In like a lamb and out like a lion...

       My first full week of school. It is hard to know where to begin because SO MUCH happened between Monday and Friday. We had Open House where I met the parents and learned why my students are the way they are. :-) There was a line outside my door that didn't die down all night. Everybody wanted to check out the new music teacher. Some had sweet things to say like, "My kid didn't think he'd like choir but now it's his favorite class!" or "She sang all last night and wanted to tell us everything she learned!". A couple of parents even said that their kids described me as "fashionable". Haha! Other parents wanted to tell me how the last choir teacher did things or tell me how to do my job. That part wasn't fun. At the end of the night, I was probably the most tired that I've ever been. I thought my face was going to crack in two from all the smiling.
       In the classroom, we started the week learning new warm-ups, working on some simple part-singing canons, and talking about posture/breathing. The kids did a listening activity with the Jackson 5 song, "ABC", that they really liked. The kids were talkative and every class had one or two minor disruptions that I had to deal with, but most things went smoothly. If I told them to get quiet, they would. I got to know most everybody's names by Wednesday. On Thursday, we started our music for our first concert. I have the seventh and eighth graders already singing in three part harmony. My sixth grade classes are singing harmony in a round-style song. So exciting! The sixth graders were completely darling all week. I think I could teach them all day. They really make my job fun. It's like I can't believe I'm getting paid to teach them because it is so easy.
       Then there's the upperclassmen. Our "honeymoon" period ended on Thursday. My seventh graders suddenly grew springs out of their butts and couldn't manage to hold themselves in their seats. They bickered with each other almost constantly and basically ignored me when I told them to get quiet. Moving seats did absolutely nothing. It's like no one in the seventh grade likes each other and can handle sitting by another student. They classes just don't mesh, so the whole "We're a team!" thing that I had going on did a giant belly flop. How can I get them to sing together if they won't even sit together? By mid-way through the period on Friday, I had had enough. I stopped my entire rehearsal to talk about how we can make our rehearsals function more efficiently. "Well... people shouldn't talk so much." Okay, so what should we do if "people" are talking? After much discussion, they eventually came to the conclusion that our classroom rules and consequences were fair. I should just be more strict about enforcing them. Apparently their old choir teacher was strict and they feel like that's what they need. They don't believe that I will actually follow through. "Okay... I can do that." So we resumed our rehearsal and I started giving warnings and minors and following through. TOTAL MUTINY. The kids went crazy. You see, it's one thing to say what should happen when "people" talk, but it's another thing entirely when "people" is YOU. They asked for strict and they got it. On the way out the door, I heard them muttering about how much they hate me now. I wanted to say, "You asked for it!"
       My patience was already thin when my last eighth grade class of the day came in on Friday. Their rehearsal went well overall, but then we had to have a talk about what happens when the dismissal calls come. Our school dismisses bus riders by grade level. Traditionally, walkers and car riders are dismissed first before the students who ride busses. Yesterday, they forgot to make a call for walkers and car riders so I just dismissed those kids myself. All but two students got up and left. The two girls left said, "Um, half of those kids ride the busses." The kids had totally taken advantage of my kindness and that's something I just can't stand for. So Friday I told the kids that we would ALL wait until they dismissed the eighth grade because I can't trust them anymore. TOTAL MUTINY. "I have to go get ready for cheer practice! That's not fair! My Mom is going to call you! I have an appointment to get to! Blah Blah Blah!" And I said that I didn't care. Five minutes wasn't going to make or break them. We would all wait. I turned my back from the door to address a student who had smarted off in class about her attitude.  As I sat to write her discipline notice, the students grabbed their books and crowded around the door, waiting for the 8th grade call to come. In the midst of the crowd, a few girls slipped out the open door and into the hallway. A fellow teacher caught them and I heard, "What are you doing out of the room?" My head flew up from the paperwork and I bee-lined for the door. Had someone really tried to sneak out of my classroom? Seriously? Yep. "Out of my way! Go back to your seats!" I cut through the sea of angry eighth grade girls and corralled everyone, including the offenders, back into the room. Without thinking, I slammed the door and screamed "SIT. DOWN!". I don't think I have ever made that big of a production in my life. I was even shocked that it happened. I went to my desk and quietly continued filling out the discipline notice. The classroom was completely silent. They called for the eighth grade dismissal and nobody moved. I continued writing for three-four minutes after the call and then walked into the hallway. I came back inside and very quietly said, "You are dismissed." The students filed out with their heads down and mouths shut. Holy crap. Oh and did I mention that the superintendent's daughter is in this class? Yep.
       So my week came in like a lamb and out like a lion. I think we are going to spend all Monday talking about my expectations for the classroom. I am going to have to come up with a new system for my room, because the school's classroom management plan just isn't working for choir. They practically have to kill someone before they feel any consequences. They are all probably going to hate me next week, but I really don't care. The disrespectfulness that I witnessed on Thursday and Friday both from individual students and from the class as a whole just can't happen anymore.
       On a bright note, I have had so many students interested in auditioning for my Glee Club that I had to make another additional day of audition time slots. I now have three days worth of ten-minute long auditions from after school until 7:00. That's almost eighty students auditioning for a group of 30. If the talent pool is strong enough, I'm considering creating two groups- an all-girls and a mixed group. I am pleased with the number of guys auditioning. Lots of really strong singers. I don't have tons of guys in the program overall, but each of them are extremely talented and dedicated. Exciting stuff.
       This year might very well kill me. I will have someone observing me in my room just about every week from one facet of the school corp or another. I'm K-TIPping... which is essentially Kentucky's new teacher program that requires an obscene amount of busy work and additional observations. I am already over-committed when it comes to groups at school (my own darn fault) and I also volunteered to start helping with the music direction at my home church. I decided to keep a few private lessons students on the side. WHY WHY WHY do I always overcommit? Here I go again...

