One of the most stale, almost meaningless words in language is surprisingly powerful in an educational setting: OK.
Students seek attention — desperately, at times. Refusing to give them attention is sometimes necessary, but if doing so is a teacher's standard practice, leave leave an uncaring impression on students. If a teacher responds to every tiny plea for attention with even a complete sentence, they commit a crime equivalent to feeding a pigeon; all others nearby will flock in search of spoils. To properly balance this teetering scale, one must perfect the use of the goldilocks term: OK. In the situations to which I am referring, "OK" is used to acknowledge a student without giving them anything to respond to. This has the effect of stopping a student from continuing without making them feel ignored. Some examples:
Student: Look, my arm is purple because I drew on it with a marker last period!
Me: OK.
S: Metal music is the best.
Me: OK.
S: I'm saving a couple of problems on this worksheet so that I'll have something to do at my Aunt's house tonight.
Me: OK.
Of course there's more to this balance than the borderline gratuitous use of "OK," but I felt like expressing my newfound recognition of the word's usefulness.
Disclaimer: To any future teachers out there, be aware that using a word that does nothing but acknowledge a student truly places communicative emphasis on tone and body language. In the above examples, "OK" with a gruff tone will not help, whereas saying "OK" with a bit of a grin would work.
I also felt like informing readers that I do intend to put up one or two more significant posts soon. I'm currently motivated to write about the phenomenon of sound isolation, but need to set aside the time to do so. There is also some moderately interesting music research that I may choose to write about. After complaining a while ago about the mess of signing up to substitute, I'm now an employee of numerous districts and have a job almost every day. Between that, keeping up with research, and applying for full-time jobs, I'm busier than I was during my early January bonanza.
Showing posts with label classroom management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classroom management. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mr. Who
It seems every time I sub I fill a different role. I can't tell if I'm subconsciously emphasizing certain aspects of my personality just to test out student responses, if aggregate classroom attitudes really vary this much, or if I can blame the following on the clothes I wear.
As discussed in my last post, I recently wore a bow tie to a middle school. Some students took to calling me "Mr. Bowtie." I think it's catchy. The immediate impression of eccentricity seemed to make my eccentric moments (lapses in memory or a candid admission of how I can be both boring and fun) more humorous to the students.
The next day I subbed I returned home feeling like I had "Mr. Accessible" written across my forehead. That's not dirty. It means that on that day, students (high school) were incredibly accepting of me due to an unusually lenient attitude of mine. While students were working on projects with computers, I would walk around the class and help, chat, or correct as needed. I was caught by surprise once when I walked passed a student who abruptly closed the lid of his friend's laptop and I chuckled automatically. Both kids were surprised by my reaction and we all laughed. I soon said that I was willing to laugh "because I know that it won't happen again," which I followed with a friendly glare. Another boy once got up to go distract some others and, while walking, had to hold up his pants to keep them from falling off completely. I said, so the whole class could hear, "Hey, _____, I was going to tell you to wear a belt, but as I see you have one on, I suppose you just don't know how they work." Everyone laughed, including him, and he returned to his seat to work and remained on good terms with me for the class. At the end of the day I found myself giving a bit of a pep talk to a [stoner] student who sought me out for a question. We talked for a few minutes and he seemed very receptive. I like the accessible approach.
Today, I was a sub in an elementary music classroom. I worked with three kindergarten classes (and some other older ones) and officially never want to spend consecutive days with students under 11. One was fine, more would be crazy. My mind is not suited for tiny children. It is today that I felt like "Mr. Who?" My last name really isn't very hard, and I'm happy if students use its initial, but I got the blankest stares from students today when I introduced myself, and was just "Mister! Mister!" or "man with long hair" for most of the day.
I almost forgot that I mentioned clothes at the beginning of this and then only mentioned the bow tie as something relevant. I always wear a tie, and I arrive and leave school with a sport coat (which I often have on during the day too). Importantly, while the tie and coat set me apart (especially from HS students) as mature and educated, certain friends of mine have made sure I can also coordinate my clothes well enough to be accepted by the modern fashion standards of twenty-somethings. I think it's this combination of both youth and maturity in my first impression that enables the kinds of interactions discussed above.
As discussed in my last post, I recently wore a bow tie to a middle school. Some students took to calling me "Mr. Bowtie." I think it's catchy. The immediate impression of eccentricity seemed to make my eccentric moments (lapses in memory or a candid admission of how I can be both boring and fun) more humorous to the students.
The next day I subbed I returned home feeling like I had "Mr. Accessible" written across my forehead. That's not dirty. It means that on that day, students (high school) were incredibly accepting of me due to an unusually lenient attitude of mine. While students were working on projects with computers, I would walk around the class and help, chat, or correct as needed. I was caught by surprise once when I walked passed a student who abruptly closed the lid of his friend's laptop and I chuckled automatically. Both kids were surprised by my reaction and we all laughed. I soon said that I was willing to laugh "because I know that it won't happen again," which I followed with a friendly glare. Another boy once got up to go distract some others and, while walking, had to hold up his pants to keep them from falling off completely. I said, so the whole class could hear, "Hey, _____, I was going to tell you to wear a belt, but as I see you have one on, I suppose you just don't know how they work." Everyone laughed, including him, and he returned to his seat to work and remained on good terms with me for the class. At the end of the day I found myself giving a bit of a pep talk to a [stoner] student who sought me out for a question. We talked for a few minutes and he seemed very receptive. I like the accessible approach.
Today, I was a sub in an elementary music classroom. I worked with three kindergarten classes (and some other older ones) and officially never want to spend consecutive days with students under 11. One was fine, more would be crazy. My mind is not suited for tiny children. It is today that I felt like "Mr. Who?" My last name really isn't very hard, and I'm happy if students use its initial, but I got the blankest stares from students today when I introduced myself, and was just "Mister! Mister!" or "man with long hair" for most of the day.
I almost forgot that I mentioned clothes at the beginning of this and then only mentioned the bow tie as something relevant. I always wear a tie, and I arrive and leave school with a sport coat (which I often have on during the day too). Importantly, while the tie and coat set me apart (especially from HS students) as mature and educated, certain friends of mine have made sure I can also coordinate my clothes well enough to be accepted by the modern fashion standards of twenty-somethings. I think it's this combination of both youth and maturity in my first impression that enables the kinds of interactions discussed above.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
12/14
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I am fed up with that last General Music class of the day. They've completely pushed me over the edge. The behavior of almost every person was erratic and unquestionably unforgivable. I couldn't hold their attention for more than two seconds (and there were paper airplanes (!!!) on the floor after class). Clapping a one-measure rhythm pattern with a class of 7th-graders should never result in students banging on desks and wildly jumping out of their seats.
I once gave in and asked a question that shouldn't be asked; "I've seen you all in other classes and I know you can focus better than this. What is it that other teachers do that I don't that makes you behave better for them?" Their answer was uniformly, "They yell at us."
I'm trapped. Modern pedagogical theory takes the stance that yelling is, most often, counterproductive, as a culture of expected submission is much less educationally valuable than one of mutual respect. Well, I've pushed the respect approach as far as it can go. I don't claim to be some sort of pedagogical paragon, but I realize now that I've been fighting against a culture that does not foster the kind of classroom management that I've been trained to provide.
We have to punish them. Tomorrow we'll have them sit in an outward-facing circle and do individual work without speaking to any other students, or at all unless they raise their hand and are called on.
Hmph. I think everything else was fine today. I can't even think straight.
I am fed up with that last General Music class of the day. They've completely pushed me over the edge. The behavior of almost every person was erratic and unquestionably unforgivable. I couldn't hold their attention for more than two seconds (and there were paper airplanes (!!!) on the floor after class). Clapping a one-measure rhythm pattern with a class of 7th-graders should never result in students banging on desks and wildly jumping out of their seats.
I once gave in and asked a question that shouldn't be asked; "I've seen you all in other classes and I know you can focus better than this. What is it that other teachers do that I don't that makes you behave better for them?" Their answer was uniformly, "They yell at us."
