This year has been an extremely fulfilling year in my teaching career. To coin a song from Wicked, "I have been changed for good." I think a few of the things for which I am thankful and would like to share them with you. This week has been filled with "lists" in my posts and I guess tonight's reflection is no different.
1. Three weeks ago I received a sealed envelope in my mailbox with my name typed on it. I dreaded opening it because I am always afraid around this time of year that I will be laid off. And this letter had all the markings of that. (BTW, that has never happened....yet). I opened the envelope in the privacy of my office (in case I needed to cry) and it was a letter from a student telling me that I was her favorite teacher. She doesn't say much in class but those few paragraphs spoke volumes about her and how she perceived me. It was a great letter and I will keep it...forever. And I did cry. But it was for all the right reasons.
2. My choir program finally feels like my own. I am rather new at this high school choir directorship thing. I am not as organized as I would like to be but I am steadily getting better at achieving consistent vocal quality within my groups. I listened to my choir's "festival" recording from my first year here a couple of weeks back. It was REALLY horrible. I mean drop-your-jaw-and-try-not-to-gasp horrible. Each year I focus on something different.....last year was sight reading; this year was vocal production/vowel formation. I can't seem to teach everything in one year. None the less, the groups are steadily getting better. It is very encouraging.
3. Sometimes in your teaching career, I have been told, every once in a while you come across a student that understands you and takes a real interest in things that are important to you. I never had that experience because maybe I am too task oriented to really take time to get to know people, or maybe I just wasn't in one place long enough to develop any bonds. But this year I have a student who can predict what needs to be done and then will take over when needed and get the job finished. She is a natural teacher (although she would fight that to the bitter end), extremely respected by her peers, and has a passion to always push people to do their best on the stage. She is a senior. And I don't think there will be "replacement" for her for a very long time.
4. I have a really great bunch of kids who eat lunch with me everyday. A few months ago I gave up eating in the teacher's lounge. It was a place that you could sit around a giant table (ok, it was four rectangular tables pushed together) and talk....or so I thought! I started to listen to the conversations and noticed the same underlying themes everyday. Those themes included TV show synopsis stuff, drinking, parties, sports and dirty jokes. After I realized that there was not one single thing on that list that I enjoy talking or even thinking about, I decided to quit the lunch lounge and start a club of my own. I started eating in my office and pretty soon two or three students started "hanging out" and eating with me. We soon added a few more and now I have 5 students who eat with me everyday. Every single day. They don't go to the lunchroom-ever. I am good with this....it is much more enjoyable conversation and it keeps me connected to the "teenage psyche" which I will never quite figure out.
I am going to try to focus on the positive things that are all around me so that I can survive my 17th time of "MAY" in the public schools and hopefully be able to start my summer vacation on a good note.
2. My choir program finally feels like my own. I am rather new at this high school choir directorship thing. I am not as organized as I would like to be but I am steadily getting better at achieving consistent vocal quality within my groups. I listened to my choir's "festival" recording from my first year here a couple of weeks back. It was REALLY horrible. I mean drop-your-jaw-and-try-not-to-gasp horrible. Each year I focus on something different.....last year was sight reading; this year was vocal production/vowel formation. I can't seem to teach everything in one year. None the less, the groups are steadily getting better. It is very encouraging.
3. Sometimes in your teaching career, I have been told, every once in a while you come across a student that understands you and takes a real interest in things that are important to you. I never had that experience because maybe I am too task oriented to really take time to get to know people, or maybe I just wasn't in one place long enough to develop any bonds. But this year I have a student who can predict what needs to be done and then will take over when needed and get the job finished. She is a natural teacher (although she would fight that to the bitter end), extremely respected by her peers, and has a passion to always push people to do their best on the stage. She is a senior. And I don't think there will be "replacement" for her for a very long time.
4. I have a really great bunch of kids who eat lunch with me everyday. A few months ago I gave up eating in the teacher's lounge. It was a place that you could sit around a giant table (ok, it was four rectangular tables pushed together) and talk....or so I thought! I started to listen to the conversations and noticed the same underlying themes everyday. Those themes included TV show synopsis stuff, drinking, parties, sports and dirty jokes. After I realized that there was not one single thing on that list that I enjoy talking or even thinking about, I decided to quit the lunch lounge and start a club of my own. I started eating in my office and pretty soon two or three students started "hanging out" and eating with me. We soon added a few more and now I have 5 students who eat with me everyday. Every single day. They don't go to the lunchroom-ever. I am good with this....it is much more enjoyable conversation and it keeps me connected to the "teenage psyche" which I will never quite figure out.
I am going to try to focus on the positive things that are all around me so that I can survive my 17th time of "MAY" in the public schools and hopefully be able to start my summer vacation on a good note.
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