Practice Makes Perfect and Stay Vulnerable

This week was very personal for me as I went on a discovery of music and looked back on some very special moments in my life. I came to many realizations and made several connections from music to teaching. I started the week thinking about our discussion topic of how music is compelling from start to finish. While discussing my group members and I discovered that many songs end the same way they started. When a song comes full circle it is comforting and gives the listener a sense of completion. I began to think about this idea of coming full circle in terms of teaching. As a teacher I essentially compose a lesson that is designed around a focus and that focus is discussed at the beginning and end of every lesson. Basic lesson plan structure implies that students will; recall previous information, be introduced to new information, have the new modeled to them, have independent practice, and will be assessed and reminded of the new information. For example, I typically start science lessons by posing a question like; why do puddles form on some surfaces and not others? Then I will share with them that different surfaces have different absorbencies. From there I will model the steps for the experiment they will be doing then the students experiment themselves. Finally we review what was first introduced at the beginning of the lesson and see what the students have learned. In so many ways teachers start and end in the same way. I try to plan my units in a similar way. I start with basic understandings that I want my students to learn and keep going back to them so I stay on track. This type of backwards planning is very useful in having an idea of the big picture and the key ideas of each unit.
After thinking about my lessons as songs coming full circle, I began to think about the actual discussions themselves. For weeks even months now we have been discussing the nature and design of many different art forms. Then we are asked to use new skills and new understandings from our discussions to create a project that displays our understanding of the nature and design of that particular art form. It dawned on me this week that our discussions are practices for our module narration. Just like teachers give daily practice and reviews before a test. In our case the discussions are our independent practice and the modules are our tests. It was a little more obvious to me that our discussions are used as practice this week because we talked about exactly what made songs compelling from start to finish. I also believe it is because in all the other modules I had some sort of prior knowledge about the subject, but this week although I listen to music I had no clue about the terminology or what made me like certain songs. Like I mentioned earlier it was really a self discovery week for me. I learned that I am attracted to songs with upbeat tempos and songs that have a certain consistent quality to them.
For this module the hardest part for me was choosing which song I was going to analyze. There are millions of songs to choose from and I considered many of them before choosing You’re So Cool by Hans Zimmer. I eventually picked this song because of its absence of lyrics. I also began to do some research on the song and was very interested in the composer Hans Zimmer. I found out that he has won several Oscars for his movie scores. One movie in particular The Lion King, he won the individual Oscar for best original score. He has teamed with other composers for other popular movie scores. Most people have probably heard his work and like me did not even know his name. After completing the research on Hans Zimmer I was reminded of how important it is to research topics that I teach. I not only want to give my students accurate information, but when I learn new things I get excited to teach them and I believe that enthusiasm is contagious.
I fell in love with this song as soon as I heard it and this project gave me the opportunity to understand why this song was so compelling to me. What I discovered is that the song reminds me of the simple and happy moments in life. After creating the narration for my project I was stuck as to what visual images I should use to go with the song. Since there are no lyrics, any appropriate images would work. I tried mountain scenes, but they did not match the overall feel of the song. I also tried using free images of other people’s meaningful moments, but since the song was so personal to me I choose to use photos of myself at important or significant times in my life over the past three years. I choose to be vulnerable and include pictures from my life to make my movie more compelling. I believe the pictures show meaningful moments in my life which is what the song reminds me of. My hope is that I do not seem conceded, but vulnerable and open. I believe the same is true of teaching. Sometimes teachers need to be vulnerable. They need to open up to their students in order to build a rapport and show them they are human too. Teachers also need to be vulnerable and ask for help when it is needed. Vulnerability is a quality that I am continuing to work on and develop my skills to connect with my students.

Use Your Resources and Feel the Music

If I have learned one thing this week it is to use your resources and be thankful for them. I had to rely on a few people in order to get some of the projects done this week. Firstly, I looked to my neighbor who is an expert on computers. I needed a better microphone to start my module four project so I asked to borrow one of the many he owns. He suggested one that he thought would work best for my project and checked that it worked. Then I had the privilege of interviewing one of my mother’s friends who is helping me with my final project on storytelling. She is a master storyteller and I have always wanted to get her thoughts on reading aloud and storytelling. One of the most interesting things she shared with me was that present day story grammar derives from the telling of folktales and legends. So when we teach the beginning, middle, and end or study character development it is because storytellers from centuries ago decided that these were elements that captivated audiences. She had so many insights that I am currently working on for the narration of my storytelling movie. Lastly, I asked for my sister’s expertise in music for this week’s discussion. My sister is a music major currently in her senior year at Oakland University. I had the opportunity to sit down with her and just get her opinion on some of the songs discussed this week. She was able to add an extra layer of insight that I was not able to see at first and I feel that I gained a greater perspective on music. I looked to these individuals for their expertise this week and found myself looking at them as resources. I am usually not one to ask for help because I like doing things for myself but this week I learned that by using the people I have around me as resources then I can learn more and better myself as an individual and as a teacher. In the teaching world I need to learn to lean on my fellow colleagues for help especially because I am a fairly new teacher. I am reminded that many of these teachers have been doing their jobs for years and have tips and techniques that may be helpful for my students. I am also reminded of a lesson that I teach at the beginning of every school year. I have my students create a star filled with images of what they are experts on. For example, some students may be experts on soccer, karate, math, cooking, drawing, ect… I have all students pick something that they feel confident and proud of and the stars are displayed all year long so that students are reminded how hard they have worked to be an expert at that particular subject. I know that it is vital to encourage children and make them feel accomplished, but I forget sometimes that adults are experts too. I am reminded that I should look to colleagues for their thoughts on students and lessons. I think that as a school or perhaps even as a society our schools should move forward with this idea that individual teachers all have something that they may be particularly good at and would benefit the whole of the school. I am aware of some schools in my area that are making strides to set up programs that allow teachers to teach in teams. I think that this idea could really benefit schools and revolutionize the future of our education system.