I'm trapped. Modern pedagogical theory takes the stance that yelling is, most often, counterproductive, as a culture of expected submission is much less educationally valuable than one of mutual respect. Well, I've pushed the respect approach as far as it can go. I don't claim to be some sort of pedagogical paragon, but I realize now that I've been fighting against a culture that does not foster the kind of classroom management that I've been trained to provide.
We have to punish them. Tomorrow we'll have them sit in an outward-facing circle and do individual work without speaking to any other students, or at all unless they raise their hand and are called on.
Hmph. I think everything else was fine today. I can't even think straight.
Monday, December 13, 2010
12/13
We had the choir perform all of their songs on kazoos (which were needed for my selection) today. This was very funny, especially when solo/duet moments arrived.
General Music went fairly well, overall. I ran a great class with a great lecture for the first two classes; one good enough to have been observed by an administrator (even though I...*ahem*...improvised the whole thing). Unfortunately, I never realize soon enough that a lesson will be particularly good and observation-worthy, so I've never done as highly-recommended and invited a principal to observe me. It's my last week and I'm starting to tag-team-teach with Mrs. D, so that chance has passed. Oops.
The last class drives me crazy! I can't do a simple activity with them without watching them all goof off in a fit of ridiculousness and immaturity! I once said, "Great, I'm glad you can all clap a beat at the level of second-graders," and they got the point for, oh...about 3.7 seconds. One of them was scheduled for a detention today (but fear of that did nothing to make her act better today, I moved her seat twice and Mrs. D yelled at her, too). I had a chat with her that should make a difference. I might be too optimistic.
I joined a group of teachers in a friendly competition against the Quiz Bowl team of the high school. They destroyed us in the first round, but we beat them heartily in the second two. I completely embarrassed myself once by not answering a question about which I was only 99% confident (it was, in short, "Who composed the opera 'Tosca'?" (the answer is Puccini)). I redeemed myself later with a few other composer questions. That was fun.
Op.23 Prelude #6 in G minor (S. Rachmaninoff) - Yuri Rozum
General Music went fairly well, overall. I ran a great class with a great lecture for the first two classes; one good enough to have been observed by an administrator (even though I...*ahem*...improvised the whole thing). Unfortunately, I never realize soon enough that a lesson will be particularly good and observation-worthy, so I've never done as highly-recommended and invited a principal to observe me. It's my last week and I'm starting to tag-team-teach with Mrs. D, so that chance has passed. Oops.
The last class drives me crazy! I can't do a simple activity with them without watching them all goof off in a fit of ridiculousness and immaturity! I once said, "Great, I'm glad you can all clap a beat at the level of second-graders," and they got the point for, oh...about 3.7 seconds. One of them was scheduled for a detention today (but fear of that did nothing to make her act better today, I moved her seat twice and Mrs. D yelled at her, too). I had a chat with her that should make a difference. I might be too optimistic.
I joined a group of teachers in a friendly competition against the Quiz Bowl team of the high school. They destroyed us in the first round, but we beat them heartily in the second two. I completely embarrassed myself once by not answering a question about which I was only 99% confident (it was, in short, "Who composed the opera 'Tosca'?" (the answer is Puccini)). I redeemed myself later with a few other composer questions. That was fun.
Op.23 Prelude #6 in G minor (S. Rachmaninoff) - Yuri Rozum
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
12/7 - War and Peace
The MS choir has been driving us a little crazy. When, in our last rehearsal before performing, they look at us like we're crazy when we ask them who sings a section of a song first and who joins later, we worry.
We performed for the school at an assembly today...and were embarrassed. Mrs. D had to tell students on stage to stop talking, then she had to start a song over because of a non-functional beginning. Soon enough, the assistant principal had to remove three girls from our choir (from stage) because they were talking so much.
The assistant principal, Mrs. D, and I all spoke to each of those girls, one at a time, after the assembly. On a tangential note, the assistant principal tore into the students with wording that was slightly beyond the harshness that I expected, or that I was entirely in agreement with. I'm either still a softie or he was in a really bad mood. Maybe both.
We had another complete rehearsal with the choir at the end of school, which allowed us to prepare for the public concert this evening. The singers told us that other students said they "sucked," and we just looked blankly at them. Mrs. D lectured to them about how being disruptive is not cute (a phrase inspired by a boy whose cuteness gets him a pass on misbehavior) and how they didn't "show up to sing." I added on to this by providing two solutions for the issues brought up. First, as students who've been in my classes know I like to do, I told them that they need to give an honest effort, and that would solve the musical symptoms of not showing up to sing. Second, I told them to relax and be confident, and that would resolve the musical symptoms of being anxious. I know it's easier said than done, but I had to.
After all of that, we started to sing. Mrs. D gave the pitches for the first song, and WOW! It all came together! I didn't know these students could sing so well. It was confident, in tune, and focused. We were amazed. This ended up being a stunning rehearsal.
The concert went better than the assembly, though not quite as good as the rehearsal. Overall, they stepped up and I was proud of them. Mrs. D had warned me that middle school choir is like a box of chocolates. You never—
We performed for the school at an assembly today...and were embarrassed. Mrs. D had to tell students on stage to stop talking, then she had to start a song over because of a non-functional beginning. Soon enough, the assistant principal had to remove three girls from our choir (from stage) because they were talking so much.
The assistant principal, Mrs. D, and I all spoke to each of those girls, one at a time, after the assembly. On a tangential note, the assistant principal tore into the students with wording that was slightly beyond the harshness that I expected, or that I was entirely in agreement with. I'm either still a softie or he was in a really bad mood. Maybe both.
We had another complete rehearsal with the choir at the end of school, which allowed us to prepare for the public concert this evening. The singers told us that other students said they "sucked," and we just looked blankly at them. Mrs. D lectured to them about how being disruptive is not cute (a phrase inspired by a boy whose cuteness gets him a pass on misbehavior) and how they didn't "show up to sing." I added on to this by providing two solutions for the issues brought up. First, as students who've been in my classes know I like to do, I told them that they need to give an honest effort, and that would solve the musical symptoms of not showing up to sing. Second, I told them to relax and be confident, and that would resolve the musical symptoms of being anxious. I know it's easier said than done, but I had to.
After all of that, we started to sing. Mrs. D gave the pitches for the first song, and WOW! It all came together! I didn't know these students could sing so well. It was confident, in tune, and focused. We were amazed. This ended up being a stunning rehearsal.
The concert went better than the assembly, though not quite as good as the rehearsal. Overall, they stepped up and I was proud of them. Mrs. D had warned me that middle school choir is like a box of chocolates. You never—
Friday, December 3, 2010
12/3
Mrs. D went with the show choir on a trip today, but I joined them in the morning for a rehearsal. Many things are coming together, and we even did some work on my selection (which they're not yet performing) and I was able to address fancy things like articulation and attack. That was nice.
The rest of the day was filled with guitar quizzes. I did consciously choose to approach them in a way that allowed the students a lot of socializing time. This allowed me to observe who can control themselves when given some freedom and who can't. Well, Ilearned confirmed that the entirety (save one) of the last class of the day cannot handle themselves. The substitute that joined me today and I had an interesting discussion about the teams in this school before these kids arrived, and I warned her that this group sees music class as a recess. I ended up giving a detention to a girl who REALLY needs one.
Regarding the one exception to rowdiness in that class: this girl confuses me. She's the goth type, and I've never given it much of a thought until today. I see her sit in class and methodically drape her hair to shade her face from the world as it dangles from her slouched head and neck (I've also seen her write dark poetry (that needs work, but seems like a nice outlet) on the back of papers that are handed in). Sometimes she participates in discussion; once she was insightful, but since then her thoughts have been tepid. Today, during our one-on-one guitar quiz, she seemed, perhaps, depressed, but it was extremely hard to distinguish possible mental anguish from simple lower-functioning capacity of applying knowledge than I expected (she could barely understand that a melody I wanted her to play had more than three notes in it). I'll ask Mrs. D tomorrow what she thinks; I can't figure out if I should be worried or if I should just roll my eyes.
