I officially love student teaching! Last week was a blast with the musical, but I was exhausted. This week, I got to see what the normal schedule looks like for Erica. I had meetings nearly every night after school and was still there by 6:45 every morning, but I got to experience a little more free time. Most of that time was consumed writing lesson plans, but I did get a chance to hang out with a new friend that I made that lives across the street named Anna. The transition is still hard, but it is seeming more like home every day. My favorite part of my day is driving home from school on the highway and coming toward downtown and seeing the skyline all lit up. It has been the thing that has made me feel the most at home. I see it and I just feel like I belong here.
This week, I've been doing warm ups every day for Erica's ensembles. She has a Men's and Women's choir that consists of all freshmen and a few sophomores that are leaders in the group ("choir buddies"), a Treble choir that consists of upperclassmen girls, Concert choir made up of junior/senior students, and a voluntary group called Chamber choir that is audition only. My biggest struggle has been to warm up Men's choir. I somehow didn't realize the extent to which men's and women's voices were different. It took until Friday's rehearsal to warm them up in the correct ranges and not put something too low or too high for them. These guys are already self conscious about their voices, are immature and looking to goof around, and are not comfortable with someone new (especially a female) leading them in exercises they don't know. I got plenty of lessons in behavior management and learned that nearly everything I say can and will be taken as a sexual innuendo. They are good guys, and I am amazed at what Erica has them doing with theory and sight-reading. I have a lot to learn yet about men's voices, though. I feel intimidated every time I lead them.
Luckily, the Men's and Women's choirs are on A days while the more experienced groups (Treble and Concert) are on B days. It makes for good practice to do a lesson with the more experienced groups first, and if they struggle with anything, I can count on the fact that the younger choirs the next day will struggle. I can then adjust accordingly. I have made some strong connections with students already thanks to the musical and high student involvement in the upper level ensembles. I have several students that I can look at when I'm nervous and they put me at ease, cheering me on with their smiles. I had my first heart-to-heart with a student yesterday. She had a lot going on at home and broke down during one of her after school activities in the choir room. I talked it out with her and found out she wants to be a music teacher when she gets older. She seemed genuinely grateful to have me there talking through life with her, and I was grateful that she let me in on the little details of her home life. Conversations like this are exactly why I wanted to go into teaching in the first place!
I also teach Music Appreciation the last block of every day with Nick. He has a regular ed class on A days and a special ed section on B days. It has been a struggle to get students to be motivated in this class considering it is the last block of the day, but some of the most thrilling times have been when everyone is completely engaged in what you're teaching. For example, yesterday I taught a lesson on Woody Guthrie's "1913 Massacre," and all of the students were so involved in the discussion (or at least feigned interest) that I couldn't help but get excited. The special ed class has been difficult simply because I have a students with power issues and that does not respect female teachers in general. He keeps his head down nearly all class, but when he engages you in conversation, it is often confrontation. He had actually been removed from one of Erica's classes for threatening her. I am still trying to figure out ways to reach him and help him feel engaged and part of the classroom community.
Overall, I love everything about my life right now. I sometimes wake up and cannot believe that this is really my life. I dreamt about it for so long that now that it is happening, it seems surreal. I am learning so much and growing as a teacher, but I'd still like to get more of a social life going... I mean, coming home and making lesson plans is great and all, but I should probably make some friends... To be continued in that area. I'll check in again soon, and thanks for checking in with me!
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