First two days of school!

Well, I survived my first two days of school. Here's a brief synopsis:

Day One:
       I had early morning duty in the gym and watched in anticipation as the bleachers filled with kids that might be in my class. I tried to guess which ones were choir kids and which had probably opted to take something else. No major discipline issues that I had to address because the kids were all on their best behavior for the first day. Then the bell rang and they headed to their first period classes to hear the school rules read aloud until lunchtime. That's right-- the poor kids had to stay in the same room going over the dress code, code of conduct, and forms that needed to be returned for three hours. I assisted a teacher upstairs as I don't have a first period class. She had a bunch of sixth graders who couldn't work their locker combinations. So cute. I helped them assemble their locker shelves and hang up their mirrors inside... the important stuff, you know.
       The kids eventually got to move on to their third period class which means I began my teaching career with a room full of seventh graders. These seventh graders are supposedly the most difficult class that the school has ever seen. I can understand why my colleagues felt the need to warn me. Even on the first day of school, before I'd even read our classroom rules, these kids were going bat-sh** crazy. They talked and talked and talked and talked while one kid ran circles around his seat. As soon as I would get them quiet and somewhat focused, the door would open and in would come a late student. Or, the bell would ring and they would think it was time to go even though it wasn't. At one point, all the teachers dismissed the students because we thought it was *finally* the real bell and then they made us call them all back into our rooms. No one knew the schedule for the day, so I had no idea if I had another 2 minutes or another 20 minutes with the kids. I ended up scrapping my lesson plan and letting them socialize. I had really good intentions of actually warming them up and teaching them a silly song, but there was no way I was going to get them back after all of the interruptions. We would start anew the next day.
       I have decided that sixth graders are my favorite. They are still so respectful of their teachers and so excited to be in school. None of my sixth graders have ever sang in a choir before and many of them didn't have any kind of music in elementary school. When I teach them a silly warm-up, they giggle the whole time. After class, they come up and want to give you a hug and tell you that you are their favorite teacher. If I could teach sixth grade all day, I totally would. I can't wait to start music with this bunch.
       Seventh graders test my patience. End of story.
       Eighth graders are too cool. They're going to make me prove myself. They're constantly telling me the way that their old teacher did things, and they argue with me about just about everything. I have some really great kids in the eighth grade but I also have some kids that straight up told me they hate choir and are in my class for an "easy A". When I announced that we would actually be having a little bit of homework and taking some tests/quizzes, there was mutiny. The only thing that will save me with the eighth graders is that, eventually, they will realize I know what I am doing and take my side. I made the announcement that I am starting an after-school glee club and won many of them over. The kids are obsessed with the show, "Glee", and ask me questions about auditioning every chance they get. I hope the new opportunities make up for their distaste of my occasional homework assignments.