The rest of the day was filled with guitar quizzes. I did consciously choose to approach them in a way that allowed the students a lot of socializing time. This allowed me to observe who can control themselves when given some freedom and who can't. Well, I
Regarding the one exception to rowdiness in that class: this girl confuses me. She's the goth type, and I've never given it much of a thought until today. I see her sit in class and methodically drape her hair to shade her face from the world as it dangles from her slouched head and neck (I've also seen her write dark poetry (that needs work, but seems like a nice outlet) on the back of papers that are handed in). Sometimes she participates in discussion; once she was insightful, but since then her thoughts have been tepid. Today, during our one-on-one guitar quiz, she seemed, perhaps, depressed, but it was extremely hard to distinguish possible mental anguish from simple lower-functioning capacity of applying knowledge than I expected (she could barely understand that a melody I wanted her to play had more than three notes in it). I'll ask Mrs. D tomorrow what she thinks; I can't figure out if I should be worried or if I should just roll my eyes.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
12/1
I'm a little sad that it took me so long to figure out how to establish rapport with this choir (humor), but I think I'm moderately succeeding at this point. I think they'll be able to accomplish everything they need to to succeed with the piece I'm directing.
On the other hand, I've developed such a comfortable rapport with Theory that they're starting to joke around more than I would like. They wasted class time today by constantly chatting (Mrs. D even chimed in on occasion, surely to help me realize that I'm losing my sway), but part of the reason they continued is because they want material presented to them faster. Since that last test (that they bombed!), I've slowed down dramatically to allow them to catch up to the skill level I expected. My struggle now is that 4/5 students want to move along faster, while one is still falling behind. I think I'm going to offer tutoring sessions for him and then increase the pace of class by a little.
Today's guitar lesson went well with the first class, fine with the second class, and terribly with the third. During the third, I even vaguely mentioned that I've started giving detentions and that I am no longer "Mr. Nice Guy," and one of the boys that I was going to give a slip to (though he didn't know it yet) said "detentions don't work." I said, "I suppose I'll find out," and when I gave him his slip at the end of class, he barely looked at it, mumbled some sort of "ok" and walked away. Weird. I've also acknowledged to them that I will treat them like 3rd graders, as that's how they're acting, and have been writing names and checkmarks on the board. Every educator-professor I've had has said that students don't like seeing their names up on a board, but these kids practically enjoyed it. They like the attention and I could barely get the technique to be effective. These detentions should theoretically impact the whole class, but I have my doubts. It seems I'm going to have to get really creative in order to keep them under control and still not resort to anything educationally counterproductive.
Long Outstretched Pier With Its Shadows - Xuefei Yang
On the other hand, I've developed such a comfortable rapport with Theory that they're starting to joke around more than I would like. They wasted class time today by constantly chatting (Mrs. D even chimed in on occasion, surely to help me realize that I'm losing my sway), but part of the reason they continued is because they want material presented to them faster. Since that last test (that they bombed!), I've slowed down dramatically to allow them to catch up to the skill level I expected. My struggle now is that 4/5 students want to move along faster, while one is still falling behind. I think I'm going to offer tutoring sessions for him and then increase the pace of class by a little.
Today's guitar lesson went well with the first class, fine with the second class, and terribly with the third. During the third, I even vaguely mentioned that I've started giving detentions and that I am no longer "Mr. Nice Guy," and one of the boys that I was going to give a slip to (though he didn't know it yet) said "detentions don't work." I said, "I suppose I'll find out," and when I gave him his slip at the end of class, he barely looked at it, mumbled some sort of "ok" and walked away. Weird. I've also acknowledged to them that I will treat them like 3rd graders, as that's how they're acting, and have been writing names and checkmarks on the board. Every educator-professor I've had has said that students don't like seeing their names up on a board, but these kids practically enjoyed it. They like the attention and I could barely get the technique to be effective. These detentions should theoretically impact the whole class, but I have my doubts. It seems I'm going to have to get really creative in order to keep them under control and still not resort to anything educationally counterproductive.
Long Outstretched Pier With Its Shadows - Xuefei Yang
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
11/23
Luc annoyed! Luc frustrated! Luc smash! Well...almost.
Remember when I was getting meaner and succeeding in reigning in some out-of-control students? Since then, I've somewhat reverted back to my overly patient/tolerant/forgiving self. I have recently been letting students get away with far too many disruptions and today I should have given out about 12 detentions. Seriously. The General Music students were so immature today that, in the last class, I resorted to putting names on the board with check marks next to them, promising a detention at 3 marks (which is too many, I didn't give any detentions). I even told them I would have to treat them like 3rd-graders if they kept acting like 3rd-graders. They did, so I did. I'm scared to discipline (partly due to my naive educational ideas about making kids care more about teachers being disappointed in them than in threats of punishment), and I need to get over it. We're going to watch a movie tomorrow after I tell them that I will be giving detentions when I have to and that after break, I'm dropping the hammer.
I forgot to complain a couple days ago about how I was preparing to show that movie in Theory and noticed that our projector (on a cart in the choir room) was missing. Nobody knew where it was and I borrowed one from the library. I've continued borrowing because the projector is still missing and nobody in the HS knows where it is.
My final frustration for today: this week is a waste. The week prior to any major break from school is a waste; students have left early either physically or mentally. My solution to this would be to make no pre-break week any longer than Monday and Tuesday (with an early dismissal). I think that the week before the winter break is a complete M-F, and I'm pretty sure most classes won't be able to accomplish anything worth those 5 days.
Remember when I was getting meaner and succeeding in reigning in some out-of-control students? Since then, I've somewhat reverted back to my overly patient/tolerant/forgiving self. I have recently been letting students get away with far too many disruptions and today I should have given out about 12 detentions. Seriously. The General Music students were so immature today that, in the last class, I resorted to putting names on the board with check marks next to them, promising a detention at 3 marks (which is too many, I didn't give any detentions). I even told them I would have to treat them like 3rd-graders if they kept acting like 3rd-graders. They did, so I did. I'm scared to discipline (partly due to my naive educational ideas about making kids care more about teachers being disappointed in them than in threats of punishment), and I need to get over it. We're going to watch a movie tomorrow after I tell them that I will be giving detentions when I have to and that after break, I'm dropping the hammer.
I forgot to complain a couple days ago about how I was preparing to show that movie in Theory and noticed that our projector (on a cart in the choir room) was missing. Nobody knew where it was and I borrowed one from the library. I've continued borrowing because the projector is still missing and nobody in the HS knows where it is.
My final frustration for today: this week is a waste. The week prior to any major break from school is a waste; students have left early either physically or mentally. My solution to this would be to make no pre-break week any longer than Monday and Tuesday (with an early dismissal). I think that the week before the winter break is a complete M-F, and I'm pretty sure most classes won't be able to accomplish anything worth those 5 days.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
11/16
I don't want to talk about choir. :)
I'mafraid terrified that I lost someone's Theory test! I've had it on my mind all day and there's nothing else that I can do except find out tomorrow if I accidentally gave it to her. There was a lot going on and I had too many piles of too many different papers — handing things to the students, receiving things from them, keeping completed tests from being viewed by a student taking the test...I really hope this girl has her test.
The first General Music class of the day finally exhibited their overall slowness. I gave a very clear lecture on new information and made sure they wrote down all the right things, but they really struggled this time to apply it to a worksheet that I gave them. They're still not behind the other classes, but that turning point may arrive soon. It's very frustrating to have a few students in the class that catch on immediately and finish things quickly while 90% can't.
Two students in my last GM class have been getting more disruptive by the day. I moved their seats a couple times today and they still cause trouble. One of them giggles when I tell her that she is being rude and disruptive and the other one said at one point, "it doesn't matter where you seat me, I'll talk to anyone." He was being more honest than difficult when he said that, but it's clear that he knows what behavior I want him to tame...and he won't...yet. Mrs. D was gone today, so I found myself talking to the principal about which path of recourse to take if I need to in the future. I kept coming so close to disciplining her...I just never couldn't decide how!
