I have not really had much time at all this quarter to reflect/post, so I'll squeeze on in here...
Q1 has been very busy and one would think that it being my 2nd year here it would be easier. I think in contrast to that, it's been more involved as I am now taking on more responsibilities and such.
Marching band: been going very well so far this season. We've had a few snags and dramas, but have worked past them for the most case. Last rehearsal I started to record myself during their run through, like a judging tape, to help me remember/plan for rehearsals a little better. I think I will continue to do this and see how well it works. God bless the iPhone for it's voice recorder! :)
Next season I think we need to revamp the drumline warm-ups again and settle on something that is both fundamentally sound, well within their reach, but also interesting and engaging. This year's basic warm-ups served it's purpose well, but I think they are starting to feel a little stale and stagnant... gotta find a good way to avoid this next season.
Orchestras: We've had a bunch of ups and downs. Most of it focusing on people/interpersonal things. Slowly though, we have worked through it. CO had to be lectured about treating people w/ respect regardless of their differences. I gave them a writing prompt too which I think helped: 1) think of someone different and list their differences from you; 2) now create a separate list of what you share in common; 3) why is it important to treat this person w/ respect regardless of their differences?
Musically both groups are progressing. Still having a hard time finding repertoire that is both challenging and do-able for the groups. I have not found much good literature at their level... hopefully I can find more in the near future. Assessments went well, I did them really early this year to get them out of the way. I may reconsider that next year...
Piano: has been going strong. This year I'm going a bit slower, but I think it's paying off in regards to the quality of the student performances and how they are progressing. Something to consider for next year (which comes from last year): "My only concern is addressing the new students who have been transferring in late. I think next year I might tweak my lessons to start after the first couple of days to avoid this. As an alternative I'm thinking of focusing on listening activities and such with the students in the beginning so that if anyone else comes in late they won't miss anything essential for later."
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
P.O. 2011 = Finished!
Today was Parade of Orchestras. It was my first parade of orchestras w/ the Moanalua groups, and overall they did very well. I was most proud of their behavior and demeanor. CS was much more focused, controlled, and overall receptive. It equaled a much stronger performance than at Winter Concert.
CO did a great job too. They lead and took care of themselves for most of the day. I loved this fact that they were self directed. They also performed well. The Saint-Saens had it's interesting moments, it was a bit rough at times, but overall they did their best and it was a wonderful performance.
I find myself now thinking about how best to finish the year, prepare for aloha concert, and start thinking about next year. So many ideas are flying around that it makes me both restless and excited to finish out the year and start paving into next.
On another note, I'd like to post these thoughts on leadership. They come from my MSU program. First:
"Leadership is learned and never to perfection." So true, and I feel needs little reflection/expansion.
It’s not enough to know or understand that no one is born a perfect leader and everyone has weaknesses; what’s impactful is what you are able to do with those weaknesses. In their influential article, “In Praise of the Incomplete Leader”, a group of MIT professors (Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge) argue that no matter how experienced or talented, the “complete leader” is a myth. They write, “It’s time to end the myth of the complete leader: the flawless person at the top who’s got it all figured out. In fact, the sooner leaders stop trying to be all things to all people, the better off organizations will be” (p. 110).
This is something I've learned quite a bit this year. It has proven to be incredibly freeing and reflective for me and changed my life and the way I teach. The team that I am so blessed to work with is what makes the difference and as we all grow as people and educators, we will continue to improve in our leadership.
CO did a great job too. They lead and took care of themselves for most of the day. I loved this fact that they were self directed. They also performed well. The Saint-Saens had it's interesting moments, it was a bit rough at times, but overall they did their best and it was a wonderful performance.
I find myself now thinking about how best to finish the year, prepare for aloha concert, and start thinking about next year. So many ideas are flying around that it makes me both restless and excited to finish out the year and start paving into next.
On another note, I'd like to post these thoughts on leadership. They come from my MSU program. First:
"Leadership is learned and never to perfection." So true, and I feel needs little reflection/expansion.
It’s not enough to know or understand that no one is born a perfect leader and everyone has weaknesses; what’s impactful is what you are able to do with those weaknesses. In their influential article, “In Praise of the Incomplete Leader”, a group of MIT professors (Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge) argue that no matter how experienced or talented, the “complete leader” is a myth. They write, “It’s time to end the myth of the complete leader: the flawless person at the top who’s got it all figured out. In fact, the sooner leaders stop trying to be all things to all people, the better off organizations will be” (p. 110).
