It's been a while since my last post. I actually had a draft in the works, full of complaints about the cost of being an adult. I was going to chronicle the woes of paying for my own work physical because it's not covered by insurance, buying a bus pass, blah blah blah. Instead, I have a better idea for a post. Here goes.
Yesterday, I was reminded of the transformative power of music. Obviously, I've experienced this power myself, or I wouldn't have majored in music education. That being said, it is easy to lose perspective. Long story short, there is a kid at summer school who is a little rambunctious. To say he has had some behavioral issues would be an understatement. All in all, though, he's a sweet kid, and my friends and I can easily see through to the good in him, knowing full well that the other kids he gets tangled up with aren't little saints either. The other day at recess, he came into my room while I was playing piano, along with his friends (in my class) who were showing me some posters they made for our upcoming concert. He seemed very interested in what was going on in the room, so I asked him why he didn't join our class. He is older than this group of students (all girls!), but a middle school section of the course WAS offered, but didn't run due to low enrollment.
Anyway, our principal came into the room five or ten minutes into rehearsal, saying she needed to talk to us now. I was like huhhhhh? Now?! In the middle of rehearsal? What could possibly be so important?! It turns out that this student was sick of his other classes and wanted to join Glee. NOW. This second. We briefly discussed it, and we're in favor of it. Of course, there's no way we could teach him six weeks worth of music and choreopgraphy in the week before our performance (eek!), but he could certainly learn a dance or two, and participate in other ways. All of a sudden, we had a slightly older boy coming into this class of 12 girls. We quickly informed them of the change, reacquainted everyone with the expectations and classroom procedures, and kept moving.
In short, he did great. He picked up the thriller dance way quicker than the girls did the previous day, and the girls were all super helpful and were very supportive. He is reluctant to sing, but has a beautiful voice. He is shy - it's tough to be the only boy in a show choir class full of girls, but he held his own, caught up, and contributed to the ensemble. After he danced to Thriller with music for the first time, he was beaming. When we asked him how it was, his response was simple: "exciting". After class, he told me he is so glad that he switched. Apparently his face also lit up when my friend spoke with him about joining glee and learning dances. Also, behavioral issues, at least so far, cease to exist. If that's not why we do this, then I don't know what is. Today he was a little reluctant with the singing, but so I pushed him a bit, but I think that I just need to build up his confidence more. He's a great kid, and for the rest of our short time together, I'm going to focus on encouraging him to the ends of the earth and back. It's obvious that he just needs someone to tell him he is capable, and to encourage him to try something new. Pretty cool, no?
So far, I've been mostly concerned with getting the glee girls to perform to the best of their abililities (which is quite good). This reminds me that while that is important, other things are equally important. Mastering musical skills and concepts is what we're after, but that's not the whole package.
In other news, I've been a little nervous about starting my year-round job in ALMOST ONE WEEK, but after meeting today with my co-worker (and former music teacher) and the principal, I'm feeling a lot less overwhelmed. I'm definitely teaching literature, but apparently my math teaching is more to supplement the program, not a requirement for me to get my hours. So, I might end up team-teaching, just helping out, or even not teaching it at all. I said that of course, I'm willing to help out, but if possible, I don't want to teach it solo. We also worked around the schedule, and it looks like I'll be working with 5th and 8th grade general music, and two levels of band and orchestra. Right now, the ensembles only meet twice a week, if that. I'm going to work a schedule to see if we can get four rehearsals per week and sectionals in. Also, a form of pull-out lessons, if that's possible, is another thing I'd like to add. My co-worker was concerned about me giving up half an hour after school for rehearsals since I should be home by noon everyday, but I realized that I don't care about the time loss. I care about these kids feeling confident playing their instruments because they have enough time to build good habits. One hour a week is not cutting it, and I would give up all of my free time if it meant that we can invest in the program and they can have a successful experience. It hit me - my heart is in this, and I love it. I seriously can't wait.
I also learned that most of my responsibilities will involve preparing for the monthly mass. I need to prepare students for their annual school mass choral performances, prepare the responsorial psalms, the liturgical band, teach all students the songs the congregation will be singing, and be able to play the mass and accompany the congregation on piano. It's a lot, but I'm excited to learn it. I think to that end, I'll begin private piano study in August and really work for a year or two to build my chops up. I'm seriously so excited, cause I love playing piano, and I want to get better! I am also eager to learn more about the catholic mass so that I can choose appropriate songs. I'm really excited to learn to play the mass (the composer wrote it with a Hawaiian flare, and it seriously rocks!), and to get my chops up enough to accompany everyone. It's a lot, but I'm so excited, and so, so ready.
After our meeting, I walked the one block to the nearby Starbucks. Hellz yeah. So happy. Also, the school campus has come a long way since I was a student there - it's looking awesome, and I just love how friendly everyone is!
This weekend is going to be full for me - cleaning/preparing for the arrival of my pals on Tuesday, finishing up several misc. tasks, beginning to plan and schedule for the school year, and starting to pull together some items for our glee concert. Busy? You bet. Fun? Hellz yeah. Catch me on the flip side and I'll tell ya how it went!
DA
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