I'm
The first General Music class of the day finally exhibited their overall slowness. I gave a very clear lecture on new information and made sure they wrote down all the right things, but they really struggled this time to apply it to a worksheet that I gave them. They're still not behind the other classes, but that turning point may arrive soon. It's very frustrating to have a few students in the class that catch on immediately and finish things quickly while 90% can't.
Two students in my last GM class have been getting more disruptive by the day. I moved their seats a couple times today and they still cause trouble. One of them giggles when I tell her that she is being rude and disruptive and the other one said at one point, "it doesn't matter where you seat me, I'll talk to anyone." He was being more honest than difficult when he said that, but it's clear that he knows what behavior I want him to tame...and he won't...yet. Mrs. D was gone today, so I found myself talking to the principal about which path of recourse to take if I need to in the future. I kept coming so close to disciplining her...I just never couldn't decide how!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Music Education (Part 2) and Supplementary Reflection
Continued from Part 1
It takes a village to raise a choir. Sure, there are those who are motivated toward musical achievement without the encouragement of friends, family, and their community, but filling a choir with motivated singers does require broader support. However, if I were to continue on that path of reasoning, my conclusions of "everyone just needs to be encouraged" would apply no differently to music than to any other subject.
Currently, the particular form of communal perception of music that I think is needed is esteem. When students and communities admire musical accomplishments, a wealth of intrinsic motivation arrives. You've read my stories about students who approach choir almost no different than study hall, and you've read about situations which diminish the potential of the ensemble but end with the blame falling on a director who is often unfairly powerless. If students joined choir out of a respect for what can be done with the ensemble, these issues wouldn't be present. In order for that to happen, a change in perception of the entire school community — students, parents, teachers, and administrators — needs to occur.
I do think that other teachers and administrators respect this choral program, but what we really need is a second choir. Now, the show choir is already made up of motivated students, and they've built a reputation by performing locally, but we need another during-school choir. The most successful choral programs that I've seen are built around setting "the bar" higher and higher. There needs to be a beginning choir that includes music-reading education and establishes proper choral habits (beginning rehearsal on time, focusing on the music, warming up with purpose, etc.), and then an advanced/older choir that is prepared to be challenged into creating music that is deeply worth listening to. That kind of achievement is the pinnacle of music education because it educates more than the students, but also the community. Music teachers should see music as a cultural necessity and devote themselves to its development. In order for them to most readily succeed in that goal, however, the support of esteem for music needs to be omnipresent.
======
Supplement to 11/12
During the first major incident, Mrs. D and I were told that "perception is an issue," and I conceded that the girls involved are all of the same ethnicity. It's impossible at this point not to wonder if the lack of discipline is due to an avoidance of disciplining a group of students of minority ethnicity. The worst part of this apparent reverse discrimination isn't, to me, the unfair treatment involved (though that itself is detestable), but that it ends up fueling racism in the student body. It is mentally so easy (instinctive, perhaps) to allow the feeling of "Why are they getting preferential treatment?" to turn into a judgement of those are are benefiting from the reverse discrimination and the ethnic/religious/cultural group that they fit into.
While listening to a group of students talk about their frustration with this event, one perceptive student said, "It almost makes me feel racist," in reference to the illogical application of judgement that I just explained. Reverse discrimination doesn't just manifest in unfair treatment, it also quite effectively reverses the progress we have made against the rampant discriminatory racism of the past.
It takes a village to raise a choir. Sure, there are those who are motivated toward musical achievement without the encouragement of friends, family, and their community, but filling a choir with motivated singers does require broader support. However, if I were to continue on that path of reasoning, my conclusions of "everyone just needs to be encouraged" would apply no differently to music than to any other subject.
Currently, the particular form of communal perception of music that I think is needed is esteem. When students and communities admire musical accomplishments, a wealth of intrinsic motivation arrives. You've read my stories about students who approach choir almost no different than study hall, and you've read about situations which diminish the potential of the ensemble but end with the blame falling on a director who is often unfairly powerless. If students joined choir out of a respect for what can be done with the ensemble, these issues wouldn't be present. In order for that to happen, a change in perception of the entire school community — students, parents, teachers, and administrators — needs to occur.
I do think that other teachers and administrators respect this choral program, but what we really need is a second choir. Now, the show choir is already made up of motivated students, and they've built a reputation by performing locally, but we need another during-school choir. The most successful choral programs that I've seen are built around setting "the bar" higher and higher. There needs to be a beginning choir that includes music-reading education and establishes proper choral habits (beginning rehearsal on time, focusing on the music, warming up with purpose, etc.), and then an advanced/older choir that is prepared to be challenged into creating music that is deeply worth listening to. That kind of achievement is the pinnacle of music education because it educates more than the students, but also the community. Music teachers should see music as a cultural necessity and devote themselves to its development. In order for them to most readily succeed in that goal, however, the support of esteem for music needs to be omnipresent.
======
Supplement to 11/12
During the first major incident, Mrs. D and I were told that "perception is an issue," and I conceded that the girls involved are all of the same ethnicity. It's impossible at this point not to wonder if the lack of discipline is due to an avoidance of disciplining a group of students of minority ethnicity. The worst part of this apparent reverse discrimination isn't, to me, the unfair treatment involved (though that itself is detestable), but that it ends up fueling racism in the student body. It is mentally so easy (instinctive, perhaps) to allow the feeling of "Why are they getting preferential treatment?" to turn into a judgement of those are are benefiting from the reverse discrimination and the ethnic/religious/cultural group that they fit into.
While listening to a group of students talk about their frustration with this event, one perceptive student said, "It almost makes me feel racist," in reference to the illogical application of judgement that I just explained. Reverse discrimination doesn't just manifest in unfair treatment, it also quite effectively reverses the progress we have made against the rampant discriminatory racism of the past.
Friday, November 12, 2010
11/12
I am so glad it's Friday.
All of those intra-group-fighting girls were in Choir today with absolutely no recourse taken for anything. The other students are so frustrated that they passed around a petition (which Mrs. D saw and stopped) to the administration to deal with the persistent and pervasive disruptions. We were able to rehearse, and then...well, I need to censor details here for the sake of anonymity...the administration wants to blame our classroom management instead of addressing the infractions already reported. Just before we left the HS for the day we heard that one of the girls just about started a fight in a hall and had to be restrained by multiple adults. Are they waiting for someone to get punched?
There is some serious reflection that I have regarding this issue, but I need to take a break before writing it out. I'll include it as part of a "Music Education Pt. 2" post that I hereby promise to write this weekend.
I put an extra credit question on the Theory test for today that stated, "Draw something," and I got to see some funny illustrations (one of them had a picture of me yelling "Pupil!" which is funny if you remember that story).
I had some success in the General Music classes today (I taught the basic history of western notation), except the last class hadn't taken yesterday's quiz yet, so I had to try to get that out of the way. Too bad for us that two minutes after I handed out the quiz, a fire drill began. The drill took the rest of the class. Now they're two days behind! Sweet.
All of those intra-group-fighting girls were in Choir today with absolutely no recourse taken for anything. The other students are so frustrated that they passed around a petition (which Mrs. D saw and stopped) to the administration to deal with the persistent and pervasive disruptions. We were able to rehearse, and then...well, I need to censor details here for the sake of anonymity...the administration wants to blame our classroom management instead of addressing the infractions already reported. Just before we left the HS for the day we heard that one of the girls just about started a fight in a hall and had to be restrained by multiple adults. Are they waiting for someone to get punched?
There is some serious reflection that I have regarding this issue, but I need to take a break before writing it out. I'll include it as part of a "Music Education Pt. 2" post that I hereby promise to write this weekend.
I put an extra credit question on the Theory test for today that stated, "Draw something," and I got to see some funny illustrations (one of them had a picture of me yelling "Pupil!" which is funny if you remember that story).
