Day 98: Life As A Coach

Daily Blog Challenge Day 98/365

Today we had a basketball tournament. We won our first game and we lost our second game by one.  It was a tough loss and there were extra circumstances that made the game more frustrating.  I was frustrated and my players were frustrated.

As a coach, I think my frustration can come across as anger. I am not upset with my players for loosing the game. I become upset when effort and attitude are not what they should be.  I am a firm believer that the game of basketball (any sport for that matter) is pointless.  The point in playing these games is to learn life lessons.

In life, loosing is not an option. Winning a job interview enables me to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. Following rules and expectations allows me to not get in trouble with the law. 

How do you teach life lessons in your class?  Thank you for reading!

Day 97: No More Goals

Daily Blog Challenge Day 97/365

I have always been a believer in setting goals.  As I reflect on first semester as a coach/teacher and absorb more of the information I have been reading/listening to lately; I am realizing that setting goals is not the best practice.

I often ask my players what their goals are for the season.  This year I am taking it a step farther with my softball girls.  Along with their goals, I want them to list what they need to do to achieve them.  This focus on the process is vital!

If my goal is to be a great teacher that is great, but the more important step is what do I need to do to get there?  Along with goal setting, we need to teach our students and ourselves to focus on the process.  It is easy to forget about all the hard work and effort that goes into achieving goals.

As we approach the start of 2014 and many sit down to write resolutions of goals for next year, I am (and I urge you to too) going to focus on what I need to do in order to achieve the goals I have set.

I would love to hear how you set goals in your own life and with your students/players.  Thank you for reading.

Day 96: 2 AM Musings

Daily Blog Challenge Day 96/365

Once again I find myself unable to sleep. After two nights of it this week, I am beginning to see the impacts of lack of sleep on my behavior and attitude. As an adult, you say you are having trouble sleeping and most other adults understand and give you a little leeway. I am thankful for their understanding and I wonder how often I do this for my students...

I find it challenging to create strong relationships with all of my students when I only seen them for eighty minutes a day and it can be exhausting to always be engaging in 1:1 conversations with all of my students. I wonder how often I react with frustration with my students instead of with empathy and love. 

After all, I am an adult having trouble sleeping. My students often have little control over their home situation. They may be tired, hungry or just need a hug and to know someone cares about them. My goal for the rest of this semester is to make sure my students know I care and worry about them. It is easy to get caught up in concerts and the busyness of the season, but students and relationships are truly what my job is about. 

I would love to hear how you build strong relationships with your students. Thank you for reading. 

Day 95: What Makes a Good Concert?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 95/365

I struggle with keeping my students engaged while also being realistic with what we can accomplish without spending all of our time on preparing for a concert.

Large parts of our audience is not musically educated, so will they even notice some of the "hard" things we do?  I am trying something new this year with my elementary program by just doing a concert instead of a program with speaking roles. I am nervous about how everyone will react. At the end of the day, it is impossible to please everyone. At the same time, these concerts are a visual test of how well I am doing my job and bad reception makes it easier for the community to cut the arts. 

My goal for concerts is for my students to learn thru preparing and to enjoy singing for their family. Time constraints limit some of what we are able to do. 

How do you judge if a concert went well? Thank you for reading.

Day 94: Google Drive (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 94/365

Technology Tuesday

I am a big fan of Google Apps. My first laptop had a small hard drive, so I relied on Google drive for writing papers and storing material.  I now work in a Google District (although I have been using Google Apps for years) and I continue to see the greatness of this product. 

The best part for schools is that it is free.  There are so many possibilities and opportunities that make completing projects easier.  I am teaching a media class this year and Google Apps has made projects and assessments much easier.  Students in our district 5-12 have individual e-mail addresses through Google.

Great Things About Google Apps
1.  Free.
2.  Plenty of storage room for e-mails.
3.  The ability to have multiple people work on the same project at the same time.
4.  Documents, power points, spreadsheets, forms, calendars and email. (These are the main ones that I use.)
5.  The ability to sync all of your files/apps together.
6.  The ability to share files with other people.
7.  The ability to share up to date files without resending.

I would love to hear how you use Google Drive in your classroom.  Thank you for reading.

Day 93: Music Theory Worksheets (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 93/365

Material Monday

I am not a huge fan of worksheets, but I see their value at times in my classroom.  I found these music theory worksheets online and they work perfectly for 3rd/4th grade when we are starting to learn how to read music.  They are sequenced and allow the students to focus on one aspect at a time (lines or spaces.)

Beginner Note Naming Practice

Which resource sites have you found to be the most helpful?  Thank you for reading.

Day 92: My Top Thirteen of First Semester

Daily Blog Challenge Day 92/365

First Semester of the 2013-2014 School Year has been a wonderful ride.  Here are my Top Ten of First Semester

1.  My 5th/6th Grade Chorus grew by ten members.
2.  I spent last season as a volunteer coach and was recently offered the Varsity Position.
3.  The Middle School Music Department has 75% school participation.
4.  My Elementary students participated in their first Skype Performances.
5.  I am able to use my random technology knowledge to teach 5th Grade Media.
6.  I started a year long blog challenge, which has helped me reflect and grow as a teacher.
7.  I was able to start my second year at the same school.
8.  I joined the Praise Team at my Church, which enables me to play drums more often.
9.  My Elementary Classroom has a Twitter Account, Facebook Account and a website to communicate with parents.
10.  My Elementary Classroom has a Twitter Account to communicate with other classrooms.