to post some videos/photos soon. :) I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

ups and downs

First things first - I forgot to mention this in my last post, but thanks to everyone for supporting/reading my blog! I currently have 220 views, which is awesome. :) It's really nice to know that so many people are following what I'm doing, since I'm far away and haven't been in constant communication with a lot of people. Also, I have received some really thoughtful emails from a few people, so I wanted to thank you guys for sharing your thoughts. A few people mentioned that they tried to comment but couldn't get their message sent through; I'll take a look at it and see if I can give some easy directions on how to work that.

I've had a few more unexpected teaching experiences (seriously, "unexpected" is what this whole experience seems to be about). I was spending time at the high school a few days ago when an announcement was made that a teacher passed away over the weekend. I think most students were already aware, but we had students who had been in class with this teacher, and she had been teaching at the same school for over thirty years. She was very involved in the school and attended the football games, band concerts, etc. The mood of the room was a little somber, but we got through everything and the kids seemed okay.

My next highly unexpected event took place at the middle school. At the beginning of the seventh grade band rehearsal, I was in the office entering attendance into the computer. When I came out, the first thing I saw was a student sitting in her chair, holding her instrument, crying. The band was in the middle of rehearsal, and this student was just sitting in her place, crying. I went over and asked if she was okay, and she didn't respond. I asked her to come into the office with me for a minute.

I will spare the details because

1. it's a long story, and
2. I want to keep her personal information personal

but after a lot of tears, she ended up telling me she was suicidal. This was the same student I'd overheard discussing self-injury a few days earlier (and yes, I did tell my cooperating teacher about the first incident right away) so I immediately was concerned to see her so upset. We talked for a long time, and once she calmed down and opened up, I think it actually worked to my advantage that I'm pretty young, because she felt that I could understand her more easily than most "adults." I tried to carefully ask questions that would help me gain information without prying too much, and I let her vent for a while. Eventually, I asked her if I could bring her down to the counseling office and I was relieved she had said yes, since she'd specifically said she avoids the counselors. I was so glad I was there to help her in that moment and I felt we really connected. It was hard because it was extremely emotionally draining, and I wanted to follow up with her. . . I wanted to check in after that and ask her how she's doing, but I also don't want to press the issue with her. I told her she can come talk to me any time, any day, about anything. . . and I hope that if she needs or wants to, she'll take me up on the offer.

On a more positive note, I think I'm going to apply for Teach for America. For those that may not know, Teach for America is a 2-year program that places teachers in either urban or rural regions with a desperate need for teachers. The placements are in low-income communities, often with a great deal of racial/ethnic/cultural diversity. In one of my previous entries, I was discussing that one of the main challenges when working with low-income students is that their lifestyles don't prioritize learning. When their families and communities don't value education, of course the students don't, either. And when the parents grew up with parents who didn't value education, it's all a vicious cycle. I think one of the best strategies here is to REALLY reinforce the value of education and learning right from step one, which is one of the reasons I'm especially excited about Teach for America. . . . some of their placements are early childhood settings. So, I could be working right in the forefront of (what I believe to be) the problem, and that's really exciting to me.

In other news, my senior flute recital back at Lawrence will be on Monday, March 8th at 8 pm, and you should all come if you can. :) Yes, I know that Monday night is not ideal and I didn't want that time, either, but that's life.

Being respectful shouldn't be too much to ask

I haven't updated in a few days because
1. I've been really busy, and
2. We had a few days off school for a "fall break," which, in Albuquerque, means the Balloon Fiesta.

School has been going well, but has also been a little crazy. Classroom management has been such an issue that it's more or less overwhelming our rehearsals. We have a lot of students with potential and talent, but they don't focus and/or apply themselves. They aren't mean kids, and they aren't angry, violent, scary, or another other "inner city" kid stereotype. . . they just don't know how to behave in school. Their parents never reinforced the importance of education (many find it completely unimportant, because they didn't get an education themselves) so the students don't find any value in paying attention or applying themselves. As a teacher, it is my job to show them the value, and this wouldn't be as much of an issue if they behaved well and were attentive. Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Most of their parents are basically MIA when their kids are at home . . . and since they aren't really being "parented," they aren't taught manners or respect. They have no expectations regarding behavior, language, or anything else. It's easy to get really frustrated, but sometimes the students legitimately don't realize that their behavior at a particular moment is distracting or inappropriate. It's glaringly obvious to me and sometimes hard for me to wrap my brain around, because my life experiences have been drastically different . . . but a lot of them never learned how to behave appropriately in school (or life), and, somehow, their previous teachers didn't reinforce it.