I had some success in the General Music classes today (I taught the basic history of western notation), except the last class hadn't taken yesterday's quiz yet, so I had to try to get that out of the way. Too bad for us that two minutes after I handed out the quiz, a fire drill began. The drill took the rest of the class. Now they're two days behind! Sweet.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
11/11
We lost an entire freakin' choir rehearsal today because those disruptive girls were about to brawl (I tried to think of a way to write that sentence in a way that sounded appropriately seething, but I couldn't). I'm seething (see?). The story goes that there was almost a fight yesterday that didn't happen, so it apparently boiled over into this morning and choir began with these girls yelling colorful expletives so that everyone could hear them. We spent the class with me monitoring the room while Mrs. D took certain participants to the office one-by-one.
That wasn't the worst part, though. After all of the discipline write-ups Mrs. D did, they are still, according to the web-based discipline system, unread (in fact, so are the write-ups from the last significant incident)! We have no idea (again) what to expect tomorrow. I am being generous in saying that administrative action regarding these girls leaves something to be desired.
I was able to give 2/3 General Music classes a quiz today (the 3rd wasted too much time during our review session). I read the quiz to them and allowed them to use their notes for the last 3 minutes of quiz-taking time, and many of them did terribly. The learning support teachers present in these two classes were in support of my methods, and I will be working with them to make sure I only give bad grades to the students that deserve them for not giving an effort, and that I find a way to enable those who suffered due to disability a proper chance to succeed.
If anyone ever asks you to differentiate instruction for 26 special education students, run.
That wasn't the worst part, though. After all of the discipline write-ups Mrs. D did, they are still, according to the web-based discipline system, unread (in fact, so are the write-ups from the last significant incident)! We have no idea (again) what to expect tomorrow. I am being generous in saying that administrative action regarding these girls leaves something to be desired.
I was able to give 2/3 General Music classes a quiz today (the 3rd wasted too much time during our review session). I read the quiz to them and allowed them to use their notes for the last 3 minutes of quiz-taking time, and many of them did terribly. The learning support teachers present in these two classes were in support of my methods, and I will be working with them to make sure I only give bad grades to the students that deserve them for not giving an effort, and that I find a way to enable those who suffered due to disability a proper chance to succeed.
If anyone ever asks you to differentiate instruction for 26 special education students, run.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
11/9 - I Don't Think People Should Use Ellipses
Today began with me expressing frustration about students wasting time in choir. Mrs. D seemed to agree and announced some moderate rule changes. I hope they work.
Theory surprised me today by sparking a stressful philosophical dilemma in my mind, though I should ultimately recognize my role in sparking the spark...
I played a video clip from Glee for them to discuss (with an emphasis on the song, of course). One of the responses I received was, "I would have liked it better without the gay guy......because I don't think people should be gay." Another student immediately said, "Nice, someone who agrees with me." I was downright stupefied, and without another glance starting rambling about the production of the a capella tuning in the song. My mind, however, immediately reached a conflict...
When does a subject become more political than ethical, thus rendering it inappropriate for classroom conversation or teacher input? Where is the line between culturally standard ethical viewpoints (which teachers are expected to uphold) and something controversial enough to be either political or religious (which teachers are expected to avoid)? I think I can elaborate by describing two short [and true] stories that have happened recently...
1. A student said, in a conversation with another, "That's retarded!" I interjected with the requisite seriousness and explained that using a word that legitimately describes an inherent characteristic of certain people as an insult is very disrespectful and insulting towards those who the speaker didn't intend to target. The student (and those nearby) seemed to understand what I was saying, and I didn't hear it from anyone in the class again.
2. A student said, in a conversation with another, "That's so gay!" I interjected with the requisite seriousness and explained that using a word that legitimately describes an inherent characteristic of certain people as an insult is very disrespectful and insulting towards those who the speaker didn't intend to target. The student (and those nearby) seemed to understand what I was saying, and I didn't hear it from anyone in the class again.
In both of the above situations, someone made a comment that is, by my understanding of our culture, ethically incorrect, and as a teacher I was completely within my responsibilities to point this out and thus help the student develop into a more upstanding citizen. However, as in today's event, when a student makes a direct statement about not liking homosexuality, I am caught in a position where I am expected not to address the comment since the student's perspective is religiously (and perhaps politically) motivated. That almost seems like a logical place to "draw the line", but, quite seriously, what if the student had said, "I would have liked it better without the retarded guy......because I don't think people should be retarded," instead?
I know, I can hear the arguments, the most likely being, "That analogy is no good because no one thinks that retarded people choose to be retarded, whereas some people do think that people can choose to be gay." My rebuttal: it doesn't matter what group of people I used as analogous to homosexuals, the speaker is still declaring an illogical and insulting attitude toward a group of people, and isn't that something that our educators should battle against?
I have learned to be even more careful in my selection of materials, because, evidently, some high school students are prohibited by their parents from watching such things as Glee (on the other hand, these students have also told me about the controversial readings they've done in English class (is controversial material only fair game for English teachers?)). I have also learned that the "line" that I'm looking for is a squiggly one. My ethics hurt.
We worked with just the boys in MS choir today. Not all of them showed up, and the ones that did were so constantly distracted that it was more difficult to keep them quiet than my rowdiest class.
(Since I would typically link to my Theory selection here, I'll tell you instead that revealing the exact clip that I played for theory would distract from everything above, so I'm keeping it secret.)
========
Edit:
What if I were gay? I'd have to keep my mouth shut, at least in this district. As a student teacher, schools have no legal pressure to keep me around. Also important, however, is that before tenure, schools cannot dismiss teachers in discriminatory ways, but they also don't have to provide a reason for not offering a teacher a new contract after their current one ends. As a non-tenured teacher in this area, I would probably have to silently endure comments like that (even tenured teachers often keep silent, because there are indirect ways to lose one's job for having a characteristic that a community disapproves of). If I were open to everyone else about my orientation, the school in which I teach would be the final place of necessary secrecy.
I know of no one who feels the need to flaunt their orientation (except for some extreme homophobes), because nobody should care — but the idea that one would (and many do) have to resist standing up for themselves in order to keep their job is appalling.
Theory surprised me today by sparking a stressful philosophical dilemma in my mind, though I should ultimately recognize my role in sparking the spark...
I played a video clip from Glee for them to discuss (with an emphasis on the song, of course). One of the responses I received was, "I would have liked it better without the gay guy......because I don't think people should be gay." Another student immediately said, "Nice, someone who agrees with me." I was downright stupefied, and without another glance starting rambling about the production of the a capella tuning in the song. My mind, however, immediately reached a conflict...
When does a subject become more political than ethical, thus rendering it inappropriate for classroom conversation or teacher input? Where is the line between culturally standard ethical viewpoints (which teachers are expected to uphold) and something controversial enough to be either political or religious (which teachers are expected to avoid)? I think I can elaborate by describing two short [and true] stories that have happened recently...
1. A student said, in a conversation with another, "That's retarded!" I interjected with the requisite seriousness and explained that using a word that legitimately describes an inherent characteristic of certain people as an insult is very disrespectful and insulting towards those who the speaker didn't intend to target. The student (and those nearby) seemed to understand what I was saying, and I didn't hear it from anyone in the class again.
2. A student said, in a conversation with another, "That's so gay!" I interjected with the requisite seriousness and explained that using a word that legitimately describes an inherent characteristic of certain people as an insult is very disrespectful and insulting towards those who the speaker didn't intend to target. The student (and those nearby) seemed to understand what I was saying, and I didn't hear it from anyone in the class again.
In both of the above situations, someone made a comment that is, by my understanding of our culture, ethically incorrect, and as a teacher I was completely within my responsibilities to point this out and thus help the student develop into a more upstanding citizen. However, as in today's event, when a student makes a direct statement about not liking homosexuality, I am caught in a position where I am expected not to address the comment since the student's perspective is religiously (and perhaps politically) motivated. That almost seems like a logical place to "draw the line", but, quite seriously, what if the student had said, "I would have liked it better without the retarded guy......because I don't think people should be retarded," instead?
