Journal of a Jongleur: Year 1

Immunity Until the Very End

My first year of teaching is over! 4 elementary schools, 13 classes, 20 classroom teachers, 180 days of school and over 300 students. Maybe it’s because my immune system finally gave in and I became actually sick for the first time all school year on the last day of school, but looking back on it is all a bit of a blur. I tried to rest and nap with this cold, but I was just too excited about my next year of teaching that I already began working towards next year!

A Day in the Life of

What allowed me to survive my first year of teaching were the words “tomorrow” and “next year”. Some parts of teaching are really day by day. Let me walk you through two very different but very likely scenarios I could face.

Scenario 1: I drive to my first school of the day and begin setting up the room. Moving and hauling tables around, rolling the piano to the right spot, and arranging chairs in the correct formation. I pass out music folders to each stand. I set my alarms for the day to remind me when each class ends. I get out white board markers, flashcards, and other materials. So maybe they are just running late today, it’s only 5 minutes so far. At 7 minutes I begin to truly worry no one is coming so I head to the office only to find out that my students are all on a field trip! Sigh. I rearrange all the furniture and pack my things for the next school. I arrive as the students arrive, meaning the stage is empty of chairs, stands and music. Putting my load of things down the students quickly help me set up the chairs, piano, music, music stands, and instrument carts. But 5 of the instruments are broken, 2 students “don’t feel like playing today” because “music is BORING!”, 2 other students begin shoving each other, and suddenly the quiet signals are up. Calm. Instruments passed out, kids on stage, only for the battle to resume. Bridges collapsing left and right, bows missing from cases, strings popping here and there, chin rests falling off. The other teacher has walked off. There is no phone because I’m in a cafeteria. I could send a student for help, but class has 4 minutes left and it’s just not worth it anymore.

Scenario 2: I walk to my classroom while students play in the courtyard during lunch. I’m greeted by swarms of students shouting “Ms. S!!! HI!!!” they smile at me and shower me in compliments and give me hugs. “Ms. S, is there orchestra today?” “Of course, there is!” “YAY!” they exclaim and then they run off. This time, I have my own classroom so the chairs and stands are already in place. Class begins and the students enter in a quiet single-file line. They get their instruments, go to their seat, unpack and then go into rest position. A student has taken it upon themselves to get the name sheets and starts passing it out. Another student decided to pass music books out. We play our warm ups and the students sound great! We learn a piece or a tune and it goes well. We play our distractor game or the finger freeze game and there is laughter and smiling and music. The classroom teacher participates or walks around and helps students stay on task, complimenting the students showing correct playing technique or behavior. Class is over now so the students line up and we sing goodbye to each other.

Psh, What an Amateur!

Congratulations reader, you’ve experienced a sneak peak of what my job is like. If you’re an experienced music teacher I’m sure you’re silently shaking your head as you recognize some of the many mistakes I’ve made and you start preparing your comment with all the ways you avoid the scenarios listed above. You, my experienced music teacher colleague, probably have scores of ways to deal with broken instruments during class, students being unruly, being up-to-date with each school’s schedule, etc. But don’t worry! I have done a lot of reflecting and learning and I can confidently say that I have loads of ideas of my own on how to avoid those situations and how to take preventative measures.

I Solemnly Swear that I am Up to Good

For next year I vow to make my class more interesting with more games, more music students like, and better pacing. I vow to have a better system of incentives and consequences and to be more consistent with my expectations. I vow to have classroom procedures even more streamlined. I vow to make music more relatable and more personal. I know what kinds of things students struggle with so I can work on those things more. I have ideas on keeping advanced students challenged and engaged. I have a lot of ideas about ways to communicate with my colleagues.

I Also Play Hide and Seek

To be completely honest, the teaching aspect was only 50% the challenge of my first-year teaching. The other 50% of the challenge was the professional end. The smallest of those worries was condescension. It’s my first year, so of course all my colleagues are more experienced than me. But there are constructive ways to help and there are belittling ways to help. Sometimes it is tough to be a short, young, and young-looking teacher and be treated as a colleague, not another student. Even more difficult was being the travelling music teacher. There have been occasions that all my stuff gets moved and in one case thrown away. Some teachers saw music as the time to pull their kids out for extra math or reading. Some teachers didn’t know that as the music teacher, it is my job to assign the students grades in music. It IS a real class with real objectives and real grades, thank you very much. Being at 4 different schools, all the schools communicate so differently. Some schools have calendars with all the events listed and some don’t. Some are all avid emailers, and some communicate through leaving papers in mailboxes. I found out it was very tough to actually reach my colleagues when I’m not physically in the same location as them.

It’s Raining Training!

The other aspect of professionalism I found frustrating was the first year professional developments. EEI training, the weeklong district training, the online trainings, and meeting after meeting. I like sharing ideas and discussing with my colleagues, heck I’d say I love it! But mostly the meetings aren’t about me, or music, or information I can use. They are about how to use certain functions on a testing website or how to analyze math scores. Occasionally I’d learn really valuable things about the school’s discipline systems, certain resources, or just get mandatory training on things like child safety or epi-pen usage. Long story short though, I’d say I prefer the company of my students. Never a boring conversation with them!

Pass/Fail

A lot of teachers would say I had a successful first year. My boss is always incredibly complementary of me and has been since my interview. Some teachers say it doesn’t seem like my first year at all but more like my tenth. Some teachers say I’m doing a fabulous job and that it’s just a tough climate/day and age/school. Some teachers are indifferent but supportive. A lot of students say I’m their favorite teacher. Some of the older students say I’m the best music teacher they’ve ever had. Some students give me presents: drawings, thank you notes, stuffed animals, flowers, jewelry, baked goods, stickers, you name it! These students are incredibly kind. But I don’t really see teaching as a pass or fail grade. I just look back and think about what things I should do again and what things need to change.

Kids Nowadays Are Just so Lucky, Aren’t They?

Some people tell me “it’s just great that they’ve had the chance at all to learn music”, but I don’t like hearing that. I don’t want the best thing about my class to be just that they had an opportunity to learn music. I don’t want to be thanked for being a music teacher just because you think it’s a noble or generous profession. That makes it sound like I could be terrible at my job and there would still be someone to thank me because hey, at least they learned music. No. I want these kids to really learn music. I want them to not have just an opportunity, but to turn their life into a musical one. I want them to enjoy making music as much as I do. I want it to be a viable option for them to continue to make music, not just have some experience in elementary school. I believe the moment I start thinking “these kids are lucky to even get a chance to learn music” is the moment I let things slide and my teaching style fail to adapt. That kind of thinking would make me resent the students who are difficult. That kind of thinking puts me on some pedestal: knowledge-holder above the knowledge-receivers.

FUUUUUTURE

I am actually just really grateful my job exists and I get to have it. I am grateful that my school district exists, and that they made music mandatory in the schools that I teach at. I’m grateful to have a district with its own repair shop and an entire staff of fine arts. I am really excited for next year, and I’m really excited to see which of my new ideas will work and which won’t. I know to expect the unexpected, be prepared for a little chaos, be assertive, and very importantly is that if I’m doing my job right then I’m having fun.

Thanks for reading! I’m curious as to your thoughts: what is a learning experience you’ve had (as a child or an adult) that was fun and enjoyable and why? OR: What is something that frustrates you about your job?