Rebellious thoughts from camp.

Inadequacy. In some ways, I feel like that's the only way I can describe my summer.

"But Tyler, how on Earth can you feel that way? You've done this before. You've been to college. You went in just finishing a teaching job!"

But that's just it.

I loved my teaching job in Ludington. It was the best thing to happen and I was happy to have a positive experience at the secondary level, work with students that were actually MY kids, teach them about singing, and learn more about teaching (and the challenges I'm still facing). But the one problem that had to do with camp that was that I had to rush right off to Tustin. Don was perfectly okay with this, for which I was very grateful. But in some respects, I thought I was going in unprepared for the next phase of life, which took a lot of twists. Staff training went great and I got to meet the rest of the team and reunite with some old friends. And together, everyone made a pretty good team this year.

Week 1... Junior High Camp in Huron. Pastor Jim Lacy, speaker.
My summer started a LOT like summer 2009 - with junior high boys up at High Point. And it was a great beginning this year-I had an absolutely AMAZING tent of guys, and so did Cameron. We could take them just about anywhere, do just about anything with them because they were game for just about anything. I'm still sad we weren't able to pull off camping out on Sunshine Mountain with them because they totally would have loved it!. They were probably one of the most chill group of junior high guys I've had in a cabin/tent yet.

Cameron had a camper in his tent that totally got all geeked about the Bible studies and loved talking about stuff with me - we had quite a discussion about Revelation 21 before our campfire and God making His dwelling with His people. He got all excited just talking about that and the pure thought of living with God someday on the newly-recreated Earth. I really hope Sonny becomes an SMT-he's totally the kind of person that I could see doing it. I really wish I could have had a chance to talk with him some more, but I couldn't. But talking with my guys about stuff WAS awesome.

Week 2... Junior Camp in Pictured Rock. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
For the first time, I didn't have a long move! But I had to switch tents up at High Point (from Huron to Pictured Rock). And it meant switching mental gears - week 2 was our week where camp was completely loaded with younger kids. Though I was technically working with junior campers, it felt at times like I was counseling Pre Camp for the first time in two years just because of the age of some of my kids (they couldn't be more than 8 or 9) and how needy they were, except all week.

Despite some of the bad stupid moments, it was actually a pretty good cabin (one of the better junior cabins I've had-and I've had some rough ones), I had some hilarious moments with them (the best quote of the summer came from one of my kids doing counselor impressions-"Why don't we just SKIP IT!!"), and one of my boys got saved this week at camp, which is the big reason why we do what we do at camp-starting and renewing relationships with Christ. Not a bad week at all.

Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Dave Heyn, speaker.
I made the longest move ever (from High Point to Ranch!). As I made the transition, I was praying/hoping a bit before this week began for a number of reasons. Last year's drama with all the campers the week we had girls and guys at Ranch Camp, plus all the rain that made it tough to be outside (and the c-c-c-COLD!) made for a pretty miserable week. I really, REALLY didn't want a bad week for my kids this year. Thankfully, this week was much sunnier, warmer, and despite PLENTY of interaction between the campers (a lot of these kids are in middle school, and one of my once-junior campers is now taller than me, yikes!), the kids had a good week. And despite an age gap of around 5-6 years between my youngest and oldest campers and a good ten-twelve inches in height between them, all the guys got along very well. The guys were LOUD. The girls were LOUD. But it wasn't a bad kind of loud, as I was talking with Carissa, Michelle, and Ethan. It was just... crazy.

Counseling at Ranch Camp is always special just because we're out away from everything else so the kids tend to bond pretty quickly and I've gotten to know some of these kids over the past, well, now three years. Some of them I've gotten to watch literally grow up (and they're taller than I am now, which is a little scary!) I had some really good talks with my guys this year, I really enjoyed praying with them, and also had a reminder about sometimes service at camp is in the behind-the-scenes rather than the fun, obvious things that staffers do. Mandi reminded me of that in a friendly but very clear way.

(I also saw a lot of my former campers from years past on this week, including my dudes from the TC area from my very first week of counseling - they're junior high campers now too, they're getting tall, and it's reminding me how long I've been doing this.)

-Pause, partial staff exit to Mackinac Island for weekend of mayhem-

Week 4... Senior High Camp with Isaiah and Seth in Squirrel. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
I was really psyched about this for a number of reasons. First, high school camp was loads of fun last year, I learned a ton from the week, and... well, a little more simply,

1. I was back at MAIN CAMP. That means being near other people and stuff.
   
2. I was with Isaiah (with whom I hadn't counseled since his very first week ever as a CIT back in 2008!) and Seth.
3. A number of my high school campers from last year were back yet again!

But the week wasn't just all kicks and giggles - a nearly stress-free week the year before with high school guys the year before wasn't like that this year. I had one camper who had some additional needs (hence why Seth was also in the cabin) who ended up needing to leave early. I was honest with other staffers that while I was bummed that he couldn't stay, I was also a little relieved with regards to not having the extra stress, and Seth was able to stick around in our cabin and work with the other guys. Speaking of visiting staff, this was again the week for visitors-Austin, Rachel, & Patrick all came back as counselors again and Isaac came ALL the way up from Kansas to visit family and ended up stopping in to see everyone at camp!