I know, I can hear the arguments, the most likely being, "That analogy is no good because no one thinks that retarded people choose to be retarded, whereas some people do think that people can choose to be gay." My rebuttal: it doesn't matter what group of people I used as analogous to homosexuals, the speaker is still declaring an illogical and insulting attitude toward a group of people, and isn't that something that our educators should battle against?
I have learned to be even more careful in my selection of materials, because, evidently, some high school students are prohibited by their parents from watching such things as Glee (on the other hand, these students have also told me about the controversial readings they've done in English class (is controversial material only fair game for English teachers?)). I have also learned that the "line" that I'm looking for is a squiggly one. My ethics hurt.
We worked with just the boys in MS choir today. Not all of them showed up, and the ones that did were so constantly distracted that it was more difficult to keep them quiet than my rowdiest class.
(Since I would typically link to my Theory selection here, I'll tell you instead that revealing the exact clip that I played for theory would distract from everything above, so I'm keeping it secret.)
========
Edit:
What if I were gay? I'd have to keep my mouth shut, at least in this district. As a student teacher, schools have no legal pressure to keep me around. Also important, however, is that before tenure, schools cannot dismiss teachers in discriminatory ways, but they also don't have to provide a reason for not offering a teacher a new contract after their current one ends. As a non-tenured teacher in this area, I would probably have to silently endure comments like that (even tenured teachers often keep silent, because there are indirect ways to lose one's job for having a characteristic that a community disapproves of). If I were open to everyone else about my orientation, the school in which I teach would be the final place of necessary secrecy.
I know of no one who feels the need to flaunt their orientation (except for some extreme homophobes), because nobody should care — but the idea that one would (and many do) have to resist standing up for themselves in order to keep their job is appalling.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
11/3
I was observed while directing the choir today. I did better than yesterday (with my new understandings), and am beginning to convince myself to feel optimistic (though I know that phrasing makes me sound bitter...give me a break, it's late).
I finally got to play another discussion-worthy piece for Theory today. It's from one of my favorite movies, Les Choristes, so we ended up talking about that a little bit, too. It was also an exciting lesson because I introduced them to triads. I just get giddy thinking about how they're catching a glimpse of approaching theory as if it were a ship approaching from the horizon — they can make out its general shape and purpose, but have no idea of the detail and grandeur that will eventually arrive.
The 1st GM class of the day is essentially a full day ahead of the rest. Tomorrow, however, I will begin lecturing on the first unit, and am preparing myself for a slowing of pace. The last class of the day $&#*ed up our practice fire drill. They talked and goofed off and one even rudely imitated me calling her name when going through the roster outside. I was mad, and I think they caught on when I told them that they were so disrespectful that we'll do it again tomorrow.
Oh, fine. I'll provide some pedagogical reflection. I vacillate on my thoughts of the function of punishment in class. It's very easy to mistakenly create a punishment out of something that shouldn't be viewed that way by a student. Practicing a fire drill, for example...if they think of it as a punishment, am I risking having students think more about negative things than about safety when a real evacuation has to occur? Furthermore, I strive to educate them on much more than just music; I would like them to understand the why of procedures like this. If I don't see value in it, why should they? Lastly, when I get angry, I inspire (or at least signal that I want to inspire) fear from them. Fear = not educationally beneficial. If, instead (and more likely suited to my personality), I am disappointed, I inspire guilt in them. Guilt = not a feeling a student should have when entering a classroom. Ultimately, I think Mrs. D would remind me how quickly students get over things like that, and that swift punishment is vital to preventing a disruptable/distractable environment.
La Nuit (from Les Choristes by Bruno Coulais)
I finally got to play another discussion-worthy piece for Theory today. It's from one of my favorite movies, Les Choristes, so we ended up talking about that a little bit, too. It was also an exciting lesson because I introduced them to triads. I just get giddy thinking about how they're catching a glimpse of approaching theory as if it were a ship approaching from the horizon — they can make out its general shape and purpose, but have no idea of the detail and grandeur that will eventually arrive.
The 1st GM class of the day is essentially a full day ahead of the rest. Tomorrow, however, I will begin lecturing on the first unit, and am preparing myself for a slowing of pace. The last class of the day $&#*ed up our practice fire drill. They talked and goofed off and one even rudely imitated me calling her name when going through the roster outside. I was mad, and I think they caught on when I told them that they were so disrespectful that we'll do it again tomorrow.
Oh, fine. I'll provide some pedagogical reflection. I vacillate on my thoughts of the function of punishment in class. It's very easy to mistakenly create a punishment out of something that shouldn't be viewed that way by a student. Practicing a fire drill, for example...if they think of it as a punishment, am I risking having students think more about negative things than about safety when a real evacuation has to occur? Furthermore, I strive to educate them on much more than just music; I would like them to understand the why of procedures like this. If I don't see value in it, why should they? Lastly, when I get angry, I inspire (or at least signal that I want to inspire) fear from them. Fear = not educationally beneficial. If, instead (and more likely suited to my personality), I am disappointed, I inspire guilt in them. Guilt = not a feeling a student should have when entering a classroom. Ultimately, I think Mrs. D would remind me how quickly students get over things like that, and that swift punishment is vital to preventing a disruptable/distractable environment.
La Nuit (from Les Choristes by Bruno Coulais)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
11/2
I tried to introduce my piece to HS Choir this morning. Even thought I'd been observing, essentially, for many weeks, I approached rehearsal by expecting a little bit of music-reading ability. It turns out, as Mrs. D whispered to me and discussed more later, they don't really read music. Therefore, I somewhat stumbled through my introduction and now intend to be more focused on learning parts practically by rote before addressing more complicated things.
We conquered a whole damn unit in Theory today! Bam!
Then, at the MS, the first (and initially most dreaded) GM class arrived......and they were almost silent. I was so nervous about the immaturity and attitude that I had been warned about that my expectation was of recklessness, and I had completely forgotten about the once-given explanation that these students "often don't really respond." They were so quiet and seemingly attentive that I ran out of planned material. I couldn't believe it. During the listening journal (the last thing in my plan), I talked to Mrs. D and said, "What on earth do I do?" She came to my rescue and said, "Fire drill procedure!" That was just what I needed. We did a fire drill and I stalled with humor when we returned, still ultimately ending class a minute early. So, oddly enough, this class seems to be the fastest at absorbing introductions and administrivia, though, from what I'm told, they will be extremely slow with real material. Currently, they're ahead of the other two classes (by a listening journal and a fire drill!), but I expect that trend to reverse after the first day of a real lesson (Thursday).
As much as I've settled into being comfortable in front of the classes I've known, the role of being a teacher that students have never seen before is still jarring. Mrs. D was entirely in charge of the initial classes with the last round of students, and I find that introducing myself to students on my own is quite nerve-racking. By the end of the day I had succeeded in using my sense of humor to my advantage. Overall, I'd say things went well, my evidence being that Mrs. D was bored out of her mind all day. :)
The mostest awesomest part of the day was when I learned how to whistle. Actually, I whistle just fine with my tongue, but since we watched that whistling documentary I've been trying to do a real pucker whistle. Mrs. D's tips led to me making some whistles today. This is about as exciting as when I finally figured out how to see those Magic Eye illusions a year ago.
We conquered a whole damn unit in Theory today! Bam!
Then, at the MS, the first (and initially most dreaded) GM class arrived......and they were almost silent. I was so nervous about the immaturity and attitude that I had been warned about that my expectation was of recklessness, and I had completely forgotten about the once-given explanation that these students "often don't really respond." They were so quiet and seemingly attentive that I ran out of planned material. I couldn't believe it. During the listening journal (the last thing in my plan), I talked to Mrs. D and said, "What on earth do I do?" She came to my rescue and said, "Fire drill procedure!" That was just what I needed. We did a fire drill and I stalled with humor when we returned, still ultimately ending class a minute early. So, oddly enough, this class seems to be the fastest at absorbing introductions and administrivia, though, from what I'm told, they will be extremely slow with real material. Currently, they're ahead of the other two classes (by a listening journal and a fire drill!), but I expect that trend to reverse after the first day of a real lesson (Thursday).
