Settling in

It seems it has been a short while! I last wrote super jacked up excited about my post-conference discoveries. Most of the feedback I got (not within my school and admin) was that I should keep things traditional and not get too progressive too quickly. I was admittedly a little peeved, because this stuff got my colleagues, my principal, and I super excited about the future of education. Also, I always seem to be a little bit more progressive than traditional in my views on just about everything. I certainly feel this way when it comes to marriage and religion, so it's no surprise that my feelings on progressive education would be any different.

However stubborn I may be, I do like to consider the point being made. I reflected on the merits of the traditional band and orchestra program for a few days. I'm caught in a precarious place - I was brought up in a traditional program, but I'm being challenged by my school, principal, and these conferences to take a more progressive approach. I am all for progressive, but I also know the merits of tradition - it is, after all, why I went into the field of music education! So what I sought to do over the next few days was marry the two. I interviewed a number of students, reflected on my own strengths and weaknesses, and my own inspirational teachers. What I came to realize is that the traditional approaches definitely cultivate a strong work ethic and delayed gratification - something this generation desperately needs; progressive methods allow us to reach children better and create more human moments. If being progressive is taking the place of rigor and developing life-long skills, then it is just a cop out. If it is used as a method to achieve better results, then it is a powerful tool. This is what I'm going for. I want to incorporate progressive methods because there are times when traditional methods just don't engage children. I've seen students hand in writing assignments that are weak, despite me writing tons of helpful comments for them. I've seen them come unprepared to rehearsal not because they aren't trying, but because they are practicing ineffectively. If progressive methods can bridge this gap, then we're in business.

So I'm piloting the flipped classroom with my fifth grade beginning band. They told me that practicing would be more effective if I posted videos demonstrating how to learn the songs at home, and we came into school to practice together. That way, I can help them troubleshoot instead of teaching them the music before having them struggle at home. Also, they like that they are participating in something new and progressive, so they're more motivated. It's a win-win.

The other unexpected win came in the form of things falling into place this week. There is no explanation for this, but all of a sudden, students could process and read music better this week, and they had their fingerings and slide positions down. It was incredible! We went from a few kids being able to hack it two weeks ago to all except a handful of kids doing well. It helped that last week, some eager kids came in during conferences for extra lessons. I think this pumped them up. I even have a little committee who wants to do PR for our December concert! I had a couple good problems this week - one was that I had to kick the trombones out after rehearsal cause they didn't want to leave and go to class! They all have amazing sounds for their time playing the instrument, and are coming along. They love to have loud contests, and some of them are starting to beat me! They're a neat section, and I never thought they would all gel so well! They are all very driven, but one in particular (the one that said, "Oh, now I see why you told me to stick it out - it does get better with practice!" is working really hard and is super motivated to get good enough to play trombone at our school masses. It's neat, cause he's kind of a "cool kid" if you will, but he's totally digging this trombone thing! His success is getting the other two to be a little competitive in a good way - they're all pushing each other!

Our concert is going to consist of easy music that will allow for success. The students are already over halfway there! I want to badly for this concert to be a successful experience for everyone, so I think it's better that we start safe. It's nice to know now that we can possibly choose slightly more ambitious music next year, and that after we polish our concert music (all EE2000 stuff), we can move on to more challenging music. The kids want it, too! Speaking of our concert, it is going to be called "Sound Beginnings: A Festival of Music". I like the festival idea because it opens up the event to include solos, duets, conductors, etc. I really want to break out of the traditional concert model, especially since we are small and probably couldn't fill a whole concert with just large ensembles (which aren't very large and are very, very young). The whole school is pulling together for this - the student council is pitching to the PTSA that we have a spaghetti dinner beforehand for the school community, and we are tring to incorporate a service element as well. It's a big deal for our little school, and I am honestly so, so excited for everyone to have a successful experience. We need not go big or fancy right away - building upon sound beginnings is much more important at this point. Also, had to work in a theme - I wouldn't be a student of Dr. Fonder if I didn't!

Finally, and this is really big for me, I now feel at home. I had felt very much like an outsider and very anxious in recent weeks. This week, however, was different. My mentor teacher told me that this was the first time she noticed that I appeared fully-fledged. Also, I found myself experiencing very little anxiety this week. This program is starting to feel more like my own. Instead of thinking about when I can get out and move on, I've been thinking a lot about how we can continue to build and shoot for excellence. I'm also feeling very connected with the students - I personally want to see many of them through their time at the school and into the rest of their lives. Don't get me wrong - I'm still applying for grad school in 2014 (just as a safety measure - the economy is bad and it's more as an option in case I need it), but I don't feel so eager to find a more ideal setting. Also, I remember in later years at IC, I would drivers down the hill and look at the lake totally in awe and in love with the place. In my first two years, all I could think of was how much I missed a real body of water and how I longed for home. It took me two years to appreciate Ithaca and feel at home. I felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and happiness as I drove into Honolulu last night. I certainly do not want to settle and as soon as I find myself too comfortable, I will reassess my situation, but for now, things are pretty good and I'm finally enjoying life as a twenty-something teaching in Hawaii.

Ahhhhhhhh.

That's nice. :)