I think I can, I think I can, I think can!

Well, sorta...

Grad school has officially started!!! We got through marching camp - the band is fantastic and incredibly hard working and efficient. They're sound is phenomenal and their marching technique gets taught so quickly that it's not always easy to figure out who's a freshmen and who's a veteran marcher.

My classes are going well. I'm taking 2 credits of conducting lessons, score analysis & realization, Perspectives in American Education and I will be playing in the Wind Ensemble. Let's just say, the conducting lessons and score analysis course are kicking my butt from day 1. I haven't held my baton since May.... big mistake there! My ear is not that great to begin with and I haven't been in an ensemble setting since May either! I had to take a pre-test today for score analysis that took an hour and a half. listening examples that I had to judge and they were tough! Oh - I'm also the TA for the Fundamentals of Conducting course.

Not sure what else to write about this time.... Monday-Tuesday are really busy days. I didn't get home until about 9 tonight... and then I had some conducting exercises to practice and I need to go get some cereal for in the morning. Thankfully, the week lessens out as we approach Thursday and Friday :) I'm looking forward to having all that study time!

The Devil Wears Prada..... but I shop at Kohls!

So I have (almost) officially survived my first weekend in Tennessee! No no... really, thank you...applause isn't necessary. It was easy, really! I decided to check out the rec center, so I had a couple good work outs there and I went shopping at Kohls! I got some nice work clothes, a couple casual things and some new shoes (new shoes were needed... mine were falling apart!) All in all a good time.

Monday I'll get registered for my classes... I think. It's been getting pushed back since Thursday. I'm also starting my duties as the GA tomorrow. It should be a good time, I'm sure. The marching band starts moving in this week, so it will be exciting to be meeting people and maybe find some to hang out with on the weekends. Don't get me wrong... it's fine every now and then, but spending every weekend alone will be a DRAG.

Speaking of alone... I went and saw the new Planet of the Apes movie on Friday. It was good! I was really glad that I went to see it. And, not to spoil anything, they definitely set it up for some kind of sequel. :) It's definitely worth going to see.

Not much else is new - I finally got everything unpacked/put away today! Not only that, but I COOKED in my kitchen (gasp!) I made some spaghetti...yummmmmm

Time to go get things ready for the week...it's going to be busy!

The Big Move

I have successfully made the move to Cookeville, Tennessee. My new home? A "lovely" apartment on the campus of Tennessee Technological University (pictures to come soon). I"m not quite done unpacking, but most of it is done and the apartment is livable.

Today was spent unpacking and getting some things figured out with my assistantship. Already, there's been talk (between my professor and my father) about a blowtorch on my rear. I have a feeling that the next two years will include some very high expectations and probably some stressful times.

I'm very excited about this opportunity, but it comes with concerns. I still have very little idea of how things will be, and this bothers me. I've been told multiple times how incredible the students are here - I'm excited to meet them and make some new friends - and I'm hoping this happens quickly, my birthday is coming up soon! I'm also worried about time and keeping up with stuff. Right now I feel behind with coming in prepared (yes, I know... "Then why are you blogging?!"... short answer: it's a break from unpacking while Big Brother is on!) I also think it might be a good idea to wait on trumpet studies until I can get acclimated to grad school life.

I'm also missing everyone from Iowa... more recently my new theatre family in Decorah. I was able to get closure with New Hampton, but Decorah was different, it was much different. I'm missing them a lot right now and I can't wait to get back up there. I'm hoping to visit over Christmas Break and then I'm also going to try and go back next summer and direct some shows again (which means auditions during Spring Break!)

I got what I was looking for...

but at what price do we take what we were asking for? Maybe the phrase "Be careful what you wish for" applies here?

As of March 14, I have resigned from my current job, effective at the conclusion of my current contract. The reason...

I'M GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL!!! Tennessee Tech University has offered me a full Graduate Assistantship! Next fall I will be a TTU Eagle. My Master's Degree will be a MA in Teaching: Secondary Curriculum and Instruction. My assistantship will have me working with the athletic bands and all 3 concert ensembles. In other words, I would be part of the band staff. :)

The price I pay is my students. I have so many that are so wonderful and I can't stand to think of leaving. A few in particular come to mind that cause me to feel a great deal of guilt. I'm so sorry for leaving them. I was warned that leaving one's first job is the hardest - and it's true! Not that I've left more than one... but it is the students that make it the most difficult. One 8th grader, in particular, makes me feel terrible about it. Last year he wasn't going to go out for band in HS and now he's one of my most enthusiastic students. Several other 8th graders, I came to find out, only signed up for band because they knew they would have me as their teacher. I feel terrible about it.

HOWEVER! Always trying to find the silver lining... this really means I had an impact on my students. I was doing my job and doing it better than I probably thought. If kids were signing up for band because they wanted me to teach them and they were excited, then I was doing things right.

