I'm a Survivor

I survived my first day teaching.

I was difficult, but I made it.

I'm posting now because Mother Nature blessed us with a snow storm and gave us a snow day. I now have a little more time to get some stuff together do something with the kids. I've learned that you can't let them have any free time or all hell breaks loose. I learned that the hard way yeaterday. See. the sub lady that's been teaching them was supposed to come in yesterday and gradually work me into what they're doing and stuff, so the principal told me that I didn't have to be prepared to teach anything that I would just get settled in. That's all fine and dandy if the lady shows up...which she didn't. So I got thrown to the wolves with nothing to teach. So we played the "write the answers to these get to know you questions on a piece of paper" game. With some of the classes even that proved to be difficult. So I had to tell them that it was worth 50 points and it was the easiest 50 points they would ever get. No matter how hard I tried, it still never took up the whole period. I also need to come up with a way to take attendance and reward the kids for good behavior and rewarding them for good language. By the last one, I mean getting them to realize that it's not ok to drop the f bomb in the middle of class by yelling it across the room. Fun times.

The kids were apparently lead to believe that the teacher that was there was not a long term sub or "visiting teacher" as they call it, but their actual choir teacher. About 2 years ago, the choir teacher that had been there for a long time left. She had a real strong program going and they did a lot of gospel. For the past 2-3 years though, they've gone through numerous teachers, mostsly because the kids ran them out. So there's the background. It'll be tough, and go ahead and laugh now, but I have this 'Sister Act' thing going in my head. I'm guessing it will be a battle until after the report cards come out, then they'll realize that I'm not gonna play games with them.

I went in there and put it out on the table that I'm not gonna play games, and that they can love me or hate me, and I don't care which they pick, but it will be a lot easier if they let do what I need to do. One of the teachers warned me today that the kids like to skip classes by sneaking into choir because it's such a large class, and kids like to dkip out of choir for the same reasons, and that it doesn't help when there's a new teacher that doesn't know who the kids are. The school rule is a 1 day suspension for skipping. Even if it's their first time. I busted nearly 20 kids yesterday for skipping. It's not hard to do when you have a roster, take roll, and have the sttendance office cross check the lists. So those kids will be finding out that I'm not gonna play games.

I'm also thinking that the rest of this school year, I'm gonna start with the basics, as basic as "this is a quarter note." It doesn't do them any good to learn to sing by rote. And they sure as hell don't want me singing it to them first. If they want to get the gospel thing going again (which I know nothing about) They need the basics. So in the next week or so, when I get some stuff together, they're crackin open the books. And I'm going to actually keep grades in a grade book like math teachers do. Not like normal music teachers that say "well, they tried/had a good attitude and made it to the performances. You get an A." If kids fail, so be it. I'm not foolin' around. If I have a total of 5 kids in choir next year, that's fine, they want to be there. Also, did I mention that I teach 5 periods of choir a day? I'm thinking that's a little insane. Also, the band director mentioned that maybe we could work the schedules out so we both taught band and choir next year. That would be cool.

This snow day will be filled by me laying on the couch and watching musicals (West Side Story, Hello Dolly, and My Fair Lady) and coming up with questions the kids have to answer while watching the movie. Some of the questions are really tough, but they have to be so they really pay attention. Woo musicals. I just finished West Side Story, I'm thinking Hello Dolly is next. The movies are filler until I get some stuff to start teaching them beginning theory stuff. At which point I'll add a little bit of singing.

l still really want a band job, but I'll give this a try for a year or two or more and build the resume. I'm still young. I've got 29 years before I retire :p