As much as I've settled into being comfortable in front of the classes I've known, the role of being a teacher that students have never seen before is still jarring. Mrs. D was entirely in charge of the initial classes with the last round of students, and I find that introducing myself to students on my own is quite nerve-racking. By the end of the day I had succeeded in using my sense of humor to my advantage. Overall, I'd say things went well, my evidence being that Mrs. D was bored out of her mind all day. :)
The mostest awesomest part of the day was when I learned how to whistle. Actually, I whistle just fine with my tongue, but since we watched that whistling documentary I've been trying to do a real pucker whistle. Mrs. D's tips led to me making some whistles today. This is about as exciting as when I finally figured out how to see those Magic Eye illusions a year ago.
Monday, October 25, 2010
10/25
I am persistently trying to come up with ideas for how to establish a choral environment that would make students think it ridiculous to work on their homework during rehearsal. Mrs. D is able to approach choir with the patience for this, and produces good results too, but I don't think I would be able to handle that. This, of course, comes from a naïve pre-teacher. Perhaps I'll discover that this is the kind of allowance necessary to balance the "you can't kick students out of choir" administrative approach with classroom discipline. Also, if/when Mrs. D reads this, she'll be thinking, "Ha! He isn't mean enough." We'll see, I suppose.
I ended up with 3.5/5 (one was rather tardy) students in Theory today and gave the quiz anyway. I began grading them and WOW — they bombed it. I'm really glad that this happened though, because now I have a really good understanding of what they're missing. I'll be turning this into one of those procedures where I mark their work, hand it back, go over it in class, and have them return it with corrections. Scales, keys, and intervals are kind of a big deal.
I recall enjoying GM today, and we're finally done with the movie, but most of what I remember are things that frustrated me. The first [and one non-frustrating] memory is that the bickering girls are friends again. Loud friends. Three cheers, eh? The second is of the students who refuse to contribute; when asked a simple question like, "What was your favorite part of the musical?", they'll answer "Nothing. I didn't like any of it," and I have to drag some sort of answer out of them. The third memory flat-out pisses me off. I spent the beginning of each class sternly lecturing about a terrible mess that all three classes left last week. Scraps of paper, candy wrappers, and broken pieces from pencils were all over the floor! Everyone seemed to get a healthy dose of guilt. The third class was the most interested in this — they asked why it's bad since there are people who are supposed to clean the building each day. Fine. Great. I answered and they understood (I think — they all had understanding looks) about the disrespect involved. Oh...but then...after that class left...there was half of a broken pencil waiting for me on the floor. REALLY, KID? REALLY? I OUGHTA &$%#%^@$%# and *&^@!@&^#& your @$$!!!
Wait! I'm not done! After MS choir, I was back in our room (where Mrs. D had rehearsed with the boys) and there was a piece of gum, shoddily wrapped, ground into the floor! Unbelievable!
On a brighter note, I ended the day by doing more singing than usual, as I was needed to add some substance to the anemic one-person-against-too-many-others bass section. I don't get to sing as often as I would like, so I enjoyed this greatly. There was, however, the proverbial dark lining to that silver cloud (wait...that's not quite right...oh, well); part way through the rehearsal about 8 members got up and left to go to a rehearsal for the musical. Well, Mrs. D had only heard about this 30 minutes prior and...the details aren't worth it. We wound up with 14/26 members (and no bass section after the one left) for most of the rehearsal. Is "obligation" in their vocabulary?
I ended up with 3.5/5 (one was rather tardy) students in Theory today and gave the quiz anyway. I began grading them and WOW — they bombed it. I'm really glad that this happened though, because now I have a really good understanding of what they're missing. I'll be turning this into one of those procedures where I mark their work, hand it back, go over it in class, and have them return it with corrections. Scales, keys, and intervals are kind of a big deal.
I recall enjoying GM today, and we're finally done with the movie, but most of what I remember are things that frustrated me. The first [and one non-frustrating] memory is that the bickering girls are friends again. Loud friends. Three cheers, eh? The second is of the students who refuse to contribute; when asked a simple question like, "What was your favorite part of the musical?", they'll answer "Nothing. I didn't like any of it," and I have to drag some sort of answer out of them. The third memory flat-out pisses me off. I spent the beginning of each class sternly lecturing about a terrible mess that all three classes left last week. Scraps of paper, candy wrappers, and broken pieces from pencils were all over the floor! Everyone seemed to get a healthy dose of guilt. The third class was the most interested in this — they asked why it's bad since there are people who are supposed to clean the building each day. Fine. Great. I answered and they understood (I think — they all had understanding looks) about the disrespect involved. Oh...but then...after that class left...there was half of a broken pencil waiting for me on the floor. REALLY, KID? REALLY? I OUGHTA &$%#%^@$%# and *&^@!@&^#& your @$$!!!
Wait! I'm not done! After MS choir, I was back in our room (where Mrs. D had rehearsed with the boys) and there was a piece of gum, shoddily wrapped, ground into the floor! Unbelievable!
On a brighter note, I ended the day by doing more singing than usual, as I was needed to add some substance to the anemic one-person-against-too-many-others bass section. I don't get to sing as often as I would like, so I enjoyed this greatly. There was, however, the proverbial dark lining to that silver cloud (wait...that's not quite right...oh, well); part way through the rehearsal about 8 members got up and left to go to a rehearsal for the musical. Well, Mrs. D had only heard about this 30 minutes prior and...the details aren't worth it. We wound up with 14/26 members (and no bass section after the one left) for most of the rehearsal. Is "obligation" in their vocabulary?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
10/21
I was so confused this morning...just before real rehearsal began in choir, a small mystery something flew into my side and I swatted it away. Mrs. D then yelled toward the disruptive corner of the ensemble, "Did you just throw a stinkbug at Mr. Duval?" The one who apparently did this looked genuinely surprised that it hit someone, because she apparently was aimlessly swatting it away from herself. At this point, I didn't know what to think. I already struggle to hold on to any respect in this room, and this troublemaker definitely has none. She and her friend started laughing and making snide jokes that I couldn't hear while I kept looking at them with a "did you really just throw something at me?" look. I was mentally mixed up with a conflict of annoyance, shock, patience, helplessness, and amusement. I still don't know what to think.
AAAAAHHHHH GUYS AND DOLLS
The Thrill is Gone - B.B. King and Tracy Chapman
P.S. I just added yesterday's Theory song to the post. It was an interesting one.
AAAAAHHHHH GUYS AND DOLLS
The Thrill is Gone - B.B. King and Tracy Chapman
P.S. I just added yesterday's Theory song to the post. It was an interesting one.
Monday, October 18, 2010
10/18
What a day.
Mrs. D exploded during HS Choir today and threw out the excessively rude and disruptive girls. The rest of the class verged on applauding (we're glad they didn't). It doesn't end there though; Mrs. D received an e-mail from the administration saying that they don't want to permanently remove anyone from any class and that "perception is an issue." There's never been a reason to specify this until now, but these girls are all of the same ethnicity. So, in short, all possible frustrations about unfair ethnicity-based treatment, classroom management disasters, apparent lack of administrative support, and loss of rehearsal time have boiled over. I feel this saga has reached its climax, but that the "falling action" will be mostly a plateau. Tomorrow, the girls will be back in choir and everyone else will be wondering why. I can hardly wait.
In GM, the "American Musicals" unit takes a week to complete, so we started it today. All three classes elected to watch "Guys and Dolls" over other options. The third class even knew what the first two chose. I really would've preferred some variety.
During rehearsal after school with the show choir, some I.T. people came to the choral room and said they needed it for training...so the choir moved to the orchestral room. That...doesn't quite make sense to me. Also, while playing some sample music for them, the power went out briefly.
