Remember Me? and other questions

hello world. 

I know, long time no post. Like my friend Dana, I've tried to post meaningful things for the last month and a half but I haven't really felt like there was anything of importance.  And being that I like to analyze things in my life, the fact that I haven't wanted to post anything is something to post about. Let me explain.

Teaching kindergarten and 1st grade general music, it's hard to feel like anything I'm doing is groundbreaking, interesting, or worth telling my loyal readers about.  Not that what I'm doing isn't worthwhile or that I'm not into it, but it's just not something to record for all time on this blog.  I think what this stems from is the fact that this is just a stepping stone in my career as a music educator.  I know that I won't be in this district next year (unless something extraordinary happens) because I'm looking for a full time instrumental job and as of right now there aren't any anticipated openings.  I would assume that most educators, like me, want to put their stamp on things and make a lasting difference wherever they are working, but I don't feel like I can do that in my current situation.  

curriculum 

During the original research project that Dana, Devon, and I did, we all grappled with curriculum issues; one of us had difficulties because there was no curriculum and I didn't like the book that the curriculum required me to use. Fast-forward to now and I have a curriculum that I really really have to follow.  Being that my class is the first music class these students have in this district, I need to make sure what I'm teaching aligns with the curriculum so that next year they will be on the right track with whatever teacher they have.  One thing I brought up in a department meeting was that the new kindergarten curriculum (since this is the first year of full day kindergarten, thus the first year of kindergarten music, art, and physical education) is pretty close to the 1st grade curriculum.  For example, both grades need to be able to sing and identify sol and mi.  It's hard to know how far my kindergarteners will go until I continue to assess them.  Will they be able to do what the 1st graders can in terms of sol and mi identification? If they do, won't that mess up the 2nd grade curriculum because these students will be more advanced? Will that end up inflating grades and have all students end up being above grade-level (not that it's bad to have high achieving music students, but we want the curriculum to push the students, right)?  I brought up these questions at a department meeting and no one knew the answer because we all have the same thoughts.  It's just interesting that in real life teaching in a large and successful district, when I thought that teaching within the curriculum would be super easy, it has made me question long-term goals for these students...in a district I won't be teaching long-term...which brings us back to the issue of me feeling like I'm not leaving a lasting mark. Mid-year malaise? I don't know.

on deck

Sorry for that baseball reference - it's just now that the Giants are out, I'm counting down until my next sports disappointment, my beloved NY Mets.  Because we lost days for Sandy, our district has school straight through January 2nd and March 23rd.  No. Days. Off. Needless to say, lots of us teachers will be taking personal and sick days to alleviate the discomfort of that much school. For me, I'll definitely be taking off a few days to go to my state music education conference and for the NAfME All-Eastern conference.  One thing I really liked from one of my instrumental pedagogy classes was the idea of a unit study.  It makes lesson planning easier when it's in big chunks based upon the same idea.  I just finished one that I used for all of December on The Nutcracker.  The kids danced to, drew, listened to, critiqued, compared and contrasted, and watched performances of parts of The Nutcracker.  It hit lots of national standards and was fun for them to learn little by little.  Maybe I like it because it's like watching the next episode in a series - "tune in next class for the dramatic conclusion of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy!". But anyway, to get myself through this next long haul, I will most likely be doing a unit on Peter and the Wolf. I know I'll definitely do it for 1st grade, but I have to think about how I'll do it with the little ones. 

Well world,  I feel better having this all down on...paper screen. Happy New Year!! I promise to post more regularly from now on. Let's call it a resolution.