Hello again, all! This week was busy and had plenty of challenges, but it has been one of my most rewarding weeks thus far. I finally feel like I have a place in the school, and the kids are constantly telling me how much they wish I could stay and get a job as a second choir teacher. As much as I'd love for that to happen, I have to sadly explain that there needs to be a position open in order for that to happen!
Monday we took our Treble Choir (mainly sophomores and juniors) to WSMA festival at Marquette University. They sang "Apple Tree Wassail" arr. Stephen Hatfield and "Dôme épais" by Leo Deiles, arr. Francisco Nunuez. They sang well and carried themselves with poise. I stood in the empty auditorium seats and took pictures like a proud mom while scribbling down notes of what the clinician said to work on. The girls took the critique well and they had a lot of fun with the clinician. It was a fun field trip to have on a Monday, and it made the day go by really fast.
Tuesday and Wednesday I led warm ups every day and began rehearsal on "It Don't Mean a Thing." It mainly just consisted of running through it to get me comfortable with the piece and listening while playing. I am so insecure about my piano skills, and all of my weaknesses are highlighted when I'm in the front of the classroom. Luckily, I am not a singer who relies greatly on the piano, so if I make a mistake with my fingers and I'm singing along, at least they'll get the right note with my voice! It is definitely an area that consumes my preparation time. On Wednesday, Erica told me she wasn't feeling very well and had been tired for at least this past week if not since the musical. She warned me that she probably wouldn't be at school the next day and we planned out the entire next day in case she wasn't there. After planning, she turned to me and asked, "Feel ready?" I smiled and said, "Yeah, It'll be fun! I'm going to go get a drink of water." I left the class and proceeded to freak out in the hallway. Erica and my professors of the past 4 1/2 years have given me all of the tools I need to be successful, but I had never applied them to back-to-back 85 minute rehearsals before.
Thursday came and I was ready. I had detailed lesson plans emailed to myself and had the rehearsal plan on the board as well as a key signature lesson. All I needed to do was print my lesson plans and I'd be set to go. I went over to the computer to log into my email, and as I opened my inbox, all that read on the main browser was "internal server error." The error message of death. I couldn't believe it. I would have to teach from my notes that I took when Erica and I were discussing! Lesson learned: save to a flash drive to print from. Don't rely on email!!
I had my two most difficult classes in the morning: Women's choir followed by Men's choir. The sub came in and sat in the front of the room playing Sudoku and writing down names of chatty members. Most of the girls were happy to see me, but there were a large chunk that took advantage of Erica's absence and talked throughout most of rehearsal. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify exactly who was talking because the minute I would look over they would stop. I realized I still have a lot of things to learn about behavior management, especially with things like this. How much talking do you actually allow? I don't want to constantly be harping on people for talking, especially if I'm trying to foster an environment where students feel relaxed. At the same time, I feel disrespected and want them to stop for the benefit of others in the room. I'm still navigating these waters.
Men's choir was my biggest fear of the day. These guys are squirreley when Erica is in the room... What would they be like if she's not here? Just as I suspected, they were excited for a day filled with talking and doing anything but singing when they saw Erica was gone. I started rehearsal, and many refused to come to their seats. I had to start marking people tardy before they got the picture. After warm ups, during announcements, I got many stupid questions like "What's for lunch?" I had a choice to make: crack the whip or let it roll. I chose to let it roll. I paused, sniffed the air, and said, "Ya know, I can't smell it from here, but I'm sure it's the same ol' same ol'!" and moved on. The guys laughed. I'm so glad I made this decision, because for the rest of rehearsal, we had a really good time. The guys were a little chatty, but not in the disrespectful way the girls were chatting. I had a couple people that I had to come down on for switching seats multiple times or making noises while I was talking, but by 20 minutes into the rehearsal, they had all stopped. I taught a lesson on key signatures and learned something else about myself: my pacing sucks. I wanted to make sure everyone was on board and understanding, and they were willing to let me make sure, but it meant cramming the last part of rehearsal into the last 10 minutes of class. It brought up another dilemma: do I drop parts of my rehearsal plan to allow extra time to grasp key concepts, or just be ok with them not completely understanding for now, get through my rehearsal plan, and plan to do another mini-lesson the next class?
I have a lot to learn yet about pacing and classroom management, but it was such a thrill to get up there and really teach. I felt confident and connected to the students, despite my many mistakes. It was so encouraging to get a glimpse into what my life would be like 7 months from now, even if it was by just jumping into the deep end. Erica seemed comfortable leaving her class in my hands too, which was also very encouraging. I love this job.
This weekend is my first chill weekend where I'm not really doing much. Just checking things off of my growing to-do list. It will be nice to relax a little bit after a fast-paced week. Thanks everyone for your continued support and prayers. The transition is still hard (especially since I'm still lost 90% of the time), but your ongoing well-wishes, advice, and love keeps me going. Next week: half rehearsals! Woo!
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