Today...
Kindergarten kids: Miss N, why do you have two skins?
Me: Hmm? What do you mean?
Kids: Your legs. They have two skins.
Me: Oh, those are called stockings.
Kids: Oh. They're like long socks, right? But clear. Cool.
First Grade kids: Hey, your legs' skin is a different color than your arms. What happened?
Me: I'm wearing these things called stockings.
Kids: Are they tights, but clear?
Me: Yep. And they're lighter than tights.
Kids: Why would you want to wear them?
Me: They're not as warm as tights, so they're easier to wear in the Springtime.
Kids: They're sort of like tights. But they're sort of like long, long socks, too. My Mom wears those things.
Well. You just never know what they're going to notice!
4/20/10
4/19/10
Too well-behaved?
I had my once-yearly formal observation today. With one of my energetic 2nd grade classes.
I'd told them ahead of time that I'd asked our Principal to come in and watch them because they were such good musicians...which is true. They are. They also tend to be lively to the point of 'rowdy'.
But today? Today, they were perfectly--I mean, PERFECTLY--well-behaved.
And extremely boring.
Intriguing. The corrollary to their not-always-appropriate behaviour is a ton of energy.
Yep, they are impulsive.
Yep, that sometimes leads to peer-to-peer arguments.
Yep, it sometimes means the class has a little melt-down and I have to stop, calm everything down, and reboot them.
And yep: I'd much rather have 'em that way than the way they were today.
With that 'wild' ness comes blasts of creative energy, bright firing of all those minds, and fun. We ride the ukes/drums/ dancing waves together.
Today, they were so proper and correct that it was completely bland. In fact, I wanted to shake them up a bit (I tried, but they maintained their completely controlled behavior).
Wow.
Kids who are 'rowdy' because they're being creative?
Yes, please.
I'd told them ahead of time that I'd asked our Principal to come in and watch them because they were such good musicians...which is true. They are. They also tend to be lively to the point of 'rowdy'.
But today? Today, they were perfectly--I mean, PERFECTLY--well-behaved.
And extremely boring.
Intriguing. The corrollary to their not-always-appropriate behaviour is a ton of energy.
Yep, they are impulsive.
Yep, that sometimes leads to peer-to-peer arguments.
Yep, it sometimes means the class has a little melt-down and I have to stop, calm everything down, and reboot them.
And yep: I'd much rather have 'em that way than the way they were today.
With that 'wild' ness comes blasts of creative energy, bright firing of all those minds, and fun. We ride the ukes/drums/ dancing waves together.
Today, they were so proper and correct that it was completely bland. In fact, I wanted to shake them up a bit (I tried, but they maintained their completely controlled behavior).
Wow.
Kids who are 'rowdy' because they're being creative?
Yes, please.
4/15/10
Winging it? or Improvising?
Had an interesting discussion today with my Principal. This was during a discussion I initiated, about changes I've made in my teaching, in response to having my classroom space displaced this year.
Me Well, I actually got the idea from a friend of mine who's worked in both theater and dance. He suggested I try teaching some of my classes by improvising. The results have been pretty astonishing.
Mark* Can you tell me what you see as the difference between improvising and what some teachers call 'winging it'?
Me "Winging it" generally indicates a lack of thought or planning--more like coming in and saying, "Oh, dear, I don't have a plan. Guess I'll just do whatever I can think of, to keep the kids busy." Right?
Mark* Usually.
Me Improvising operates under completely different parameters. I've been learning how to take solos while playing jazz. It involves knowing appropriate scales, chords and arpeggios, likely rhythm patterns, what your audience composition is, what the cultural references are for the style of music, and remaining aware of what the other musicians are doing.
Most importantly, it involves intent listening and focus--responding to things happening right now, while listening on many levels.
Mark* Right. Working within the style of the music.
Me Exactly. The same is true for improvising while teaching: I have a clear idea of where my parameters are, and what the goal is. I listen carefully to where the children are--how they're responding--and shape my teaching throughout the class, to interact with them in a way that draws out their best effort, and also involves all of us in the active process of learning.
Mark* So you teach without a plan?
Me The plan is to not have a plan. The plan is to know exactly what I'd like the children to be able to learn and to do as a result of being in class that day, and to use materials, pacing and activities to accomplish that--tailoring it to fit the 'music of our learning' as we go along.
Mark* I see. Have you seen any benefits to this style of teaching?
Me Well, yes. First, it only works when I'm quite clear about the underlying goals and very secure in the actual use of the materials. Second, I'm not doing this in every class each week, just consistently in each grade, as part of the pattern of learning. The result is that I hear how the children learn, in a quite different way. I'm much more flexible in responding to their learning pace and individual needs. And I've seen that some of the things I do need to change.
