Day 273: Where Do You Turn?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 273/365

I recently attended the confirmation service for one of my husband's cousins. During the sermon, the pastor asked the congregation where we turn when we are facing challenges. This question really stood out to me. As a Christian, the correct answer to this question should be that I turn to God. As I reflected on this question, I realized that I have not been doing a good job of this. I have focused on other ways of "making" my life better without focusing my energy on what really matters. I know this is a natural part of life and I am glad that I was able to hear this sermon because it made me refocus on what is really important in my life.  I know I get caught up in thinking other things can fix my challenges: getting more sleep, relaxing or getting more done. These may all help, but they are not where my energy should be completly focused.

This question also made me think about  non religious situations.

What do you turn to? What do our schools turn to? What do my students turn to?

For me, my focus needs to be on my relationship with God. In general, I believe we need to focus on relationships. It seems easier to focus on the other extras, but I don't see these as having as much impact as relationships. 

Often, I hear of schools that focus on curriculum and textbooks as a way to "fix" there problems. Education seems to turn to curriculum and "better" tests. Imagine the power of schools focused on relationships?

Many of my students turn to acting out to deal with challenges they are facing. Imagine the power if we could help teach them a positive way to deal with challenges?

We all turn to something or someone when we are facing difficulties. What we turn to has an impact on our future decisions, our level of happiness and our life in general.

What do you turn to?

Thank you for reading.

Day 272: Advice

Daily Blog Challenge Day 272/365

The last week of school I decided to ask each of my classes for help.  I asked them what they liked about music this year, what they liked about the classroom, what I should keep the same and what I should change.  Some classes jumped on board with the discussion more than others, but regardless, I was left with many great ideas.  It reminded me the importance of asking my students for their input.  At the end of the day, it is their education/ their classroom and it is important that they see value and enjoy the experience.

Not all of their ideas will work because of the logistics of the classroom or the class itself, but it was a great learning experience and they provided me with valuable information.  They think "out side of the box" much better than I do at times.  Sometimes I get caught up in all the problems that I don't think of the simple solutions.  My students on the other hand, see things in a simple light.

Next year, I would like to have my students review lessons/activities and songs throughout the year.  This will allow me to make them better.

How do you include input from your students?  Thank you for reading.

Day 271: My Soap Box

Daily Blog Challenge Day 271/365

How many classes require students to work together? I know many classes do group projects, but lets be honest, the students who care the most do the work and the rest of the group is along for the ride.

The Arts are not like this. Having a great sounding choir, band or musical requires everyone to pull their weight and do their job. It is hard to hide people who struggle with their part in an ensemble.  For many students, the Arts are the only time they are forced to work as a team. Teamwork and cooperation are two important life skills for future success.

There is a lot of research that proves the benefit of the Arts, yet many schools and administrations only support the Arts when it is convenient.

My school recently had our final concert of the year and I was annoyed by some of the comments. I was reminded that many people do not truly understand the importance of the Arts (at least in my opinion). I realize few of my students will become music majors or professional musicians, but in the end that is not the point. Each year at graduations around the United States, many of the successful students have a common variable. They were involed in the Arts. This is either a crazy coincidence or there is something more important going on. I believe it is the latter. The Arts teach life skills that lead to success.

I realize the Arts may never recieve the same respect as athletics and in my opinion that is a shame. The Arts bring so much joy to people's lives and it is a life long skill.

Being a music teacher for me is not about creating professional musicians, it's about using music as the medium to teach students life skills and to expose them to the joys that music can bring to their life.

I will step off my Soap Box now. Thank you for reading.

Day 270: End of the Year Thank You Notes

Daily Blog Challenge Day 270/365

The last year on Twitter has been a year of incredible growth for me and I am thankful that I was introduced to Twitter.  Throughout this journey, I have realized that there are many people that have been instrumental in this process.

Sean Junkins (@sjunkins):  Thank you for pushing me to join Twitter Chats.  It is hard to believe that at one point I was terrified to participate.

Catie Dwinal (@musiccargirl14):  Thank you for introducing me to Skype Performances.

In few cases it is easy to list individuals who have helped me on this journey.  In most cases it is due to a collection of people.  I would feel terrible if I left anyone out, so here are my group shout outs.

#Musedchat:  Thank you the constant stream of ideas and tools to implement into my classroom.

My (FANTASTIC) PLN:  Thank you for your constant support, encouragement, resources and ideas.

Teachers and Classes my students have Skyped and Tweeted with:  Thank you for taking the time to build connections with my students.

Showing appreciation is a simple, but often under utilized activity.  Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way on this journey of Twitter.  It has been a great adventure.  I have learned so many new ideas and have implemented new practices in my classroom.  On behalf of my students and myself, thank you for all of your help and guidance.

Thank you for reading.

Day 266: Dress Code

Daily Blog Challenge Day 266/365

There has been a lot of conversations and article lately about the topic of school dress codes.  I keep hearing the argument that dress codes are aimed at the female population and we have them because boys cannot control themselves.  I am by far not the best person to discuss fashion and I am a self-conscious person so I rarely wear anything that would cause a dress code violation, but I do find the arguments intriguing.  While I partly admire how some can wear clothes with parts of their body hanging out (I wish I was that comfortable with my own body), I question the need to wear this type of clothing.  I also believe these two arguments are only focusing on part of the problem.  They are completely forgetting the fact that there are dress codes that are aimed mostly at the male population (wearing pants too low that their underwear show.)  They are also forgetting that most dress codes that have to do with showing too much skin are not popular fashion for men.  I feel confident that if a boy came to school in shorts too short or a skimpy tank top that he too would find himself in the office for violating dress code.  The fact is, this type of fashion is only in style for girls.