This is something I've learned quite a bit this year. It has proven to be incredibly freeing and reflective for me and changed my life and the way I teach. The team that I am so blessed to work with is what makes the difference and as we all grow as people and educators, we will continue to improve in our leadership.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Q3 Closing - Orchestra Reflections
Okay, so quarter 4 is almost wrapped up.
The orchestra classes are going strong. Getting the Q3 assessments out of the way early and then focusing efforts on music for the rest of the quarter helped. It allowed for more sectional time and more streamlined focus on the performance music.
The new seating is also working out well. Most of the students are better behaved this quarter. It also sounds a lot better.
For quarter 4, I am going to try a group assessment. I had the students create their groups and sign up in class. They seemed excited. I think this will help by:
1) saving time/energy
2) alleviate anxiety for most of the students
3) provide a more accurate picture of how they perform in the group
The in class sign up worked really well for period 2. In period 1, however, several students still did not sign up and it was chaotic. I think I need to think of a creative way of better organizing this for next year. It's worth the time in class if I can get 100% of students to sign up.
Q4 assessments will also be based on our concert music which should help increase relevancy and also help better prepare the students for our upcoming performances.
The orchestra classes are going strong. Getting the Q3 assessments out of the way early and then focusing efforts on music for the rest of the quarter helped. It allowed for more sectional time and more streamlined focus on the performance music.
The new seating is also working out well. Most of the students are better behaved this quarter. It also sounds a lot better.
For quarter 4, I am going to try a group assessment. I had the students create their groups and sign up in class. They seemed excited. I think this will help by:
1) saving time/energy
2) alleviate anxiety for most of the students
3) provide a more accurate picture of how they perform in the group
The in class sign up worked really well for period 2. In period 1, however, several students still did not sign up and it was chaotic. I think I need to think of a creative way of better organizing this for next year. It's worth the time in class if I can get 100% of students to sign up.
Q4 assessments will also be based on our concert music which should help increase relevancy and also help better prepare the students for our upcoming performances.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Q3 - 3 Week Mark
Okay,
3 weeks in and I have finished this quarter's round of assessments. It took a lot of time, but all in all it allowed me to listen to them individually and also re-seat the class. There were some issues to deal w/ and thoughts for next time:
Next big goal/focus: SNAP GRADES @_@
3 weeks in and I have finished this quarter's round of assessments. It took a lot of time, but all in all it allowed me to listen to them individually and also re-seat the class. There were some issues to deal w/ and thoughts for next time:
- Difficulty of assessment leaned on the easy side (might not have given full indication of students' ability)
- Still had a handful of students who didn't sign up OR didn't show up for their time
Next big goal/focus: SNAP GRADES @_@
Monday, January 3, 2011
Q3 - Welcome 2011
Another year has passed, and quickly Q3 is approaching (it starts tomorrow).
I have to admit that after midwest I really needed a vacation to just veg out and relax. Now that school is starting up again, I am finding it pretty easy to get back in the mode and hit the ground running.
My goals for this quarter are as follows:
- Finish up PEP-T
- Work on improving the lower level skilled players in both orchestra
- Find a way to challenge the advanced students/prepare them to move on for next year
- Incorporate snapgrades into my routine as a way of improving parent communication
- Survive another quarter :-p
No concerts or anything this quarter but we do have the SO orchestra camp and we have to be ready by the end of the quarter to perform since after spring break there really is no time. Oh I almost forgot a goal:
-Help to make CDBF honor band awesome
I have to admit that after midwest I really needed a vacation to just veg out and relax. Now that school is starting up again, I am finding it pretty easy to get back in the mode and hit the ground running.
My goals for this quarter are as follows:
- Finish up PEP-T
- Work on improving the lower level skilled players in both orchestra
- Find a way to challenge the advanced students/prepare them to move on for next year
- Incorporate snapgrades into my routine as a way of improving parent communication
- Survive another quarter :-p
No concerts or anything this quarter but we do have the SO orchestra camp and we have to be ready by the end of the quarter to perform since after spring break there really is no time. Oh I almost forgot a goal:
-Help to make CDBF honor band awesome
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