Mrs. D exploded during HS Choir today and threw out the excessively rude and disruptive girls. The rest of the class verged on applauding (we're glad they didn't). It doesn't end there though; Mrs. D received an e-mail from the administration saying that they don't want to permanently remove anyone from any class and that "perception is an issue." There's never been a reason to specify this until now, but these girls are all of the same ethnicity. So, in short, all possible frustrations about unfair ethnicity-based treatment, classroom management disasters, apparent lack of administrative support, and loss of rehearsal time have boiled over. I feel this saga has reached its climax, but that the "falling action" will be mostly a plateau. Tomorrow, the girls will be back in choir and everyone else will be wondering why. I can hardly wait.
In GM, the "American Musicals" unit takes a week to complete, so we started it today. All three classes elected to watch "Guys and Dolls" over other options. The third class even knew what the first two chose. I really would've preferred some variety.
During rehearsal after school with the show choir, some I.T. people came to the choral room and said they needed it for training...so the choir moved to the orchestral room. That...doesn't quite make sense to me. Also, while playing some sample music for them, the power went out briefly.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
10/12
Mrs. D couldn't come to school today, so I was on my own (with a sub) again. She warned me of this possibility last night and we thought up some things to do.
I intend to make much closer observation of how Mrs. D keeps the attention of the choir. The idle chatter is no different than that of the 7th graders (in fact, today it was worse), but the effect is compounded by the large number of students. I focused on projecting my voice better and being clear and deliberate in my statements and directions. I was still asked once if I could speak louder, but louder required yelling. I could get them all to be quiet when I asked, but it just wouldn't last once I returned my attention to the music. I shouldn't have to yell throughout an entire rehearsal...right?
GM went well, except the second class conspired to create both the weirdest and the funniest moments of the day. At the beginning of class a couple students had heard that someone related to someone is sick (in no grave way) and a student loudly asked if they could pray for him. I said, "You can do whatever you want," and turned to continue class, but she persisted, "No, I mean can we all pray together?" I responded with, "No, that would be inappropriate," and eventually ended with a lame fallback on education courses teaching me that it's inappropriate. I'm a bit sad that I feel so afraid to make any statement regarding religion that I felt the need to use courses I've taken as an excuse for doing the right thing. I want to be able to give a real response, and I shouldn't have to be afraid to explain why religious endorsements aren't appropriate in public schools, but I am. There's nothing I can do now except dodge, dodge, dodge.
Fret not! I still have to tell you about the best part of the day. That class had students asking, "How do you whistle?" So I actually took a few minutes at the end of class to try to teach them how to whistle. That was great.
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes
I intend to make much closer observation of how Mrs. D keeps the attention of the choir. The idle chatter is no different than that of the 7th graders (in fact, today it was worse), but the effect is compounded by the large number of students. I focused on projecting my voice better and being clear and deliberate in my statements and directions. I was still asked once if I could speak louder, but louder required yelling. I could get them all to be quiet when I asked, but it just wouldn't last once I returned my attention to the music. I shouldn't have to yell throughout an entire rehearsal...right?
GM went well, except the second class conspired to create both the weirdest and the funniest moments of the day. At the beginning of class a couple students had heard that someone related to someone is sick (in no grave way) and a student loudly asked if they could pray for him. I said, "You can do whatever you want," and turned to continue class, but she persisted, "No, I mean can we all pray together?" I responded with, "No, that would be inappropriate," and eventually ended with a lame fallback on education courses teaching me that it's inappropriate. I'm a bit sad that I feel so afraid to make any statement regarding religion that I felt the need to use courses I've taken as an excuse for doing the right thing. I want to be able to give a real response, and I shouldn't have to be afraid to explain why religious endorsements aren't appropriate in public schools, but I am. There's nothing I can do now except dodge, dodge, dodge.
Fret not! I still have to tell you about the best part of the day. That class had students asking, "How do you whistle?" So I actually took a few minutes at the end of class to try to teach them how to whistle. That was great.
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes
Friday, October 8, 2010
10/8
Mrs. D and her family extended their weekend from 3 (we have Monday off) days to 4 and took today off for a short trip. So I was on my own again today (with a sub).
I did a little bit of work with the HS Choir. I warmed them up with one exercise that Mrs. D uses and then one that my college director uses. I used the vowel-shaping focus of the second one to transition into working with the choir on a unison melody in a song (with a focus on vowels). I have to give credit to many members of the choir, they were focused and intent on hearing me and trying to learn, but there was also still a lot of trouble from that notorious group of girls I've spoken of before. There was also an expected hurdle that it seems will take more time to overcome even with the students who want to do well; they're just not used to my style of directing (one which isn't at all solidified anyway). Compared to Mrs. D, I'm rather dry and serious — intently focused on what I want to teach. This was evident during that second warm-up activity; it required following some conducting while singing a new thing, so their sound was very timid and unsure. The same sort of sound was all I could get during the song rehearsal too since my use of the piano is different than Mrs. D's. I did also identify a hurdle for myself to overcome; I can't yet digest all of the actions, sounds, and attention of so many students at once, so it's really difficult to adapt my teaching because with so many students responding/acting in so many different ways. I feel removed and alone.
Today was school colors day at the HS and hat day at the MS. I wore a cool tie and a fedora. Sorry, no picture.
I somehow managed to get to the same point in the movie at the end each of the 3 GM classes. That will make Tuesday easy.
There was a tricky incident today. Just as students were arriving for a GM class, a girl stormed out of the room and a [rather excitable] boy followed her in haste. I did too, and the girl told me she was going to the office to report the boy for being a persistent pest (my words, not hers). The boy just about threw a fit (and did throw his hat), so I took them both aside, got their stories (the boy keeps bugging the girl even when she asks him to stop), made the boy apologize and understand that the real apology is in not continuing that behavior, but I left it open for the girl to go to the office. Fortunately, she chose not to after the apology. I felt like I was teaching elementary kids how to resolve a problem, but I'm concluding that 7th grade is about when I get to tell them that I expect them to be able to come to their own resolutions, but when they still won't get it right every time.
Nacht und Träume (Franz Schubert) - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
I did a little bit of work with the HS Choir. I warmed them up with one exercise that Mrs. D uses and then one that my college director uses. I used the vowel-shaping focus of the second one to transition into working with the choir on a unison melody in a song (with a focus on vowels). I have to give credit to many members of the choir, they were focused and intent on hearing me and trying to learn, but there was also still a lot of trouble from that notorious group of girls I've spoken of before. There was also an expected hurdle that it seems will take more time to overcome even with the students who want to do well; they're just not used to my style of directing (one which isn't at all solidified anyway). Compared to Mrs. D, I'm rather dry and serious — intently focused on what I want to teach. This was evident during that second warm-up activity; it required following some conducting while singing a new thing, so their sound was very timid and unsure. The same sort of sound was all I could get during the song rehearsal too since my use of the piano is different than Mrs. D's. I did also identify a hurdle for myself to overcome; I can't yet digest all of the actions, sounds, and attention of so many students at once, so it's really difficult to adapt my teaching because with so many students responding/acting in so many different ways. I feel removed and alone.
Today was school colors day at the HS and hat day at the MS. I wore a cool tie and a fedora. Sorry, no picture.
I somehow managed to get to the same point in the movie at the end each of the 3 GM classes. That will make Tuesday easy.
There was a tricky incident today. Just as students were arriving for a GM class, a girl stormed out of the room and a [rather excitable] boy followed her in haste. I did too, and the girl told me she was going to the office to report the boy for being a persistent pest (my words, not hers). The boy just about threw a fit (and did throw his hat), so I took them both aside, got their stories (the boy keeps bugging the girl even when she asks him to stop), made the boy apologize and understand that the real apology is in not continuing that behavior, but I left it open for the girl to go to the office. Fortunately, she chose not to after the apology. I felt like I was teaching elementary kids how to resolve a problem, but I'm concluding that 7th grade is about when I get to tell them that I expect them to be able to come to their own resolutions, but when they still won't get it right every time.
Nacht und Träume (Franz Schubert) - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
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