Day Two:
       Went much better. Once I got the seventh graders back on schedule, they were a lot easier to manage. Sixth grade classes went so well today that I almost cried in the middle of class. I've never had a group of kids hang on my every word like this. They are so hungry to learn and so excited about music. Eighth grade was a little more talkative today. They're going to hate me on Monday when I start actually enforcing our classroom rules. After I reviewed my policy on disruptions, one girl commented, "You're tough!". Supposedly, this is what I want them to think, though. I'll start out tough and then pull back.
       I have one boy in my eighth period choir. I had four boys, but two dropped and one moved to the other class to be with other boys. This boy in particular wants to be in my class because he wants to be with his girlfriend. It pisses me off because I could have an all-girls choir. I may have another chat with the counselor about this...
       I taught each of my classes a part-singing canon today called "Fish and Chips." They thought it was a lot of fun, and they actually got to do some singing on the second day of school! I also taught them some more warm-ups, a posture rhyme, and discussed good singing posture. When I got each of the choirs sitting up, they looked absolutely fabulous. These kids definitely have potential. I am really excited for this year.
       This next week we'll be doing voice placements Monday-Wednesday. On Thursday, I am starting new music. Woohoo! I think I am most nervous about handling the talking situation. It is difficult for me to find a good balance between good cop and bad cop. I'll let you know how it goes!

My Soapbox and My Mission

Yesterday...

My morning began with the strangest occurrence of my life. I sneezed and SNAP!... blew my back out. After twenty minutes on the floor with a heating pad, I had to start getting ready for work because we had orientation at 7:30. I couldn't twist, bend, or lift--- just stand straight up or lie flat on my back. So, needless to say, my hair looked goooooood when I finally rolled in to work. Did I mention they took our pictures for our ID's? Yeah, so I get to look at that for the next few years.

Anywho, after yet another mingle and Ra-Ra speech with my new coworkers, we headed to our individual schools for some more PD. Today's challenge? Get with other middle school teachers in your content area to design a common curriculum and common assessments. The curriculum must be written out in "I CAN" statements... For example, "I can count a rhythm aloud involving quarter notes and half notes." The "I CAN" statements must be specific, and you have to be able to assess every single one of them. They should get sequentially harder and be organized into units. Perform an item-analysis on each assessment that you will give for the year to make sure that questions are fair, effective, and balanced.

      Hmmm.... what could possibly go wrong? The other choir teacher in our district is also responsible for teaching computers, drama, and arts/humanities at his school. He was also asked to revise program evaluation documents for the district. So guess who was left all by herself to do the choir stuff? Yep, the new girl. I had a general idea of what I wanted to teach over the course of the year, but I didn't have an updated curriculum from the state of Kentucky to reference. I also didn't have my assessments from last year to dissect as I wasn't a teacher last year. To me, this assignment sounded like, "Plan your entire year and make all the tests in the next four hours. Go."
       A few of my colleagues approached me and said, "You know, you're different as an elective. You really don't have to do this. I mean, what is there to assess? They just sing and dance, right?" I swear, there must have been smoke coming out of my ears. I had to do this. I let myself panic for ten seconds and then just started typing. Four hours later, I had an entire curriculum written and outlines of my assessments... didn't have time to make the actual tests but I was all alone... what did they expect? This project isn't so bad if you have twelve math teachers that can each tackle a unit. Overall, I'm pleased with what I came up with. I am integrating more music theory and history into the curriculum that what has been done in the past (so I've been told). I'm also doing an additional concert and adding an after-school group. Call me naive or crazy-- I very well may be-- but I just think that kids need a well-rounded musical education.

