As we gear up for the second face to face – I just wanted to get some words down on what I’ve been working on (or not working on as much) lately in terms of my ideas for my Cohort 21 experience this year.
As a music teacher – this time of year is very full on. Our end of term concert is coming up in exactly 3 weeks today and with three full grade bands and 4 co-curricular bands to prep and rehearse is taking up almost all of my energy and time. Also trying to get CISMF auditions submitted this week – to say it’s been tough trying to navigate the urgent vs. important concept this past week is an understatement.
I was able to carve some time to meet with my colleague in the English department and discuss some ideas regarding this new unit – it was great not only to bounce ideas off one another but also take a look at how she organizes her teaching and units throughout the year. It’s hard to pop into others’ classes when my own schedule is quite full during the day.
We were able to pin down a rough schedule of how the unit should be laid out – again it’s hard when she might be teaching her Grade 8 classes when I might be teaching another grade but with our supportive admin we will hopefully be able to work out a schedule where I can get support from another music teacher to be able to go into the Grade 8 English classes more often.
We were also able to express our concerns of teaching something we have never really taught before – I volunteered taking on more of the teaching of Hip Hop content (culture, history, art, music, etc.) while she’s going to focus on the literary side (poetry, figurative language, lyric structure, etc.) This also helps us structure our final project and what each of us will be assessing.
I am really looking forward to spending a little more time over the next few weeks getting into resources some of you sent my way (thank you!!) and also putting together lessons and activities for the students. I told them in class that we will be spending time learning more about Hip Hop and Rap music and they were so thrilled! It’ll be such a great experience taking this journey with them in the new year.
Anyway – thanks for reading! Again – just trying to hold myself accountable to avoid putting this off…
See you all Saturday!
@dsimpson This sounds great! I am looping in @lyorke so she can follow along with your progress. I know this is a busy time for music teachers around the world as you prepare for the upcoming holiday concerts. @jgravel @adamcaplan
@dsimpson Loved this update – so glad you are pursuing the interdisciplinary unit. Not surprised to hear the kids are thrilled. I’ll be curious to follow along and perhaps we can try something like this in ourselves next year! See you Saturday!
Holding yourself accountable AND avoiding procrastination are some awesome 2nd order functioning skills, and they are a challenge for so many people!
When I’m feeling procrastinate-y, one of the motivations I like to tap into is working with other people, so it’s great that you’re partnering around the Hip Hip teaching to ‘divide and conquer’.
Looking forward to more conversations this weekend. Congratulations on posting your blog!
Adam
@dsimpson – what a integrated idea! Any collaborations between departments and subject areas are so important…yet so difficult given how busy the year gets (especially for the arts like you said) and our competing schedules and priorities. It takes a lot time and negotiation of time – but it’s so worth it – students get to see how things are interconnected but also get to see their teachers working together in ways they may never have before. It’s not only great learning for them but great modelling as well. I love that you have a supportive admin team and another teacher who is willing to help you with your classes so you can go into others. Mapping that out for next year (we plan so early when we aren’t even finished) might be a helpful ask if this is something you want to continue on. It takes time and perseverance – but reading about all the things you are balancing it looks like that’s normal! There are lots of people in C21 who are willing to share, help and just listen – we have some interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary courses at Havergal (as does the York School @jmedved/@rgaio and HTS @tfaucher just to name a few…I’ve learner a lot from them) so happy to chat anytime. Looking forward to hearing more!
Yes, happy to discuss in more detail the ICE program here at The York School – the students love the integrated approach to the subjects, units and assessments!
@rgaio yes! I’d love to chat about what you’re doing at TYS with the ICE program. I know things are a little full on now – maybe we can touch base in the new year? Thanks!!!
For sure! We’ll discuss at the next F2F. Look forward to it!