So this is a little late but not too long ago I got to go visit the school where Michelle and I will be doing our teaching for MUS 3034. The drive out to the school was rather uneventful, though I thought I was lost for a while as it seemed like I was just heading our towards the middle of nowhere, like a horror movie or something (though I don't know of a single horror movie that takes place at 8:30 am).
Suddenly, on the horizon, I see what appears to be an industrial warehouse and a bunch of trailers. Surely this couldn't be the school.....but it was. After trying to find where to park, I walk up to the "school" to find out where to check in. Slowly, my fellow scholars appear for our orientation to this school. We are greeted by the director, "Ms. Jessica." We are lead into a veryyyyyy small classroom with way too many chairs. The room is decorated with assorted children's artwork, pieces of nature, and posters representing all disciplines. We are told that this is the 5th grade classroom......say what? THE?? All 5th graders are in here...at one time....no way. We are told that they have a cap of 22 students per grade, but that is still way too many students for the room.
The director explains that the school is a charter school that is very different from others in the area. First off, they are K-8 and have a cap of 22 students per grade. The students all receive 45 minutes of recess every day. They also have 45 minutes of Fitness class every day. Huh? Err'day? Mhmmm yes ma'am every day. They start each class with running a mile. In my elementary PE classes we ran a mile maybe twice a year. We went on to learn a lot more about how the school was run and I won't bore you with details. We then went on a tour of this amazing school. It just simply needs more space.
I entered this school a skeptic...I left wanting a job there. I cannot wait to teach there with Michelle. Just remember to never judge a book by its cover.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Look at us, being overachievers!
So today, while standing in the brickyard at the Hayes School of Music, I randomly started a hand clapping game on my friend Freddy's chest. Suddenly, my partner Michelle appeared and we played a few hand-clapping games.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that one of these games - Slide - would be a great general music lesson on subdivision. I naturally subdivide in my head while playing the games (1 and 1 and 1 la le 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 la le 2 la le etc.) You will see a video attached describing the actual game. A lesson plan is in the works....you all just wait!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
And His Eyes Went Ga-Lump!
I see that Trevor has beaten me to the first blog post. Dash it all. I would also like to point out that when he mentions "his partner" in his post, he is referring to me. Glad to know that you're not ashamed of me, Trevor!
Moving on to more important things! Trevor and I had the pleasure of visiting the same elementary school to get in a field experience, but I had the even greater pleasure of going 45 minutes earlier than he did! Oh, how I love 8:00 am classes. Because we were the first class of the day, the teacher was not so stressed by this point. She was rather excited and talked about the students we were about to observe. We also had a nice and pretty humorous discussion about cats, but that's besides the point.
The students walked in and quietly went to their seats. First, these are 1st graders at eight in the morning. Second, they're going QUIETLY to their seats. Third, there were mallet instruments all over the floor, and they didn't touch a single one. Did I mention that these were 1st graders. Dear Teacher, please tell me what you have done.
After the kids enthusiastically tried to tell the most random stories I have ever heard in my life, the teacher calmed them down and asked the students if they knew what a leap was. After a few guesses, a boy shouted, "Like a frog?" We have a winner!
I won't go into extreme detail about what happened because it was the exact same process that she did in the 8:45 class, and Trevor has already explained that well enough. Maybe I should let him post the first blog every time...
50 million "ga-lumps" and multiple ear piercing sounds of the C-scale later, there was one particular thing I did take notice of throughout the course of the lesson. The teacher did not allow any room for a break, and I can understand why. Elementary schoolers, especially first graders, can get distracted VERY easily! You have no other option but to keep the lesson fast paced so that they can't keep up with it. General music teachers have to do whatever they can to speed past the natural high of those kiddies. You also have to pay close attention as well. Whenever the teacher was talking while the students were on the floor in front of the mallets, there was that one student that just loves to play the instrument when they're not supposed to. Everyone knows that student. They exist in every class. I see some of them in my college classes all the time. They never leave. In elementary school, you have to make sure to put an end to the madness really quick, or chaos will ensue. That's exactly what this teacher did. It took multiple times throughout the class period, but she got him to stop for a good 5 minutes every time she said something. Persistency. That's the key. Also, patience is a virtue. I'm not quite sure how much I would have in that situation!
Before I go, I just have to be that person and post the lyrics to the cute little song the kids sang:
"Galump went the little green frog one day! Galump went the little green frog. Galump went the little green frog one day, and his eyes went galump!"
That's quality music right there!
Moving on to more important things! Trevor and I had the pleasure of visiting the same elementary school to get in a field experience, but I had the even greater pleasure of going 45 minutes earlier than he did! Oh, how I love 8:00 am classes. Because we were the first class of the day, the teacher was not so stressed by this point. She was rather excited and talked about the students we were about to observe. We also had a nice and pretty humorous discussion about cats, but that's besides the point.
The students walked in and quietly went to their seats. First, these are 1st graders at eight in the morning. Second, they're going QUIETLY to their seats. Third, there were mallet instruments all over the floor, and they didn't touch a single one. Did I mention that these were 1st graders. Dear Teacher, please tell me what you have done.