In order to teach under these circumstances, Mr. Johnson, my cooperating teacher at the middle school, decided that the most effective way to improve our music would actually be to improve behavior. Therefore, the band kids are getting graded on their class preparation, attitude, and participation. They can get a total of 5 points a day. If they don't bring a pencil, they lose a point. If they leave their music at home, they lose a point. If they're late, they lose a point. If they leave their instrument at home, they get a zero, because they cannot participate at all. If they have to be written up for any disturbances, they get a zero.

Behavior does seem to be improving. . . slowly, but if it's improving at all, that's okay with me.

Then again, there are some things that seem beyond repair. My (not)favorite 8th grade rock and roll student, the same one who tried to eat a glue stick, flat out refused to do any work in class today. I was handing out worksheets to the students who had been absent and when I got around to him, the conversation went something like this:

me: Which worksheets do you need?
8th grader: I don't want them.
me: Did you get them already?
8th grader: No.
me: Well . . .
8th grader: I don't want them. I'm not going to do them. They're just gonna sit there anyway.
me: Well, I'm going to give them to you in case you change your mind . . . and if you don't, then I did my part by giving you your work, and if you choose not to do it, the responsibility is on you.

There were two worksheets, a crossword puzzle and a word search. Really? Too much effort? Really?

so far, so good

We're only on Tuesday, but it's been a good week so far.

homecoming photos!

i don't have all of my photos from the homecoming game uploaded, but here are a few:



high school marching band, dance team, and cheerleaders



baby cheerleaders



the drum major of the high school marching band.



some of my lovely eighth graders






and here I am chilling with them in the bleachers. I was seriously sick that day, but really wanted to come to the game.

That's not in my job description . . .

The winner for the cool blues name contest is. . . .

Rockin' Cherry Donegan.

Thanks to a cool sixth grader named Mary, who came up with that fantastic title. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of entries we had for the contest. Without counting the slips, I'd guess that we had about 50 submissions. The kids were REALLY into it, too, which was exciting, since the rock and roll kids are generally apathetic. It seems unexpected to me that the kids really jump at creative opportunities, since they are usually on the lazy side and being creative requires more effort than solely paying attention. . . . and paying attention is usually too much to ask. The same thing happened when we improvised blues lyrics, though - the same kids that are generally half asleep suddenly become active and energetic and involved. I think that means there is a lesson to be learned about creativity and self-expression in the classroom.

For the most part, last week went quite well. While at the high school one morning, I was put on the spot to fix two clarinets. Mind you, I do not really play the clarinet and have never taken an instrument repair class. I'm proud to say that I secured all of the left hand keys back onto one instrument and fixed another kid's squeaky, non-functioning mouthpiece. Back at the middle school, I felt that I really made progress with the seventh graders. As I think I mentioned at some point, we have two seventh grade classes, one of which contains beginners. It's a small class and they have the potential to do well, but they also have issues focusing. The two alto sax players are best friends and tend to talk/giggle through rehearsal. Instead of trying to talk over them (which I find REALLY frustrating), I asked lots of questions of the kids, to keep them busy. We also have one student who ALWAYS plays his instrument out of turn. Whenever I was ready to begin conducting and there was noise (they should be silent when I raise my arms to begin), I simply pointed out that we could all sit and waste our time until I was able to start. It didn't take long until the other kids starting telling the noisy one to be quiet. By the end of the rehearsal, my saxophones weren't having side conversations and my noisy kid wasn't playing out of turn. Small victory, but it was awesome.

Friday was weird in that I had kids sharing really unexpected stories with me. I was walking through the rows during sixth grade band just to watch hand position, embouchure, etc. and randomly, right during the middle of rehearsal, a student started talking to me about her father's death. I was glad she felt comfortable talking to me and that she was able to talk about it, since it must be extremely difficult, but it was so completely out of nowhere that I was really taken aback. Then, at the end of the day, I somehow ended up in a conversation with a seventh grader who was discussing her history with self-injury. I had never really spoken with either student before that day, and it surprised me that they would choose to talk to me about serious personal issues. It was a weird mix of emotions in that I was
1. extremely surprised
2. happy they were able to come to me, and
3. worried, since they were both dealing with intense things.
Those are the types of things that you don't anticipate when you pack your bag and head to school in the morning.

