Today, I subbed for the band director. This is probably the one subject where I am completely clueless and can’t even wing it. Surprisingly, these kids had their routine down and basically handled themselves. The first class was intense because it was the concert choir, big class, lots of noise. One of the students was a future music major so he was conducting the class. To my shock he had things running smoothly. I expected kids to ignore him or goof off but there was very little of this. While he took charge I walked around the room or stood and listened. I have little musical skills and am fascinated by how the instruments work. I remember when I was little I would play with the buttons on my mom’s flute and see where the pieces would move. One of the horns was particularly fascinating because the valve pieces rotated and seemed like something that would be in a car or other machine.
There was a grad student who was present for field hours and would be student teaching next semester. It’s always interesting to talk to other trainee teachers to see what paths they have taken. He was helpful with the jazz lab who needed to work on solos and was really able to critique them. Being in this post made me really appreciate the work the students do to put on performances and made me wish the arts programs got more attention…and that I had some musical talent.
Ms. TeacherM'am's Teaching Tidbits 