SOAPBOX: I am already sick and tired of being told that all I do in choir with the kids is sing. I am "just" an elective (hate the word elective), and my class is essentially just to give the kids a break from the "real" classes. I have been told that all this community wants from the choral program is a couple of good concerts a year. Who cares if the kids can read music or not-- you should just teach everything by rote. You won't have enough time to teach them anything other than their three or four pieces per semester anyway. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Dear fine arts educators across the country,

Do you want to know the reason why your programs get cut? It's because you buy into this crap. It's because you don't stand up to people when they label you as "just an elective"... a glorified babysitter! If you want to be a valued part of the school's curriculum, you need to show them that you are teaching the kids so much more than just how to put on a good Christmas concert or paint a pretty picture for the Open House. When they try to excuse you from creating a detailed curriculum or from designing assessments, politely refuse and create a curriculum that puts the "core" subjects to shame. In music, show that you are  teaching history, theory, logic, writing, reading, creativity, speech, professionalism, presentation, expression, and so much more. If you treat your subject are as a "core" subject and hold yourself to the same level of accountability as a "core" teacher, your students and your school will start to view you as a "core" subject. If you treat your subject area as an elective... just something extra for funzies on the side... then don't be surprised when your program is the first to go.

That's my soapbox. And this is my mission: I want to make music a valued part of the curriculum, not only at my school but also across the district. It may not happen this first year, but I plan on hanging around. :-) After all, when have I ever gone anywhere and NOT stirred things up?

I'm an Eagle, and I am LOST!!!

       After two long weeks of cleaning, organizing, and decorating my classroom, it is finally time to start thinking about actually teaching. I've been attending professional development meetings and orientations to become better acquainted with the school corporation's policies, procedures, resources, and technology. Most of the sessions have been a bore, but others have been really fun! I loved learning to use the smart boards (even though the choir room is the ONLY room without one), and I've enjoyed getting to spend some time with my fellow teachers... all of whom are fabulously supportive and all-around great people. The administration is great... my principal used to teach English and vocal music K-6.... she feels my pain and always keeps her door open for my 1,500 million bazillion questions. The secretaries are as sweet as Kentucky pecan pie~ haha! And the custodians helped me carry eight jumbo bags of trash out of my room without even batting an eye. Awesome! The staff is a good mix of younger people and seasoned veterans. Regardless of age, everyone I have met has expressed their love for the school and their job. This makes me feel really good about where I am. Is it possible that I may have landed my dream job as my first job?
       Today I was in the middle of a session about co-teaching when two little girls knocked on the door. "We can't find the choir teacher!" I turned around in my seat and said, "Um... that's me!" I went out into the hall to see what they needed. I was greeted by twelve terrified-looking sixth graders with schedules in hand. "It's fourth period. We're supposed to be in choir right now."
       I was totally confused as school doesn't start until August 4th. Another teacher came down the hall and explained that the students from one of the feeder elementary schools were getting to walk through their schedules. As I am not a sixth grade homeroom teacher, they forgot to notify me. Oh. I unlocked my door and the kids filed inside. They all sat in the very back row, and I coaxed them to come down to the front of the room. My mind was racing. I have fifteen whole minutes with these kids. What should I say? Mer.
       "Hey, guys! Um.... welcome to choir! We're going to do a lot of fun stuff this year.... We're gonna sing a lot..." DUH! What was I thinking? So dumb. I was so nervous. The kids just stared back with their giant saucer eyes.
       "Has anybody ever been in a choir before?" No hands went up. "Okay, that's alright! Has anybody had music class before?" A few hands went up. "Alright, then... Well, this year you'll learn to read music and we'll learn about music history (You know, the dead old guys all the way up through rock n' roll hopefully). We'll talk about musicals and maybe some operas...." More staring.
       A hand went up. Thank God. "Yes?"
       "My mom said we get to dance. Do we get to dance?"
       "Sure!" I noticed the one guy in the classroom get a panicked look on his face. "But it won't be the hard stuff and there will always be a guy part!" He relaxed.
       "Well, I guess I could start learning your names...." We went down the row and I tried to remember their names. I told them I'd probably forget them because I'm bad with names, but it's a start! I reassured the one boy that he wouldn't be the only guy in the class (there's five of them actually... haha). Apparently his mom made him take the class. I really hope he sticks with it. I told him that the ladies love guys that can sing like Justin Beiber.
       "I don't like Justin Beiber," he challenged.
       "Selena Gomez likes Justin Beiber... Do you like Selena Gomez?" I answered.
       "Yeah!" His face lit up. Great... now I just have to find some way to get Selena Gomez to my choir concerts.
       After some more chatting about concerts and what kind of music we might sing, the bell rang for the kids to head to their next class. A little girl from the front row came up and threw her arms around my waist. "You are already my favorite teacher! You are so happy!" I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry more. Haha!
       On our way out the door, the one boy in the class came up to me--- that deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes all over again. "I'm an Eagle and I am LOST!!!"
       Mer? Then I realized that the kids are put in learning groups: Eagles, Constellations... and some other crazy names I can't remember. He didn't know where his group was supposed to go next. "Let me see your schedule." Social studies. I was pretty sure that was upstairs. "Come on bud, I'll walk with you. You won't be late, don't worry!" We passed some custodians and I heard them joke about how it was like the blind leading the blind. Yep. I had no idea where this room was. Soon, we ran into the teacher designated as the Eagle leader and she took him to social studies. Phew. I went back to my professional development session and eagerly awaited the next group of 6th graders headed to choir.
       When I worked at Washington, I hated the sixth graders. They seemed so elementary-- like they needed to be babysat constantly. But these sixth graders are different somehow. I love them already, and that makes me really excited. They are just so. darn. cute. Seriously. For the first time in years, I am pumped to go back to school. I can't wait to meet my students. Thank you, sixth grade. Thank you, Eagles. :-)