"Things that you don't anticipate" could actually be a chapter in a student-teaching manual, and we could add "eighth graders that try to eat glue sticks" to the list. That's a story in itself. It's both self-explanatory and unexplainable.

Thought of the day

Sometimes, being a teacher is more about teaching kids how to be human beings than teaching them about any particular subject matter.

"That's so gay" = "That's so (insert minorty here)"

(I know there's a typo in there, which drives me crazy, but I thought it was worth posting since it makes a good post and is well-done overall.)

I never thought I'd say this, but Hilary Duff did something really cool. I 100% believe that homophobia is the last socially acceptable form of prejudice, which is reinforced by the fact that saying "that's so gay" is completely okay with most people. If someone said "that's so Asian" or "that's so black" when they meant "that's so stupid," there would be a huge uproar and someone would make a human rights movement over it . . . so why is it okay to insult the gay population? Bottom line = it's not, and people need to

1. be aware of what they are saying and,
2. stand up and offer support to the gay population by intervening when they hear people saying things that are discriminatory.

If you're wondering what this possibly has to do with education or student teaching, all you need to do is take a walk down any middle or high school hallway. You'll hear "that's so gay" at least ten times, along with guys calling each other "fags" as a means of insulting each other's masculinity. Mind you, you will NOT hear the N-word or other racial slurs, because those are offensive, but for some reason, everyone lets the gay remarks slide.

Stop letting it slide. Take some social responsibility and try to end the ignorance and prejudice. Don't try to sugar-coat the issue and pretend that this isn't about prejudice, because it is.

sick of being sick

back to school. . . . back to football

good news:
+I made it back to school today, after taking 3 days off due to whatever illness I'm battling.
+We made it through the football game without any real tragedies.
+We are officially having a contest for the rock and roll students to create a cool blues name for me. :) They were really excited about it and there are already a bunch of entries.
+Some of the kids seemed really happy to see me back today. I got several hugs and few groups of kids were hanging out with me for no other reason than to hang out and chat. . . .which was cool.
+I might be going with the high school to Colorado for a few days on a band trip with the high schoolers. It's only a maybe at this point, but if it works out, it would be a great way to get to know those kids better, as well as a good teaching/musical opportunity (and a chance to go to Colorado).

bad news:
-I am losing my voice. By that, I mean I have virtually lost it all. .. and I'm supposed to work 9 hours in a sales job tomorrow. . . . ?
-The previously undefeated high school football team lost their homecoming football game. :(
-I am all about being liberal and proud of your body, but the cheerleading squad and dance team at the high school were way too over the top, even for me. I understand that short skirts are par for the course as far as these things go, but garters? Really? I was shocked that it was allowed. If I was sixteen and left the house in a purple mini skirt, white button down shirt, and black tie, with a lacy garter around my leg, my mother would have dragged me back inside. . . . regardless of whether or not my friends were wearing it or it was something the dance team was all doing.
-Not having the use of my voice made me feel useless and isolated at some points tonight. I guess my voice is something I sort of took for granted. Besides not being able to give directions and get kids' attention, I felt really out of the loop and couldn't even converse with my students, other teachers, chaperones, etc.

I guess I should have listed the bad news first, because I don't like leaving my post on a bad note. :( I made it back to school and it was altogether a good day! I hope to have my voice back soon, and with it, I shall soon have a sweet blues name. I am excited. :)

icky x2

99.6 degree fever. . . definitely sick. Gross. I feel a little better after taking Dayquill.

I'm most concerned over the fact that I work three hours tomorrow evening, and if I don't feel better by then, I will be horribly miserable. At least it's only three hours. . . . but still.

Also, the football game that we're taking our middle schoolers to is on Friday. :( I asked for that night off a while ago, and I got it off from work . . . but if I'm still feverish and sick, I can't imagine what would be more miserable than sitting on hard bleachers with loud kids and pep band music during a cool evening. uugggggh.

Send me good vibes, guys. . . . I need to be healthy.

rock and roll in Albuquerque

Today was the first time that I missed a day of student teaching. :( I was pretty bummed about it, but felt sick enough that I knew I would have been miserable and useless if I showed up at school. I woke up thinking I just had a migraine (which is pretty normal for me), and as the day continued, my migraine got a little better but everything else got a little worse. It's too early to tell if I am getting seriously sick or if today was a fluke. . . I'm definitely hoping for the latter.

