Music teacher meeting (the fun part of my job)

Today, all the music teachers from my district got together (all three of us). Last year there were four, and two of them tended to go off on tangents about stuff, but one's been out so just the three of us met. We had a really enjoyable time. We're working on a song to present when our boss retires. So we spent our meeting singing and making up a dance together. Plus we did some gossiping (the principal I've had some issues with is resigning! and so the others are being moved around). This is one of the great parts about being a music teacher. Other teachers go to inservices about reading, but ours involve singing and dancing. When sharing lesson plans, we end up drumming. I think it's important to have that good adult time in my job.

Mainstreaming Special Ed with Music

At my schools, special ed students are mainstreamed for music. That means that a class of special education students (about 15) come to music at the same time as a regular class (32) in my little tiny classroom. My first year, they were just sent with an aid. After discussions with the principal, union reps, and others, we determined that their teacher needed to be present as well. It's still a very frustrating situation.

The worst part for me is the behavior. It's really difficult to manage the behavior of that many students in that small a space at one time. The special ed teacher doesn't do much to help, either. At first, I was hoping she would do all the management of her class since I don't know as much about their disabilities. That didn't work because she doesn't seem to monitor their behavior. So I teach all these students while monitoring and correcting behavior.

Here's what I've tried: Communicating with the teacher so that she'll be more involved with the lesson. Unfortunately, she seems really dingy and either interrupts me and the flow of teaching or just sits off to the side.

I've proposed giving them their own class time (can't because their IEPs specify mainstreaming them in music) or having just a few of them in many different music classes with an aid (the teacher wasn't willing to part with an aid for that much time).

I've tried having the teacher work with them in small groups while I do a whole-class activity with the rest. This doesn't work well when singing, and the time we did this while they were doing group activities, her group totally missed the objective, even though they were just writing what she told them to.

Has anyone had similar frustrations? Are there any suggestions you have? I love all of my students, but the current plan is just not conducive to learning.

Conversations with students

With a special ed student who had walked in the door late and sat down for five minutes, then got up to leave again. His class usually comes with the class that was in there, but hadn't today. I didn't realize he belonged to the other class:

Me: Where are you going?
Him: It's been five minutes, so my teacher said to go back.
M: Your teacher sent you to music for five minutes??
H: Yes. I got in trouble so she said to go for five minutes then go back.
M: Your teacher sent you to music for five minutes as a punishment???
H: Yes. Well, no. I was being lazy on a project so she told me to come here and choose.
M: OK. Have a good day.

Then his teacher called to see if he was on his way. I wish she'd sent a note with him or something.

One concert down and one presumptuous teacher

My fourth grade students at one of my schools performed their show last night. I was really happy with how it went. It was shorter than in the past, with fewer speaking parts, and was pretty much just singing and introducing the songs, plus a recorder group. The students sang in five different languages, music they really enjoyed singing. Today when I saw some of them they told me their show was great! and I agreed. A big difference for this year was that one of the teachers, who usually did a lot with the show, had retired, so I was really in charge. I think I'll try to keep the show the same kind of thing for next year, with maybe more instruments.

I have been having issues with a very presumptuous teacher. This is the first year working with her, and she teaches one of my fourth grade classes. She's the teacher who I had an issue with in this post. Thursday I received an email from her, CC'd to the principal. She was informing me that she wanted me to teach her students a railroad recorder song, plus a Gold Rush one if I had time. Then she reiterated that she doesn't want her students to take recorders home. I was mad. So I responded that her students weren't quite at that level (they're able to repeat notes after me, but I don't know what kind of railroad song I'd teach them before they know "Hot Crossed Buns"). Then I said that I have my own set of standards I need to teach and so it's difficult to take requests from other teachers. She responded well to this so I thought maybe she understood now to treat me as a colleague and not a servant.

Then today she informed me that she'd told her students that everyone who came to the show last night automatically receives the highest grade possible in music. What do I do so that she'll let me do my own job, the way it should be done??? At this point I'm wondering if I need to involve the principal.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Today was one of those days that makes me want to quit being a music teacher. Not because of the students, but because of the other teachers. Last week, for the first time, I allowed a fourth grade class to take their recorders home. My gifted students (some in that class) had been doing so all school year, and the rest of the students were really excited to do the same. I had made them recite to me, and to their classroom teacher, the rules about take recorders home, I told them what to practice, and sent them on their way.

Admittedly, I should have talked to the fourth grade teachers first, but I feel like their response shows no respect to me. Some of the students (I know of one specifically, the class told me less than 5) hit another student with a recorder. Under my procedures, those students would not be allowed to take their recorder home again, and I sure hope the teacher wrote them up. Other students put their recorders in their desks instead of their backpack. Again, by my procedure, those students are not allowed to take their recorder again. But their teacher asked me to not let any of them take them home again. Despite the fact that I see them so little and try to teach them so much, and despite the fact that it is my class and curriculum and the students' recorders, this teacher (and another in her grade level) TOLD me not to let the students take them home.

I only wish I had had the presence of mind at the time to say what I should have.

The Joys of Having a Sub

I'm out sick today. I've had this terrible cough for what seems like forever (the doctor said it may last a month) and have taken one or two days off per week since it started. I hate being out sick, though, because I never know what will happen in my class while I'm out. I've had several interesting substitutes, who rarely ever do what I want:

I had one actually follow my lesson plan (mostly) but teach my students (and somehow they retained this despite my best efforts) that saxophones are in the brass family of instruments. Of course, saxophones are made out of brass, but, by virtue of the reed mouthpieces, are actually in the woodwind family. Plus, no brass instruments have that many keys. But you have no idea how much it work to convince my students of that.

I had another teach my lesson plan to the tee, except she didn't have the students sing, because she herself didn't know how. So I had a music class listen to a song several times, but not actually making music, because somehow the substitute didn't feel qualified to say "sing along this time".

The worst, however, are when they completely ignore my lesson plan. I had a substitute recently who left no note whatsoever. So I asked the students what happened (and I hate having to ask my students what happens in my own classroom). They told me they watched a movie. I didn't leave a movie, and the only movie I found in the room when I returned was Back to the Future, which I think was for the after-school program. The students told me the movie was about musical instruments, so I don't think it was Back to the Future, but I wish the lady had returned my phone calls. At least I don't expect the office will schedule her for me again.

And sometimes there is no substitute for me. Then it's really embarrassing to ask my students what happened in my classroom. And I have to figure out how to "make-up" the time.

I have had a substitute lately, who I hope to have again today. He doesn't understand music, but leaves thorough notes, doesn't yell at the students, and when I get back there are stacks of papers they wrote, showing me that they did something. You would think leaving the book of lessons developed by our textbook series developed specifically for non-music substitutes would be a bit more idiot-proof.