After the kids enthusiastically tried to tell the most random stories I have ever heard in my life, the teacher calmed them down and asked the students if they knew what a leap was. After a few guesses, a boy shouted, "Like a frog?" We have a winner!
I won't go into extreme detail about what happened because it was the exact same process that she did in the 8:45 class, and Trevor has already explained that well enough. Maybe I should let him post the first blog every time...
50 million "ga-lumps" and multiple ear piercing sounds of the C-scale later, there was one particular thing I did take notice of throughout the course of the lesson. The teacher did not allow any room for a break, and I can understand why. Elementary schoolers, especially first graders, can get distracted VERY easily! You have no other option but to keep the lesson fast paced so that they can't keep up with it. General music teachers have to do whatever they can to speed past the natural high of those kiddies. You also have to pay close attention as well. Whenever the teacher was talking while the students were on the floor in front of the mallets, there was that one student that just loves to play the instrument when they're not supposed to. Everyone knows that student. They exist in every class. I see some of them in my college classes all the time. They never leave. In elementary school, you have to make sure to put an end to the madness really quick, or chaos will ensue. That's exactly what this teacher did. It took multiple times throughout the class period, but she got him to stop for a good 5 minutes every time she said something. Persistency. That's the key. Also, patience is a virtue. I'm not quite sure how much I would have in that situation!
Before I go, I just have to be that person and post the lyrics to the cute little song the kids sang:
"Galump went the little green frog one day! Galump went the little green frog. Galump went the little green frog one day, and his eyes went galump!"
That's quality music right there!
Oh No....there's a cry-er
My first few visits into the world of general music have been rather eventful. My first observation was at a rural elementary school in the middle of nowhere, about 15 minutes from downtown Boone, NC. Considering how the school was surrounded by beautiful woodland scenery, the school was surprisingly modern - on the outside that is. As I entered the school, I was greeted by an overly enthusiastic office worker asking my intentions of visiting the school. After explaining my observation, I got directions through the school to the music room. I came upon a class just ending, the teacher appearing more than slightly stressed....and it is only 8:45 a.m.
As the first class leaves, the teacher explains that Friday mornings is first grade, which to me sounds like a never-ending nightmare. As the next class enters, she has to distract the kids from the mallet instruments in the center of the room. The teacher explained to the students that music is made up of both steps and leaps and had the students take the best guess on what these terms meant. The students then learned a rather enjoyable song about a frog jumping around a pond. The song happened to be a rather step-wise piece, with a nice sol-do leap every time the frog went "ga-lump." The students sung the song with a number of different variations so that they sung both sections with leaps and steps.
The students then moved into a circle with mallet instruments and learned about how if you put a lot of steps together, you can make a scale. They played the C scale over and over to hear how the scale sounded. Then the students learned another song that was basically a scale over and over again. It simply reinforced the fact that scales are just made up of a series of steps. The students loved the silly songs and it was amazing to see how their days were brighter based on the music they sung.
As with any class of 20+ first graders, there would be students who do not want to cooperate. There was one kid who wanted to physically jump when he said "gah-lump," which the teacher thought could be dangerous as the class was standing on risers. The teacher also had to tell students not to play with their mallet instruments when it was not time to play. However, considering those were only disciplinary problems in a first grade class, I would be praising someone for those glorious kids.
After a nice leisurely drive back to Appalachian State, my partner and I walked over to the daycare here on campus to view the pre-school class start their day. As we arrived, the kids were having their morning snack, which included milk with cereal. One girl happened to spill her milk....and started to bawl her eyes out. She was literally crying over spilt milk. Let's just say that confirmed my suspicion that young kids are not my teaching forte. Needless to say, the teachers helped address the issue and eventually got her to settle down, to an extent.
It was one of the teacher's last day, so the whole class sang a nice little song to him about coming back to visit later. It was a very nice gesture, considering that the song also came with a sweet hand-made crown. It was interesting to see how the students interacted with each other, starting to form cliques at such a young age.
While I would love to stay and chat, it is mid-term season with lesson plans to transcribe, scales to practice, chapters to read, and concerts to go to. I am looking forward to contributing more to the world of general music......let's hope not too excited.
After a nice leisurely drive back to Appalachian State, my partner and I walked over to the daycare here on campus to view the pre-school class start their day. As we arrived, the kids were having their morning snack, which included milk with cereal. One girl happened to spill her milk....and started to bawl her eyes out. She was literally crying over spilt milk. Let's just say that confirmed my suspicion that young kids are not my teaching forte. Needless to say, the teachers helped address the issue and eventually got her to settle down, to an extent.
It was one of the teacher's last day, so the whole class sang a nice little song to him about coming back to visit later. It was a very nice gesture, considering that the song also came with a sweet hand-made crown. It was interesting to see how the students interacted with each other, starting to form cliques at such a young age.
While I would love to stay and chat, it is mid-term season with lesson plans to transcribe, scales to practice, chapters to read, and concerts to go to. I am looking forward to contributing more to the world of general music......let's hope not too excited.
This looks.....delicious.....I haven't eaten in a few days it feels like.
photo from: http://www.easycupcakes.com/frog-cupcakes-with-big-eyes/
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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