Anyway, enough of that. . . . as I mentioned in my video, we have a "Rock and Roll as Literature" class in which we are teaching sixth and eighth graders about the history of rock, starting with the blues. Both classes are currently doing a blues project in which, as a group, they are answering questions about a blues artist and then presenting their info on a poster board.

Of course, these questions are not very hard (when and where they were born, what instrument did they play, etc.) but, of course, the kids still complain. I think that most of their complaining stems from the fact that they are unable to relate to anything they have not directly experienced in their lives. They have no imagination. They're so used to video games and MTV and "reality TV" that spoon feed pictures right into their laps. If they can't see and hear it immediately, they give up. If they aren't bombarded by it, either by the mass media or life in their own home/neighborhood/barrio, then they simply don't comprehend that it exists.

When Mr. Johnson and I were putting together the list of artists we wanted the kids to learn about, there ended up being a few more artists than there were groups of kids, so I did a poster to show them
1. a nicely put together example
2. that it's not all that hard, and I was able to do it in one class period

The artist I researched was Bessie Smith, and even as a music major, I had never heard of her . . . the blues isn't really stressed anywhere in the music education process, although I'm not sure why that is. The point of my little rant here is that she was actually pretty cool. She was a phenomenal blues singer dubbed "the empress of the blues" and was the first blues recording star. Her first album, recorded in 1923, sold over a million copies in its first year. Selling a million albums now is a big deal, so imagine how big it was in 1923. She was invited to sing with the big name performers of her day, including Louis Armstrong. Also, she was the highest paid black performer of her time, making $2,000 a week. To be the highest paid performer AND a woman was a pretty impressive accomplishment.


Much like the big stars of today, Bessie Smith made a name for herself personally. Even without the crazy paparazzi and tabloids, rumors circulated about her sexuality. Rather than denying the claims that she was gay (she really was), she ran with the publicity and wrote songs about liking women. So many people nowadays cannot or do not feel comfortable being openly gay, so the fact that Bessie did back in 1923, when it was much more frowned upon. . .. I think it's pretty awesome. It's also awesome that none of this hype negatively affected her career.

If my middle schoolers could look beyond the surface, they'd find that her story isn't much different than that of the MTV stars they adore. Bessie's shows were elaborate and her popularity often caused enormous crowds at her shows, resulting in extra police/security. There was always drama involving her marriages and fights with significant others (helllllo, Britney Spears and K. Fed?), she was known to sometimes drink more than she should, and was a huge party girl during her day.

Bessie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and influenced lots of other bigwigs in the music world, including:




Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and




Janis Joplin.

So, middle schoolers, you can claim that the blues has nothing to do with rock, but I beg to differ.

icky

One of the less positive aspects of teaching is that it exposes you to countless germs and viruses and illnesses and cooties . . . and I'm currently sitting in bed with a headache and a killer sore throat and possibly a fever. Gross.

video update!

just getting started

Two thoughts so far for today:

1. Thank God for prep periods.

2. We aren't even through first period and someone lost a sock outside of the band room.  Really, guys? How do you lose a sock, and only one sock, by 8:30 AM?  

Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be

We have about 36 kids in the sixth grade beginner band, and even though we've been in school for a few weeks, they are just now trying out and selecting their instruments. They spent the first few days watching instrument demonstrations and learning the instrument families, since it was a few years since most of them last had a general music class. The majority couldn't identify more than one or two instruments, and even now, some are confusing a trumpet with a baritone with a tuba, etc.

Although I know teachers who don't enjoy working with beginners, I've always really liked it. Since they're trying something hands-on and brand new, most beginners are excited, eager, and enthusiastic; this energy makes for a good class dynamic anywhere, but is especially (wow, I'm on a roll with "e" words) uplifting when most kids you encounter are apathetic. I also like the idea that since I'm their first music teacher, they come in as a clean slate, so to speak - they have no bad habits or preconceptions. I feel like I can set some kind of musical precedent, and if their first experiences are positive, they have a greater chance of continuing. Also, beginners make progress so quickly, since they're learning new concepts all of the time, and it's nice to see your teaching and their learning in immediately tangible ways.

Of course, helping kids try instruments has its less than pleasant moments, most of them involving spit. Half of the kids that attempt to buzz their lips will spray saliva in twelve different directions. . . and it's more or less guaranteed that at some point, while taking apart an instrument, spit is going to leak onto you. Gross. It should be pointed out here that I have a spit aversion to start with, so middle school spit from multiple children is pretty icky to me.

