Sometimes I forget that... like when I have to sit in whole days of meetings for things that may or may not actually apply to what I teach and how I teach it. What I keep reminding myself is that it will all be worth it when I am finally in front of a class leading rehearsals inspired by the music and the students. It feels like I have been waiting for years to finally have my own classroom, and now I have two.
6th Grade
My sixth grade room is a little on the old (read: gross) side.... we're working on the mildew smell. I snazzed it up a bit with some posters, borders, a word wall, and decorations from West Music (woot!). There are two (non-musical) challenges that I have set for myself in this room: 1) Making the logistics of dealing with 100 sixth graders (and their backpacks...) slick as butter, and 2) Making the building leadership realize that choir is a legit class with legit learning goals and deserves to have room to grow with the growing district. Simple, right?
Wrong. So here are my plans. 1) As far a logistics, I am going to be the queen of structure. We don't have chairs in the room, so I'm making the best of it. The kids will be color-coded by neighborhood (a nickname for homeroom) and given individual name cards placed in their assigned spot. Each neighborhood will be assigned a place to put backpacks, either in the empty storage room or in the back of the room where there used to be closets. I'm hoping to use some booster money to get an individual voice-amplification device to use so I won't have to wear out my vocal mechanism instructing one hundred kids, but that will probably come later. I am determined to never yell--partially because it hurts my instrument, partially because it's mean and useless, and partially because it's simply out of character. Instead, I will non-verbally use my "Noise Level Thermometer" marked with dynamics (See what I did there? Eh, eh? Practical use of vocab!) and verbally use "If you can hear my voice clap twice..." Of course I will give them opportunities to shake their sillies out, but I'm hoping to give them a taste of what choir really is so they will have the skills to be successful choral singers in middle school and beyond.
2) *Raising right hand in the air* I promise not to let my fiery passion for music education get me worked up in situations where I have to advocate for it. I promise to, instead, be a clear communicator about its importance for our students' educations. I also swear I will be a good listener about the needs of the school and district.
I was warned about this in the ivory tower--not everyone will understand how important music is to a well-rounded education. I just wasn't prepared for how it would feel to have it aimed at me personally..... twice. No gory details needed, but I've thought a lot about how I handled it each time (polar opposites--once I complied a little too much, the other I lost my cool) and have started to create a plan for the future. First of all, I am going to be as visible as humanly possible. I am going to be in and out of the office, sending invitations to concerts, showing up for sporting events (the horror!), and whatever else I imagine up. Next, I'm going to make my learning goals as visible as humanly possible. Some are already posted inside my classroom (The students will... 1. Sing healthfully and artistically, 2. Read music notation using handsign solfege, 3. Understand different styles, eras, and genres of music, and 4. Grow as a community of musicians). I am also going to put the nine national standards (maybe how they connect to various songs?) in concert programs. Finally, I will never, never, not ever poorly handle the questioning of the importance of my profession again. I will calmly and respectfully inform the various people in question that choir is indeed curricular for a reason and deserves to be treated as such....
I love teaching.
I love teaching.
I love teaching.
(More on my other room/building later)
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