Megan's Summer of Self Discovery/Self Awareness, Part 7: Teaching (Continued)
So here's the deal: I've set goals for my summer. I want to in better touch with myself, more aware of myself, and take care of myself. To do this, I am going to be spending a lot of time thinking and writing my way through lots of self-realizations about all the aspects that make me, well, me: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relationships, career. After a week at the Tennessee Arts Academy and two full days to digest, I think I am ready to write a little more to help me hash out things.
Let's set aside the excuses and just be real for a minute: I'm not a great teacher. It really hurts me to admit that, but honesty is the best policy, so I need to be honest with myself. The good news is that it's not too late to change that. I can work towards becoming a great teacher. I can continue to improve myself, change, adapt, work harder, try more. And I think I started to discuss that in my first Summer of Self Discovery post...but now I've got more fuel to add to the fire!
The last week was nothing short of AMAZING! I saw so much amazing art performing/making, heard so many good things from people. I also had some big moments of reality checking and soul searching, which is what stuff like this should make you do. I think one of the biggest takeaways, though, was from the sessions with our Instrumental Music faculty.
PHILOSOPHY
He opened on Monday with talking about philosophy of teaching and how our philosophy impacts everything we do. He summed his philosophy up in four item listed things, and it totally made sense to me! So I started thinking about what my philosophy really is. It was hard to quantify into words at first, but I think that's because I've spent the last few years not really feeling comfortable and secure in what I really believe. Well, my friends, it's time for that to end!
So what is my philosophy of teaching? Well, my #1 top agenda, my main goal, my big push is this: I want all students to be life-long lovers and supporters of music. Do I want all my students to become professional musicians? No, I don't think that is realistic. Do I want them to enjoy their time in my class and their instrument enough that they might decide to join a community band as an adult or support their child to join band later in life? Yes. Do I expect them all to blast Mozart in their cars when they are old enough to drive? No, I don't even do that (...at least not all the time...). Do I hope that they will want to go enjoy a symphony concert or a musical every once in a while as an adult? Yes, yes I do. I just want them to love music, understand music, and respect most all types of music.
Here's the deal, though: how do I make this life long love of music happen? Will it just happen if I am funny and make them laugh during class? No. Will it happen if I am nice and just let them sit and hold instruments because I don't want to force them to practice? No. Will it happen because I love music and try to show them that daily? Well, maybe...but that's probably not enough.
Our teacher for the week talked about his top, #1 item being his students having superior/satisfying musical experiences. In order for that to happen, though, he said he needed to have 3 other aspects to his philosophy for his students to get from him: the ability to play their instruments, comprehensive musical knowledge, and an attitude that allowed them to be positive to any kind of music they played in his classes. See, this is part of where I think I'm lacking! Do my students REALLY know how to play their instruments? Not just blow and make sound, but really KNOW how to play and play at a high enough level for what we do? Do my students have comprehensive musical knowledge? Do I help them understand all the aspects of what they are playing or do they only have a basic understanding of notes and rhythms on their page? Do I foster an attitude and provide my students with such variety of music to open their minds? ...I'm thinking "no" to a lot of those questions...and that makes me feel really bad for my students...
That's got to change! I've got to change! So, like I mentioned in my other post about teaching (see "Teach, Teacher"), I think this year is going to be a "back to basics" in some ways. But, you know what? That's going to be okay. It's got to happen and I've got to shift my thinking, my planning, my teaching, so that I can be better and my kids are getting what they really need to become life long lovers of music.
ACTION PLANS
Another big thing we focused on was all related: repertoire selection, score study, and rehearsal planning. In order for me to teach to my philosophy, I have to consider it when I plan. All our planning as a band teacher starts with selecting our rep. We need to ask ourselves what our goals are and what we want students to get out of each piece we play. I'll be the first to admit that this is a big area that I've been lacking in...and it's got to get better! Must start picking music for my ensembles with specific goals in mind.
