3 down, 177 to go!

After three days of school, I am very encouraged.

At the giant choir school I am no longer teaching the non-varsity 7th and 8th grade girls choir, which I was very sad about at first. What we did last year was that I would teach one section of JV girls, and one section of 6th grade choir, and the other director would also teach a section of JV girls and a section of 6th grade, and then each composite choir would perform together under my direction. Since I'm not teaching a section of JV this year, I'll no longer be directing that group in concerts or at contest. It felt like a step backward, like a demotion. My first year at that school, I had only taught 6th grade, the second year I taught 6th grade and the JV girls, and now I'm back to only 6th grade. The decision was made for the good of the students who will now get consistent instruction between the two sections of the composite classes, and not because I wasn't doing a good job. It also makes for an easier year between us two teachers. We no longer have to coordinate with each other, which wasn't happening very well anyway, and we can manage our own classes. In concerts the students will be more comfortable because they're all be directed by the person they're used to seeing in class.

Anyway, I'm just teaching 6th graders now, and as it turns out, all that thinking I had been doing about music planning is paying off. So far I haven't done much singing with the students besides the major scale, and solfege drills, but we have to start somewhere. I have been teaching singing technique, which never stops, of course. We teach singing technique EVERY DAY to some degree or other. I'm struggling to learn names in my 6th grade classes. It will help to get them all voiced into sections and then make a seating chart. I did teach them the basic melody for the round we'll be using for our first song, "Oh How Lovely is the Evening."

Then the major reason I'm so encouraged by this school year is my tiny choir at the tiny choir school. In my class right now I have 22 students in there, and the majority of them are 7th and 8th graders that were in the choir last year. From my first year to my second, I only had two kids come back. Compare that to thirteen this year, and I can tell from the first moment they sang a major scale that it's going to be a very good year. I know some of the mistakes I made last year, starting with songs that were too hard, not being a stickler for technique early enough, things like that. This year I'm starting on the right track in regards to discipline, and also my teaching. I think I've covered quite a bit of ground, content-wise, in the first three days, even though much of today was spent playing a get-to-know-you name game.

Last year I know I did at least one thing very right. My tiny choir had a wonderful sense of community. It was completely apparent when this year, on the first day of school, the thirteen students who already knew me came in with arms wide open, squealing with excitement for a hug. They were doing this with each other, and not just me. It was really a wonderful sight. I could tell by the looks on the faces of the new kids that they wanted what we already had. Today's name game was a good four or five steps down the road to getting there. The students had to say each others' name, and what was the favorite animal and color for each person. It took about half an hour, but I really feel it was worth while. Tomorrow we can start on "Non Nobis Domine," and "Kookaburra." (I'm afraid our "Non Nobis" will sound a little more like this one!) I found this clip with unnecessary censorship. It's good for a laugh... These two songs are very simple on the surface, but I can glean so much to teach through both of them!

It's gonna be a fantastic year!