A lesson from watching TV

Today was a normal Sunday - lazy with old movies on T.V. I ended up watching The Might Ducks and D2. While watching the movie and seeing "Bombay" relive his childhood horror of missing a penalty shot (the movies are about hockey, for those that don't know) and seeing his coach talk about "Making your (dead) father proud, doing it for the team...don't let me down...etc", it put into stark realization the various tolls our leadership styles have on the students with whom we work.

Bombay's coach was focused very much on the outcome - the result. He was teaching his kids to "go for the 'W'". Thinking logically, he only played his best players and definitely had his favorites - Bombay had been one as a child, and the movie starts out with a young boy being his favorite of the time. When Bombay gets this child moved to District 5 team (the "Ducks"), the other coach goes into a fit and Bombay ends up losing his job at his law firm. This is crazy at best - so much emphasis on being the best (which is not a bad thing) but to the exclusion to teaching life lessons.

Bombay starts with a similar approach - Hey, it's what he knows! He tries cheating and having the kids take falls to try and get penalties on the other team. After a wake up lesson from his long time mentor, "Hans", he takes a new approach - one which focuses on teaching the techniques of hockey, but placing the emphasis on being good, not "getting the 'W'". Through many mistakes (because mistakes are fascinating learning opportunities), he comes to realize that the emphasis can't be on the "W", but rather on the enjoyment of the sport.

We, as educators and activity sponsors need to take this lesson to heart. While, yes, winning is fun, it must not come at the price of enjoyment of that particular activity. Our students must enjoy what they're doing or they won't want to be there anymore. At the same time, we will not cater to their unwillingness to do 'the work'. Work instills a sense of pride and accomplishment. It teaches a work ethic for which the Midwest is known.

A case for more rotational playing

For my next concert I'm going to try rotating parts. I'm doing this for a number of different reasons, but here's a case for doing so:

Playing second and third part requires a very different set of listening skills and performing skills. Being in the middle of the score versus on top of the score provides a very different sense of one's ensemble responsibility. Likewise, playing first requires a very different set of skills, and a different level of self-confidence. For the clarinet player that usually plays second, hopefully he or she will take this new-found confidence to the second and third part. IT MAKES EVERYONE BETTER!

It's also about preparing the next group of leaders. If there is a senior principal position, that student WILL graduate. No matter if I give them an F, it won't hold them back, as much as I'd like for them to stay! Those that are second or third in line need a little experience before taking the reigns themselves. It's just like with a football team - in the end when you're up by 15-20 points, you put in the second string to give them some playing experience. Well, in music, when the music is simple enough (range/technical facility required), it's a good time to give them that opportunity.

I'm looking forward to trying it out. While I will have to battle some egos this first time around, I'm sure that it will work itself in (students graduating out and such..) to the point that's what they will know and expect.

Education Reform

It has been announced that Terry Branstad has selected Jason Glass as the new head of the Education Department. This article on the DSM Register's website has sparked a flurry of conversation about education reform and exactly "who is to blame" for Iowa's lower ranking amongst the states, and the US ranking in the world. So much of the public blames we, the teachers. While yes, there are teachers that are merely "putting in the time" before they can collect retirement, there are quite many MORE teachers that are good at what they do.

Here are, in my opinion, the top challenges facing the world of education in the United States.
Quality Professional Development (P.D.)
Teachers are required to have X number of hours of PD every year - usually this is done in staff inservice where every teacher of the district comes together in the cafeteria to hear someone lecture to them. Whether it's about quadrant D lesson plans, or assessments, or the Iowa Core, much of this this is very generalized. In order for teachers to become better, we should stop the "blanket" PD, and created individualized programs. If certain teachers need to work on integrating technology into their program - give them that! If others need classroom management skills, do that. If others need that morning to go observe someone else teach (or in my case, REHEARSE), let them go!
Priorities
For how many of us was school and getting good grades our number 1 priority? Well, if you're my friend, it was probably very high. We took great pride in doing well on our work, both in academics and music. However, for many students and their families, this just isn't the case. While, yes, more work can be done to make sure school work is meaningful and relevant, so many students are more focused on sports or jobs or having a boy/girlfriend. If a student's, or their family's top priority is not getting a good education, there is very little that can be done.
Parents
The students that excel in anything have supportive parents and families. They make it a priority to do well in everything. I see it in my own band - the students that sit at the top of sections have parents that have made "doing well" the top priority. Those students that struggle do not have the home support structure. Those students that don't do well in school, especially low income families - is education a priority for those parents?
Public Misconceptions
Here's the thing - unless you're in the system, you don't get all this. You don't understand that you can't base a teacher's salary directly to their student's standardized test scores. Why? Because there are a million and one reasons for that student to not want to do well on a test. People don't get the hundreds of things that teachers are expected to do - especially when parents aren't teaching basic social skills to their own children; it's expected that schools pick up all the slack for what isn't taught at home.

For education to be "fixed", it will take a great deal of compromise and cooperation. We must all set aside our own egos and do what's right for the kids. Trust those who are "in the know", and show respect for one another, even those who clearly have no idea how things operate.