Once the rep is selected, I need to study. I mean, I can't REALLY dig deep into my teaching if I don't even know the material! I've known that in my heart all along, but we all get into those ruts where we make excuses and don't really listen to our head and our hearts as we should. I'm done with that! I've got to change! I spent hours studying scores for my conducting class in college (partially out of fear of my professor...another story for another day?), so why don't I do that as a teacher? I've decided it's time I make time for score study. I need to understand the phrases, who plays what where, what other things are going on, any interesting things the composer has put for us to find, etc...the list can go on a while and all you people are like, "WHAT IS SHE SAYING?!" Anyway, score study...it's game time!
Then, once I really know my scores, I can make accurate rehearsal plans. Again, this was something already on my list to improve. So now I have more reason to make it better! More singing, more listening, more focus on skills, LESS talking, LESS me wasting time being unprepared!
GRADING
Okay, so we didn't exactly talk about grading this past week, but it's something I've been bouncing around in my head. I'm not happy with how my grading works for lots of reasons. Our state standards are getting a big overhaul that goes into effect next year. If I'm refocusing my teaching to align with my philosophy, then my grading needs to align in similar fashion.
So I'm thinking about going to more of a standards based typed grading. There's still some specifics to work out, but basically instead of my old system of 40% performances, 10% rehearsal, 30% playing tests, 20% written, It'll be more aligned with the 4 main domains of our new standards (and the national standards: Perform, Create, Connect, Respond. I'm thinking perform will be the biggest, like maybe 40-50%, then Respond, Connect, and Create can be more equitable, like 15-20% each. Again, still details to hash out, but 'perform' would include playing tests, any other assignments related to playing, and possibly something for performances still. 'Respond' is where listening stuff, self evals, analysis, etc goes; 'Create' is like composition...anyway, you get the point.
My thought process is that I want my students to be motivated to make music, right? So my grading needs to show that. I also want to be more of a "working towards mastery" style and less of a participatory style. And, let's be honest here: classroom teachers' grades are all tied to their standards, so if I want to be viewed as an equal in my building, then I need to think the same way.
SUMMARY
So, if you've read this far, you can see I've got a lot I want to do this upcoming year! My hope, though, is that thinking through all of these things and working towards them will make me start to take the first steps towards being a better teacher for my students. I want my band students to have an excellent experience with me for 4-5 years. They deserve that! I want them to see how wonderful making music really is, and I want us to have fun making great music together!
If you work with me or see me often in my work environment, make sure I'm holding myself to all of this! Push me! Remind me what I want and what I owe my students!
The last week was nothing short of AMAZING! I saw so much amazing art performing/making, heard so many good things from people. I also had some big moments of reality checking and soul searching, which is what stuff like this should make you do. I think one of the biggest takeaways, though, was from the sessions with our Instrumental Music faculty.
PHILOSOPHY
He opened on Monday with talking about philosophy of teaching and how our philosophy impacts everything we do. He summed his philosophy up in four item listed things, and it totally made sense to me! So I started thinking about what my philosophy really is. It was hard to quantify into words at first, but I think that's because I've spent the last few years not really feeling comfortable and secure in what I really believe. Well, my friends, it's time for that to end!
So what is my philosophy of teaching? Well, my #1 top agenda, my main goal, my big push is this: I want all students to be life-long lovers and supporters of music. Do I want all my students to become professional musicians? No, I don't think that is realistic. Do I want them to enjoy their time in my class and their instrument enough that they might decide to join a community band as an adult or support their child to join band later in life? Yes. Do I expect them all to blast Mozart in their cars when they are old enough to drive? No, I don't even do that (...at least not all the time...). Do I hope that they will want to go enjoy a symphony concert or a musical every once in a while as an adult? Yes, yes I do. I just want them to love music, understand music, and respect most all types of music.
Here's the deal, though: how do I make this life long love of music happen? Will it just happen if I am funny and make them laugh during class? No. Will it happen if I am nice and just let them sit and hold instruments because I don't want to force them to practice? No. Will it happen because I love music and try to show them that daily? Well, maybe...but that's probably not enough.
