Student Teaching

Well, for those of you who don't know, I've been student teaching the past five weeks in Elk City. I would say overall it's going pretty well. There are a few things I have to to work on, but at the same time there are some other things I think I am doing well.

I seem to do fundamental rehearsal better than I rehearse new music. Part of the problem, in my opinion, is that I have always been pretty good at sight-reading. So, when students don't seem to get something the first time, I feel like I'm at a loss of what to say to make it easier for them. Then again, maybe hearing it and repetition is all that's needed. But at the same time, I don't want them to rely on having to hear something and learning everything by rote.

The fifth grade can be challenging during times such as chair tests because they get bored. However, other days they are great for me. The sixth grade is generally well motivated and competitive, therefore they give me little trouble. It also seems to be an unusually bright class, therefore we can move pretty quickly and cover things that some classes may not be ready to handle as early.

The seventh grade is well-behaved (with an exception or two), but either I bore them or they want to act too cool to be interested. I'm not sure which, but I'll assume it's the former for now. The eighth grade class seems to have too many other things on their minds to behave well for me. However, when I can get them to focus, they seem to be able to perform. Once they get used to me and I can get to know them a little better, I think we'll be able to be more productive.

I haven't really spent time in front of the high school yet outside of an occasional sectional, so I'm curious to see how that goes. I'll try to keep everybody posted on my progress and hopefully not on failures... If you have any suggestions for a new teacher, feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form.