Weekly Review #8

Wow I really am surprised how fast time seems to be going. Week 8 is already over and only 4 weeks to go. This week was somewhat of a challenge, at least in choir, because of some discipline issues and the ever-present piano playing abilities or lack thereof. Add to that the fact that I got a cold this week and it would seem that the week kind of dragged on. In fact, the opposite was true as it went by fairly quickly. I was pleasantly surprised.

The biggest challenges seem to be coming from choir as I deal with my lack of piano playing abilities. I can get by, but when it comes to combining parts I tend to struggle even after practicing them. Of course that results in confusion and students getting off track, which ends up wasting class time. It's been very frustrating. As a result, I am trying to practice more at home, and Mr. Suzelis has offered to play when needed and has. One day this week I wanted to combine parts and knew it would be a disaster if I did so I had Mr. Suzelis come up and do it. What that allows me to do is get up close with the choir and help them with their parts more, instead of behind the piano. Of course I still want (and need) to get better, but in the mean time, this seems to be a viable option, though I am unsure how I would proceed in a classroom where I don't have the option of an experienced piano player. Mr. Suzelis has also supplied me with accompaniment tracks, so I am able to use those as needed (he uses them too so he can hear the choirs better).

The discipline issues I mentioned last week are still ongoing, at least with one student. The other student wasn't at school much this week, but the one with the biggest attitude certainly was. She did turn in the writing assignment after she had to meet with the assistant principal after both were written up on Monday for not having it. I had asked them to include reasons why they felt their discussions couldn't wait for after the concert and she basically wrote that she was talking because she "didn't care." Later during the week Mr. Suzelis talked with her during class and she told him she was just in choir because her "mom made [her]." On Friday I moved her seat as she was talking to her neighbor at every chance. Of course it wasn't without an attitude and some drama. I'm planning on moving her seat permanently.

The music classes ended well and I was able to get all the grades in. Mr. Suzelis also gave me the site and login info so I can enter grades from my own computer at school or at home. Up until then I always did them at his computer in the classroom, but now we can both enter grades as needed. VERY convenient! I'm a little anxious for the new grading period this week to see what kind of classes I'll be getting and how they are different from the ones I just had. I think everything will turn out OK, but some of the things Mr. Suzelis said about a few students definitely have me nervous for classroom disruption issues.