Our teacher for the week talked about his top, #1 item being his students having superior/satisfying musical experiences. In order for that to happen, though, he said he needed to have 3 other aspects to his philosophy for his students to get from him: the ability to play their instruments, comprehensive musical knowledge, and an attitude that allowed them to be positive to any kind of music they played in his classes. See, this is part of where I think I'm lacking! Do my students REALLY know how to play their instruments? Not just blow and make sound, but really KNOW how to play and play at a high enough level for what we do? Do my students have comprehensive musical knowledge? Do I help them understand all the aspects of what they are playing or do they only have a basic understanding of notes and rhythms on their page? Do I foster an attitude and provide my students with such variety of music to open their minds? ...I'm thinking "no" to a lot of those questions...and that makes me feel really bad for my students...
That's got to change! I've got to change! So, like I mentioned in my other post about teaching (see "Teach, Teacher"), I think this year is going to be a "back to basics" in some ways. But, you know what? That's going to be okay. It's got to happen and I've got to shift my thinking, my planning, my teaching, so that I can be better and my kids are getting what they really need to become life long lovers of music.
ACTION PLANS
Another big thing we focused on was all related: repertoire selection, score study, and rehearsal planning. In order for me to teach to my philosophy, I have to consider it when I plan. All our planning as a band teacher starts with selecting our rep. We need to ask ourselves what our goals are and what we want students to get out of each piece we play. I'll be the first to admit that this is a big area that I've been lacking in...and it's got to get better! Must start picking music for my ensembles with specific goals in mind.
Once the rep is selected, I need to study. I mean, I can't REALLY dig deep into my teaching if I don't even know the material! I've known that in my heart all along, but we all get into those ruts where we make excuses and don't really listen to our head and our hearts as we should. I'm done with that! I've got to change! I spent hours studying scores for my conducting class in college (partially out of fear of my professor...another story for another day?), so why don't I do that as a teacher? I've decided it's time I make time for score study. I need to understand the phrases, who plays what where, what other things are going on, any interesting things the composer has put for us to find, etc...the list can go on a while and all you people are like, "WHAT IS SHE SAYING?!" Anyway, score study...it's game time!
Then, once I really know my scores, I can make accurate rehearsal plans. Again, this was something already on my list to improve. So now I have more reason to make it better! More singing, more listening, more focus on skills, LESS talking, LESS me wasting time being unprepared!
GRADING
Okay, so we didn't exactly talk about grading this past week, but it's something I've been bouncing around in my head. I'm not happy with how my grading works for lots of reasons. Our state standards are getting a big overhaul that goes into effect next year. If I'm refocusing my teaching to align with my philosophy, then my grading needs to align in similar fashion.
So I'm thinking about going to more of a standards based typed grading. There's still some specifics to work out, but basically instead of my old system of 40% performances, 10% rehearsal, 30% playing tests, 20% written, It'll be more aligned with the 4 main domains of our new standards (and the national standards: Perform, Create, Connect, Respond. I'm thinking perform will be the biggest, like maybe 40-50%, then Respond, Connect, and Create can be more equitable, like 15-20% each. Again, still details to hash out, but 'perform' would include playing tests, any other assignments related to playing, and possibly something for performances still. 'Respond' is where listening stuff, self evals, analysis, etc goes; 'Create' is like composition...anyway, you get the point.
My thought process is that I want my students to be motivated to make music, right? So my grading needs to show that. I also want to be more of a "working towards mastery" style and less of a participatory style. And, let's be honest here: classroom teachers' grades are all tied to their standards, so if I want to be viewed as an equal in my building, then I need to think the same way.
SUMMARY
So, if you've read this far, you can see I've got a lot I want to do this upcoming year! My hope, though, is that thinking through all of these things and working towards them will make me start to take the first steps towards being a better teacher for my students. I want my band students to have an excellent experience with me for 4-5 years. They deserve that! I want them to see how wonderful making music really is, and I want us to have fun making great music together!
If you work with me or see me often in my work environment, make sure I'm holding myself to all of this! Push me! Remind me what I want and what I owe my students!
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