We've been trying instruments for three class periods and are just now finishing up. I can't imagine how one teacher without an assistant could possibly get 36 kids through this process. Helping a student try an instrument for the first time needs to be a one-on-one experience, and even when pushed through as quickly as possible, it still takes a bit of time.

One of our seventh grade classes has students of such different levels that they virtually cannot play the same music, so my host teacher and I will be splitting the group and each working with half. In another class, we have an eighth grader that played in orchestra for two years but switched to play flute in band after orchestra was dropped. She clearly cannot play the advanced music that the eighth grade band is playing, so one teacher has been working individually with her while the other takes the rest of the band. It's really difficult to run an entire band program with one director, and it makes it harder when students never have private lessons.

A few entertaining anecdotes from today:

~

seventh grade percussionist: "Are drum sticks edible?"

me: "I think you'd break your teeth."

percussionist: (after a moment of deep thought) ".....yeah, I guess you're right."

~

Mr. Johnson, my host teacher, and I have been teaching a unit on the blues. Today, Mr. Johnson was explaining the concept of the 12 bar blues to a class of eighth graders. He pulled out his guitar and played the chord progression for everyone to hear, then told them that blues music is often improvised. We talked about the fact that the topics of blues songs are generally sad, but often end up cheerful/comical at the end. Once the students heard and were familiar with the chord progression, Mr. Johnson asked if anyone had topic that we could use as inspiration for a blues song.

A kid in the back immediately shouted BLUE CHEESE! and there was a class effort in throwing out blues lyrics about moldy cheese. The song was hilarious and everyone, even the kids who try to act like they hate life and school and the universe, were laughing. After we finished the song, a boy raised his hand and said he had a new song. Mr. Johnson played the chord progression and right away, the kid started singing about how his girlfriend left him for a basketball player because he was too short. He made it straight through a good two verses or so. . . it was both impressive and one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Personally, I think I should hold a contest and see who can come up with the best blues name for me. With Lightnin' Hopkins, Leadbelly, and Howlin' Wolf as competition, I suddenly want a cool nickname.

what this is all about

I've been student teaching for about three weeks or so at this point and probably should have started this blog then, but I've been consistently busy with teaching and work and life as a whole. Now that I've had a little time to settle into a routine of sorts, I figured I could get this up and running with it serving a few purposes. . . . one being an outlet for me and a way to help organize and reflect on my thoughts, another being a tool for communication with others. It's hard to keep everyone in the loop with the billions of things that I'm doing in Albuquerque, so this will be a central location where I can share info with anyone who is interested.

Co-workers, friends and other teachers ask me frequently if my experience so far has been what I thought it would be, and I'm never quite sure how to answer, since I don't think I knew exactly what to expect in coming here. I think I had a very general idea of the situation I'd be in: kids who can't afford their own instruments, uninvolved parents, low test scores, etc. However, there's a big difference between theoretically knowing that a kid can't buy an instrument and turning them away from guitar class because we simply don't have enough guitars for everyone who would like to play. It's sad when a kid tells you that she doesn't have her saxophone because her dad put it in the pawn shop, and she doesn't know when she'll get it back. It's easy to talk about money issues when their effects seem distant and impersonal; it's a different story when you have to deny a 12 year-old the opportunity to play music because they can't buy an instrument and the school district can't/won't purchase more. Anyone can make a band sound good when most of the players are taking private lessons and playing on new, well-maintained instruments that they take home and practice. These kids have never worked with a teacher one-on-one, are playing instruments held together with duct tape, and have the attention span of a fruit fly. It's an accomplishment to get them to play at the same time.

That said, working here is a reality check and a challenge, but it's not a negative experience; it's really the opposite. You can enter every day feeling sorry for the students and letting the issues overwhelm you, or you can enter and decide that you're going to give it what you've got and if it only reaches one kid. . . . . well, that's one more than yesterday. At least one kid had a better day, and even though they don't let you know that it matters, it does.

There are funny moments, too. A little lizard got trapped in the band room the other day, and we tried to scoop him up and get him outside by using a cup and a piece of paper. It turns out that the edge of the cup hit his tail, and it FELL OFF. I shrieked and the little green, inch-long slice of lizard tail kept twitching on the ground. Apparently, he'll grow it back and will be just fine, but it creeped me out.

In Wisconsin, everyone screams when you get a mouse in your classroom. Here, it's lizards (and their tails).