Happy New Year! Okay, so I'm a bit late, but I wanted to make sure the first month of the year didn't go by without writing something. Three months into my latest teaching gig, I've started to get more comfortable with who, what and how I'm teaching. Even though I've taught for 17 years, any new situation is likely to throw off my game and make me question myself: how do I compare to the teacher I'm filling in for? Do the students already know this? How receptive will they be to active music making? Luckily, these questions pop up less and less the more I am there and, thankfully, I am winning over most of the them. This process of getting to know my students and reflect on my teaching reminds me of two of the more profound learning experiences of my life.
I don't quite remember the reason why, but one day in my college calculus class, the professor asked if any us spoke German. I awkwardly raised my hand, something I didn't often do in a math class. He asked, "How do you say 'to know' in German?" I was happy to explain that there are actually two ways: kennen, which is used for social knowledge (Ich kenne Susie = I know Susie) and wissen, which is used for factual knowledge (Ich weiss zwei und zwei macht vier = I know two and two makes four). The difference here is that factual knowledge is just that: memorized, never-changing and impersonal. Social knowledge goes much deeper. Of course, his point was that a lot of mathematical thinking is based on facts, but to succeed in advanced math, those facts must be applied at a deeper level. Now, I'm no mathematician but I am grateful for that conversation because the underlying principal can be applied to almost any endeavor. As a teacher, getting to know my students is one of the most important aspects of my job. At first, I might know Susie's name but that's about it. I don't know Susie in a way that will help me effectively teach her. After a few months, I am not just remembering students' names, but getting to know them better. I know that Roniyah will ask a lot of questions and needs redirection because of her ADHD, but loves to sing and actually is listening when it seems like she isn't. I know that Christian and Cameron, brothers, are both taking music lessons and enjoy being challenged. I know that Nakayla is a student leader and winning her over has helped my cause (e.g. If she likes it, other students in her class are likely to give it a try).
Getting to know my students is, obviously, something that will take more than a few months. They have to get to know me and my style of teaching, too. I, like possibly many others, have often sprung things on my students that I knew would be a big hit only to have them fail miserably. And then sit there wondering why aren't they getting it! Well, either they weren't ready for it or I didn't take the time to teach it in a way they understood. This makes me remember another profound teaching moment from my Level II Orff training. Any of us who have taken levels have to realize that we are living in an Orff dream world for two weeks. Trained adult musicians will learn a lot faster than typical elementary school students and it is easy to forget that when we bring something back to students and wonder why they aren't getting it as quickly. This point was brought home to me by master teacher Mary Shamrock as she wrote lyrics for one of the pieces my group was sharing at the end of our two weeks together. We threw together our skit in just a couple of days, once again giving the false impression that students might be able to do so just as quickly. But Ms. Shamrock, having wisely practiced Orff approach for many years, included in the closing lyric of our skit, the reminder that what we are doing will take "patience, work and time." In other words, give your students the time it takes to know what they are learning. It will make a big difference. More on this topic soon!
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