Looking back and what's next!

       I feel really bad about letting my blog fall through the cracks. I found out that I actually had a few folks reading it... but just know that I had my reasons for putting down the pen. It's really dangerous to tell stories about what happens at school because, even if you don't use names, there is always the possibility that someone will figure out who I am talking about. I felt like, if I couldn't tell you the good stuff and be totally honest, it wasn't worth my time or yours. But now that student teaching is over, I feel that an update is in order:

1. Student teaching ended up being an amazing experience. I got super close with my fellow teachers and the kids FINALLY warmed up to me. The musical was incredible, ISSMA was full of gold ratings, and I made my conducting debut at the final concert. I taught several of the pieces and even choreographed a few numbers. I arranged a version of Justin Bieber's "Baby" for a guys' group that, with the choreography of our good friend Jamie, stole the show. After the concert, I immediately had to pack up my stuff and leave for Greencastle the next morning. Yay, graduation practice!

2. Graduation suuuuucked. We have this family joke that any time something good happens in my life, it rains. Seriously, it's creepy. It's been this way since high school at least. As soon as I stood up to get my diploma, it started to pour. LC got to get her diploma, and then they moved the whole show (minus our parents) into Meharry Hall. I had done a great job of keeping it together up to this point, but as soon as we left Meharry I started bawling about how unfair it was that some kids' parents didn't get to watch them graduate. Namely, my international student friends. It took two strawberry pina coladas from Cheeseburger in Paradise before I stopped crying. For a week after graduation, I moped around thinking about how alone I was going to be in E-town without my friends. Indy was far away, but E-town is farther.

3. Solution to this problem? Travel. I went to San Fran for a family vacation and had a blast watching the sealions. I consumed my body weight in sourdough bread, Irish coffee, clam chowder, and pinot grigio wine by the bay. I biked across the Golden Gate bridge, hiked through Muir Woods among the tallest trees in the world, and bought some super fancy tea in Chinatown. As soon as we got back, I had to take a couple more Praxis tests for Kentucky certification (so fun! not!) and filled out a crap ton of paperwork for them as well. Uncommon success: DePauw had us applying to the wrong licensure site all along. That's why I was having such a hard time getting my IN license. As soon as I finally got the IN license, things started falling into place. On July 8, I get my test scores back and can (hopefully) go sign my contract/ get into my classroom. Fingers crossed!

4. In other news... I've been apartment-hunting like crazy and plan to move to Newburgh, IN (a growing suburban area just outside of E-town) sometime in September or October. I want to get a few paychecks under my belt before I leave the nest. Elphie, my kitten, is very excited about a new place to explore, but she is sad that she won't have the dog to pounce on anymore. :-) All I've ever wanted is my own place with my cat. Dream. Come. True.

5. I've started collecting inspirational posters for my classroom.... why am I still numbering these things? Oh well.

6. I cleaned my room/closet for the first time in four years. It took me three full days... but I feel like I can stand to be in my room again.