Even as a female, I have issues with girls wearing too revealing of clothing and I would feel the same way about boys wearing similar styles.  I personally don't want to see those parts of their bodies and I don't see any need for it in general.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Thank you for reading.

Day 265: Lessons From My Parents

Daily Blog Challenge Day 265/365

May and June are filled with reminders of how important parents are and all of the lessons children learn from them.  I have been blessed with two amazing parents and as I prepare to be a parent myself, I am reminded of all the lessons they taught me and that they continue to teach me.

-Support and encourage your children, but require them to solve problems that are within their responsibility and ability level.

-Spend 1:1 time with your children.

-Be the emotionally mature one when your child is in an emotional state.

-Be willing to listen.

-Be supportive, but realistic.

-Letting your child experience disappointment does not make you a bad parent.

-Failure is a necessary part of life.

-Help, but do not do work that your child can do for themselves.

-Be a positive role model: Christian Living, a positive marriage and a strong work ethic.

Thank you mom and dad for being great parents.  You have both been great role models and I hope I am able to copy many of your skills as a parent.

What are the main lessons your learned from your mom or dad?

Thank you for reading.

Day 260: Sports Writer Week Six

Daily Blog Challenge Day 260/365

The AFC Lady Raider Softball Team played three games last week.  They started the week by traveling to Orangeville.  The Lady Raiders were limited to three hits:  one each by LM, LM and KC.  The Lady Raiders were able to score one run in the third, but it was not enough and they were defeated by Orangeville 11-1.  On Tuesday the Lady Raiders traveled to Milledgeville.  AFC was once again limited to three hits: one each by LM, CK and AW.  AFC was defeated by a score of 12-4.  During the final game of the week, AFC hosted Milledgeville.  AFC managed to score six runs on nine hits, but still fell to Milledgeville 18-6.  LM, KC and BG all had multi-hit games.  The AFC JV Softball team picked up two wins against Milledgeville and a third against Kirkland to improve their season record to 9-4.  BN hit her first homerun of the season in Milledgeville.

Day 257: Being A Team

Daily Blog Challenge Day 257/365

One thing I noticed during this past softball season is that it is very easy to focus on your individual skills and get stuck on individual stats.  Often we become consumed with what we are doing or how we are doing that we do not look at how we can help our team.

In sports this means only worrying about my stats and what I am doing. It also tends to make individuals more judgmental towards what others are doing wrong.

In schools this means only worrying about my classroom and what projects I am doing.

It is often easier to think about ourselves as individuals. Progress is easier and many difficult situations are avoided. However, this is not where the most progress can be made. More importantly,  our students need to see us modeling team work and cooperation.

How do you make sure you are staying focused on building a team culture instead of focusing on individual achievements?

Thank you for reading.

Day 253: Sports Writer Week Five

Daily Blog Challenge Day 253/365

The Lady Raiders started week five of their season by hosting Forreston/Polo. Forreston/Polo jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. They had another big inning in the fifth and defeated AFC by a final score of 19-2. AFC was limited to four hits; two by LM and one each by CK and LM.  AFC traveled to German Valley on Thursday for a rematch against Forreston/Polo.  AFC scored one run in the first and three runs in both the third and fourth innings to take a 7-3 lead.  Forreston/Polo responded by tieing the game in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead in the fifth inning.  AFC was not able to recover and lost 11-7. The Lady Raiders had nine hits, including doubles by LK and CK.  AFC ended week five of their season by defeating LaMoille/Ohio 15-0 in three innings, bringing their season record to 4-13. The Lady Raider JV team picked up their sixth win of the season defeating Forreston/Polo 12-2.

Day 246: Sports Writer Week Four

Daily Blog Challenge Day 246/365

The AFC Lady Raiders started week four of their season by picking up their third win by defeating Pecatonica 2-1.  Pecatonica took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.  The Lady Raiders were limited to two hits, but were able to score two runs in the bottom of the fifth. The game was called after five innings due to weather.  On Tuesday, AFC hosted Orangeville.  The two teams combined for nineteen runs and twenty hits.  Orangeville scored in each of the first five innings.  The Lady Raiders started chipping away in the third inning, but were never able to gain the lead.  Despite having runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Raiders were unable to score the tying run and lost 10-9.  During their final game of the week, AFC hosted Amboy.  Offense was again plentiful with both teams combining for seventeen runs and fifteen hits.  Once again AFC found themselves down in the first inning.  The Lady Raiders were able to score two runs in the third inning and another two runs in the sixth inning.  Going into the bottom of the seventh they were down 9-4.  AFC was able to score four runs, but were unable to get the tying run across the plate and lost 9-8.  After four weeks of softball, the Lady Raiders are 3-5 in conference and 3-11 overall.  The Lady Raider JV Softball team picked up three wins to bring their overall record to 5-3.