Mark* Like what?
Me Many kids need to move a LOT. Even more than I'd thought. When I'm carefully listening to them, directly pacing the class to them rather than to a preconceived plan, it's much easier to say, for instance, "Let's stomp to show the beat this time. Put the rhythm in your hands" or whatever.
Mark* Many teachers do plan, and then tweak the plan as they teach--leaving some things out, adding some things in.
Me Yes. That's improvisation, too. I do that, too---it's just part of teaching. But it's on a different scale than what I'm talking about. No pun intended.
Mark* Sounds fun, actually.
Me Can be. Can be both a lively ride and an intense learning time. For the kids, yes---and most definitely, for me.
*Mark, of course, is not my real Principal's actual name.
Me Well, I actually got the idea from a friend of mine who's worked in both theater and dance. He suggested I try teaching some of my classes by improvising. The results have been pretty astonishing.
Mark* Can you tell me what you see as the difference between improvising and what some teachers call 'winging it'?
Me "Winging it" generally indicates a lack of thought or planning--more like coming in and saying, "Oh, dear, I don't have a plan. Guess I'll just do whatever I can think of, to keep the kids busy." Right?
Mark* Usually.
Me Improvising operates under completely different parameters. I've been learning how to take solos while playing jazz. It involves knowing appropriate scales, chords and arpeggios, likely rhythm patterns, what your audience composition is, what the cultural references are for the style of music, and remaining aware of what the other musicians are doing.
Most importantly, it involves intent listening and focus--responding to things happening right now, while listening on many levels.
Mark* Right. Working within the style of the music.
Me Exactly. The same is true for improvising while teaching: I have a clear idea of where my parameters are, and what the goal is. I listen carefully to where the children are--how they're responding--and shape my teaching throughout the class, to interact with them in a way that draws out their best effort, and also involves all of us in the active process of learning.
Mark* So you teach without a plan?
Me The plan is to not have a plan. The plan is to know exactly what I'd like the children to be able to learn and to do as a result of being in class that day, and to use materials, pacing and activities to accomplish that--tailoring it to fit the 'music of our learning' as we go along.
Mark* I see. Have you seen any benefits to this style of teaching?
Me Well, yes. First, it only works when I'm quite clear about the underlying goals and very secure in the actual use of the materials. Second, I'm not doing this in every class each week, just consistently in each grade, as part of the pattern of learning. The result is that I hear how the children learn, in a quite different way. I'm much more flexible in responding to their learning pace and individual needs. And I've seen that some of the things I do need to change.
Mark* Like what?
Me Many kids need to move a LOT. Even more than I'd thought. When I'm carefully listening to them, directly pacing the class to them rather than to a preconceived plan, it's much easier to say, for instance, "Let's stomp to show the beat this time. Put the rhythm in your hands" or whatever.
Mark* Many teachers do plan, and then tweak the plan as they teach--leaving some things out, adding some things in.
Me Yes. That's improvisation, too. I do that, too---it's just part of teaching. But it's on a different scale than what I'm talking about. No pun intended.
Mark* Sounds fun, actually.
Me Can be. Can be both a lively ride and an intense learning time. For the kids, yes---and most definitely, for me.
*Mark, of course, is not my real Principal's actual name.
Choosing how to respond
So the climate at my school is pretty tense right at the moment.
Actually, in the entire town. Hmm, perhaps in the entire country. For the parts of it that have to deal with school budgets and program cuts, anyway.
I'm noticing that there seem to be two primary choices: worry, and talk in tightly-knit groups powered by negative, stressful energy. Or worry, and not talk about it at all.
What about another response?
What about NOT worrying, and choosing to work on the challenges and joys inherent in today?
What about attributing to each person or group involved, the best of all possible motives? Even if it's quite possible that the motives are mixed, how about responding by giving everyone--including the state financial decision-makers--responding by using Zander's idea of 'giving them an A"? (Zander and Zander, "The Art of Possibility". Great book.)
What would we lose? What would we gain? And how much more energy and joy would we bring to each day if we chose to respond to difficult situations by viewing them with the clear realization that this is a chance to practice the kinds of skills which build good character?
I'm not sure of the answers--and I'm mostly just asking myself this, here. But I intend to try this out. I intend to remain in focus on meeting each day's challenges with cheerfulness, and to choose to respond to any negative talk with a healthy, independent steadiness.