7. I am going to buy a couch over the 4th of July weekend. SALES! Sofa shopping is so fun!

8. I've been teaching a few piano lessons, but only one day a week. Not really working is also fun.

9. I just got back from saying goodbye to my beloved Margaret in Indy. I will have to make another trip up to say bye to LC. Margaret is off to pursue her career in D.C., and Lauren will be attending the New School in NYC. Darn, I guess I have to go visit D.C. and NYC at some point this year... haha! So excited!

10. I just felt like I needed a number 10. It would be weird to stop at 9.

Thanks for reading! Have a great week, everybody!

It's ma birfday! (almost)

Today the fam is coming up to help me celebrate my 22nd birthday (early). We're going to go to Bucca di Beppo's for some giant meatballs and then have raspberry truffle cake from Coldstone. So excited! This week was so long and crazy that I really didn't get to blog, but I'll give you some of the highlights.

1. Taught an African hand clapping lesson in general music that didn't totally suck. Yes!

2. Taught a breathing lesson to the choirs that didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I know now that I really need to be more firm about nipping talking and goofing off in the bud. I am scared to give warnings/detentions at this point, but I think it will get easier after I've done it a couple of times. 

3. Led warm-ups with the choirs... fun!

4. Helped judge musical auditions! This was probably the best part of my week. The kids did SUCH an awesome job and they are SO talented. Some of the auditions (no joke) almost brought me to tears because I could see little pieces of myself or my friends in them. Most of the kids were incredibly nervous but totally rocked their auditions with a little bit of encouragement from our end. This is why I love being a teacher. You get to give kids that extra little nudge in the direction of their dreams. Corny? Yes. True? Yes. We were at school until 7 on Wednesday and 8 on Thursday. Totally worth it, though. I was a new kind of tired on Friday. 

5. Getting better at learning kids names, but still struggling. This is harder than I thought!

6. I still LOVE my school, my fellow teachers, and my students. I am already thinking about how difficult it will be to leave at the end of the semester. 

7. I think I want to live in Indy after school. 

Friday night-- returned to the Blu Martini and got to see the lovely and talented Margaret. Got hit on by the bartender who is twice my age. Awkward turtle... I hope he was kidding.

Saturday-- went shopping at Castleton mall. Didn't buy a thing... good girl!

Saturday night-- went to see the Naptown Roller Girls (Tornado Sirens) defeat the Fort Wayne Bomb Squad at the Roller Derby. Awesome! Ate way too much junk food.

All for now! Love!

I am a piano wizard!

Anyone that knows me knows that I play the piano... but only kind of. I have taken lessons since I was four, but I still can't manage to play anything with more than three flats (hate sharp keys!) or anything that moves much faster than andante. What can I say? It's not my gift. I discovered yesterday, however, that I play more piano than anyone at my school which means (lucky me) that I get to accompany rehearsals this semester. I may also be accompanying the choirs at ISSMA, the musical rehearsals, and at least one soloist at ISSMA. Today we are rehearsing Ching-A-Ring Chaw (check it out on youtube) and it is such a bear to play! Copland. I practiced for at least 2 1/2 hours last night and still can't make it through. I can play the whole thing at a tempo about half as fast as it's supposed to go. Additionally, I wrote two lesson plans last night... TEACHING MY FIRST FULL LESSON EVER TODAY!!!... so I worked pretty hard. By bedtime, I was so ready to crash. I just keep telling myself that I will, hopefully, be a better pianist at the end of the semester for this experience. My fingers hurt.

Funny story: Yesterday we were having lunch in the teachers lounge and watching T.V. when all of the teachers started yelling "Shut up! Turn it up! Please, God, please!" and I was like, "What happened?" and my mind is thinking terrorist attack, a shooting, something awful... It was the weather report. They wanted school to be cancelled. Just thought it was funny that teachers want it as badly as the students.

In related knews, it's going to snow a ton while we are in school today and I don't know if I'll be able to drive home. Zippy sucks in the snow. Grrrr... Oh, Zippy is my car btw.

In unrelated knews, I still think many of my general music students strongly dislike me. I introduced myself yesterday and just kept getting that line from Elf stuck in my head: This place is like the North Pole... except it smells like pee and everybody looks like they want to hurt me.

:-) All for now.