I have been at Karns Middle School for the past month with Kami Lunsford as my main mentor teacher, but again, another general/choral teacher who co-teaches with her has also taken me under her wing (Terri King)! I'm so excited to be working with both of these awesome teachers. They have already taught me so much! I have summaries of my first few weeks already...more to come!
This past week, I took over the 8th Grade General Music class, which has been COMPLETELY different from the elementary school music classes I was teaching. The kids just LOOK at me, and it's hard to get them motivated. The time of day (as in, the second-to-last period) has to play a big part in the whole thing. These kids are also the ones who don't really want to be involved in the arts. They didn't choose band, orchestra, choir, or art...and usually, they go to PE right after our class. This class is somewhat of a dumping ground for the un-interested. My job is to GET them interested. They are only in class for 9 weeks, and I've been observing them for the first two or three (until I got to take over.) I also have been doing a research project on one child who has autism who is present in the class. I did my research during my observing time...but now that I'm teaching, I honestly have no idea on how to reach him. I feel like I need more training!
The week before that, I took over both 6th Grade choirs (Women's and Mixed)! It has been an adventure. I'm getting my discipline footing down, and I'm teaching them a couple of songs for their concert at the beginning of May. It's been fun so far, and I'm learning how to get my timing down. It's not perfect, but I think I'm improving each day.
On a side note, as I'm planning and preparing for classes, I'm also applying for jobs and trying to figure out how I'll survive for next year. I'm just hoping that I get hired SOMEWHERE.
Until next time...