How about you? Do you ever face difficult situations in your work? I'd love to hear other good ways of responding-- and it's good to know that other people are working on this, too. I guess instead of 'misery loves company' we could say that 'good energy loves company'. What do you think?
Actually, in the entire town. Hmm, perhaps in the entire country. For the parts of it that have to deal with school budgets and program cuts, anyway.
I'm noticing that there seem to be two primary choices: worry, and talk in tightly-knit groups powered by negative, stressful energy. Or worry, and not talk about it at all.
What about another response?
What about NOT worrying, and choosing to work on the challenges and joys inherent in today?
What about attributing to each person or group involved, the best of all possible motives? Even if it's quite possible that the motives are mixed, how about responding by giving everyone--including the state financial decision-makers--responding by using Zander's idea of 'giving them an A"? (Zander and Zander, "The Art of Possibility". Great book.)
What would we lose? What would we gain? And how much more energy and joy would we bring to each day if we chose to respond to difficult situations by viewing them with the clear realization that this is a chance to practice the kinds of skills which build good character?
I'm not sure of the answers--and I'm mostly just asking myself this, here. But I intend to try this out. I intend to remain in focus on meeting each day's challenges with cheerfulness, and to choose to respond to any negative talk with a healthy, independent steadiness.
How about you? Do you ever face difficult situations in your work? I'd love to hear other good ways of responding-- and it's good to know that other people are working on this, too. I guess instead of 'misery loves company' we could say that 'good energy loves company'. What do you think?
4/13/10
Daily life, 42
First Grade Classroom, during before-school morning recess.
Shera* Hey, Ms N, look at my big boo boo! I got it on my knee, see?
Me Wow, Shera, that's a doozy.
Shera Doozy. (chuckles) That's a funny word.
Me How'd that happen?
Shera Wellll......I was standing on a, well, I was standing on a chair, well...
I was standing on a chair that I pro---bably shouldn't have been standing on...and then I fell off.
Me Ouch.
Shera Look at how purple it is. Isn't it cool?
All right then.
*Shera is, of course, not this completely endearing First Grade explorer's real name.
Shera* Hey, Ms N, look at my big boo boo! I got it on my knee, see?
Me Wow, Shera, that's a doozy.
Shera Doozy. (chuckles) That's a funny word.
Me How'd that happen?
Shera Wellll......I was standing on a, well, I was standing on a chair, well...
I was standing on a chair that I pro---bably shouldn't have been standing on...and then I fell off.
Me Ouch.
Shera Look at how purple it is. Isn't it cool?
All right then.
*Shera is, of course, not this completely endearing First Grade explorer's real name.
4/12/10
Daily life, 41
Well. Today was a first.
In twenty years of teaching, I've never been in a classrom where a student fell asleep right before my eyes.
Fell, being the operative word.
Kindergarten Music. Monday morning. In the middle of singing a new song... Jannika* blinked a few times, then nodded her head slowly as her eyelids lowered...then slumped to one side....then collapsed onto the rug.
Well. I guess Mondays can be a little rough sometimes.
*Jannika is, of course, not this sleepy little one's real name.
In twenty years of teaching, I've never been in a classrom where a student fell asleep right before my eyes.
Fell, being the operative word.
Kindergarten Music. Monday morning. In the middle of singing a new song... Jannika* blinked a few times, then nodded her head slowly as her eyelids lowered...then slumped to one side....then collapsed onto the rug.
Well. I guess Mondays can be a little rough sometimes.
*Jannika is, of course, not this sleepy little one's real name.
4/3/10
Mini-albums
Awhile ago, I wrote about a great idea from Dudecraft--one of my favorite sites. (www.dudecraft.com) Paul Overton (the 'dude' behind Dudecraft) came up with a great way to make gift tags that look like little record albums. (Here's the link, in case you want to make them yourself--it's easy: http://www.dudecraft.com/2009/12/how-to-mini-lp-record-gift-tags.html)
So, we took the idea and applied it to the classroom. Each young jazz musician in 4th and 5th grade chose a Swing music era musician, wrote album notes about why they're recommend this artist's music to a friend, and then created album cover art.
Meanwhile, they listened to a LOT of jazz.
Here's some of the results. We put everything on display at our Kids' Cabaret. What a blast--thank you, Paul!
So, we took the idea and applied it to the classroom. Each young jazz musician in 4th and 5th grade chose a Swing music era musician, wrote album notes about why they're recommend this artist's music to a friend, and then created album cover art.
Meanwhile, they listened to a LOT of jazz.
Here's some of the results. We put everything on display at our Kids' Cabaret. What a blast--thank you, Paul!
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