This week I also had the opportunity to really analyze music through interviews with Robert Kapilow and readings by Gary Burns. As I was discussing the nature and design of some popular songs I realized that all the songs evoked strong emotions. Some were melancholy, some were hopeful, and some just made me want to dance, but none the less they all made me feel something. While Kapilow is describing the famous song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” , he mentions that a song makes you feel a thought. He then goes on to say that art begins where communication breaks down. Both were profound statements. Kapilow is primarily speaking of music, but I believe the same is true for all art. I began to think back to some of our other modules and remembered that the same intentions were true of the other types of artistry we have encountered. Photographers want their audiences to see something about life in each photo, movie makers want their audiences to see things in a deeper or different way, and interior designers want their customers to feel comfortable. In all the modules the artists intend to inspire and make their audiences feel something about their work. Art is so extremely important in our schools and in life. It makes us feel things and think things that may not be translated into words or communicated in any other way. Art needs to stay and be a part of our curriculum in the future.

Second Chances and Classroom Environment

This week I had the opportunity to review my Module 3 submission for the architecture and interior design study. I realized that the sound quality was not great. I was able to hear it fine on my program. The sound was faint but I thought it would translate to the facebook site alright. I realized that the sound was not loud enough for people to actually hear so I decided to play around with it. I was determined to use music with narration because I tried just the narration and I liked the combination with the music much better. I tried the narration on Windows Movie Maker but with the microphone on my computer it just was not a great quality. I also learned that with this program I could only use narration or music not both. So I had two challenges this week to improve the sound quality and find a way to include narration and music in my movie. I began with the sound quality by borrowing two different microphones from friends. I figured out which one worked best with the program and practiced using it so there was as little feedback as possible. Then I began to search for a program that would allow me to mix both music and words in one program. I discovered a program called Mixed Pad Audio Mixer. This program let me upload songs and record my voice so that they were in one track. I then practiced my narration and picked the best track for the final product. The process forced me to also review my narration in terms of word choice. I really thought about the terms nature and design in terms of a compelling experience. I realized that most of the previous narration was associated more with the design elements and not so much with my actual experience in the two stores. I kept most of the original words and added more of my feelings and experience to them. I tried to consider other senses as well because I was relying mainly on visual examples. I added a bit about smells and touch and overall feel for the store. I believe that this second chance allowed me to look more objectively at my work. I had originally submitted my movie thinking that I had done my best work, but upon review I found many things that could be improved upon. This whole process reminded me about some very important aspects of teaching. Firstly, I was reminded that teachers also have the opportunity to improve on their own teaching. This is especially true of teachers who are in the same grade for more than one year because they can learn from what they had done in the previous year. I have stated it before but I want to reiterate my belief in self assessment in terms of teaching. Teachers should be aware of what strengths they have and what weakness they still need to work on. The more we improve ourselves, the more we help our students to achieve. This is also why professional development is so important for educators. Secondly, as I found myself frustrated with the technology and my voice in the narration, I knew exactly how it feels for students to get frustrated. I can explain to my students with experience and knowledge behind me that giving up is never a good idea because you can always learn something from every experience. I could also say to them how proud they would also feel when they accomplish what they set out to do in the first place. These are both excellent life lessons that I learned and can pass on to my students. I am always looking for real life examples so that I can share with students in hopes that they will understand the lesson. Lastly, I learned that second chances are possible and eye opening. I was thankful that I was able to review my work because I was able to continue developing my idea of the nature and design of a compelling experience. I should remember that students and lessons also deserve a second chance. Every day brings new beginnings and fresh starts so if a student had a bad day or a lesson went badly I now that I can begin again the next day.

In reviewing my module 3 project, I was also reminded of the obvious connection between architecture and interior design and teaching which is classroom environment. I neglected to think about classroom environment in examining interior design last week. Sarah Susanka explains how a house is turned into a home with certain techniques such as framing, ceiling heights, accent colors, and open spaces. Just like the interior of a home can be thought of in terms of space, light, and order so can a classroom. In a classroom there are many things that can be done to make it more inviting. For example when the classroom is designed in such a way that is open yet has very organized and specific areas, it feels more comfortable and can be more functional. Students learn routines in well organized areas. Labeling is also a great way for students to acclimate to a new learning environment while also learning new vocabulary at the same time. Book corners, carpet areas, and mailboxes might just be some of the designated areas in a classroom. Another way to make the classroom more exciting and inviting is to use the idea of height and space by hanging student work from the ceilings. By doing this the room feels more proportional and students are proud to see their work on display. Classrooms can also be enhanced by adding simple touches from home to make them feel more like a family atmosphere. Things like lamps bring in a soft artificial light where in many classrooms extra light is needed. Other trinkets like flowers, bean bag chairs, or stuffed animals might make the space feel more comfortable as well. Students could bring items to class to make them feel more at ease because it is important that students feel comfortable to make risks. I cannot emphasize how important the classroom environment is and I continue to think about it especially after having studied interior design. I now have many ideas and ways to explain why these ideas work because of the same concepts applied to interior design like light, order, and space; although I feel that in a classroom order is most important to keep the structure and flow of the day in place.