The teaching was REALLY good-Pastor Ryan challenged the kids (and made me think about how to make all this stuff real in my own life) and so did my fellow colleagues during their talks to the guys about purity. The time of sharing around the campfire was especially powerful and I really enjoyed how real it was. That, I believe, is one of the positive facets being able to serve the older campers. Even though there's more drama and the issues can get more difficult, we can really attack what's going on in people's lives and say, "Hey. This is what this is. And yeah, it IS tough. The Bible says this. Take joy from that alone. And let's live it like this so we're not going home without some sort of idea of what to do."

-Pause, partial staff exit to Ludington during Family Camp for weekend of rest and mayhem-

Week 5... Junior High Camp in Petoskey. Pastor Scott Gardziella, speaker.
The transition from senior high campers (who really ARE exhausting!) was a bit easier this time around-I had junior high the following week! But to be honest, I was a little dismayed to be back at High Point because... it gets lonely way back where no one goes except us. However, I was with Dan again and Colby too, and since it was a trio of tents, we'd be doing stuff together. I also had some campers that I knew from either having had at camp before or from church, so that was exciting. However, this week was a bit taxing for a number of reasons.

I had some campers that just simply have stuff going on. Others didn't, so the tent dynamic was REALLY dichotomous. And this was where teaching really got intense. Again. I had on my mind a lot of the stuff from Senior High Camp and I wasn't entirely sure how it might play into this week, though I was certain I didn't want to just ignore it, since I knew

1. It's relevant to junior high guys.
2. Ignoring the topics we discussed with during senior high week would NOT be an option. They're part of that whole pie related to what life actually LOOKS LIKE for a Christian who wants to mean what he says about not just praying the prayer to be one and walking away.
   

But how? As it ended up happening, Bible study became the launching point and we took it from there. It ended up working just fine between Bible study, a prayer work that dovetailed into our campfire and a couple of discussions I had with some of the guys. I felt like I wasn't prepared to talk about such heavy, deep topics. I felt downright inadequate, like I was the wrong person. But if I didn't... then I wasn't sure if anyone would. And as I've thought about it, I wish I'D have heard about this kind of stuff at camp and church and youth group than school and health classes. So if we don't talk to these guys about the scary, heavy-hitting topics that we don't like... then who will?

I talked to a couple of core staff during the week, who knew I wasn't doing well-Becky gave me some good advice along the way and said, "Do a heart check, then." She highly recommended spending some time in prayer, in the Word and finding out where I am and getting my brain, my heart, and so on back where it should be-serving Christ, and my campers, right there and then rather than worrying about me. And it made a difference. Despite it being a tougher week, some of the best conversations I had with campers came from this week. And the kids appreciated it.

-Postlude, staff exuent to First Street Beach in Manistee for enough steak to slay an elephant and a night on the sand and the water (and fish throwing!)-

Appendix... with various staff.
Beach times were great. I ate way too much steak, tons of other snacky stuff, drank tons of pop and let out a couple belches that impressed Don and Sue (yes!), and played some pretty epic volleyball with Kristen, Tiki, Jamie, Candace, Mike, and other people I'm forgetting. Saying good-bye was hard as always because as I've personally experienced twice now, I never know when I'll see some of these good friends again. Sometimes it's not for around a year (or more!), as was the case when Isaiah woke me up from a near-sleep as promised when he arrived for staff training. It's tough-the people you serve with become your greatest friends and separation becomes tough, but I think back to what Trygve taught around graduation in 2008 at Hope: "It's not good-bye. It's until we meet again." How true it us, for those of us who are in Christ.

So I came home for the first week of what Center Lake calls "rental" camps, essentially where churches come, do a week-long retreat at camp on their own, and we provide whatever support they need to run camp. Depending on their needs, it might be a little or a lot. I stayed home the first week and... went camping with the visiting family from NJ. The cousins (and so did Uncle Wade!) asked a zillion things about camp, so I finally showed them two weeks of footage from junior high and senior high camps, including testimonials from campers (thanks Isaac, yours really helped sell it!). Allie and Luke asked Uncle Wade point blank, "We want to go to Center Lake next summer!" I'm praying already.

I returned to Center Lake after that week for Valley Family Church's (VFC) rental camp with its middle school & high school youth groups, as I have every year. It was good to see a number of my friends again and to do camp again. Though it's their camp (and their church staff is getting very good at scheduling and running things by now), they still have us help them out with the more intense areas. So it's fun to come back and help out-I like it and I've come to enjoy working with their staff. They're very appreciative and so are the kids. I got to go on possibly the largest boating outing we've ever taken on the Pine River with Don, Jesse, & Monika and I had the privilege of going in the double kayak (the Stalker). Even cooler, I jumped it over a rock, so I can literally say I jumped the Stalker! As an additional bonus, I got to work the guest High Ropes group from Son-Life Camp & Retreat Center down in Wayland on their Outpost trip - (cool aside: their extra-tall staffer got two solid kicks off the Sky Deck with some coaching from Duane on the Giant Swing and almost landed a third!) I figured after this week and one final service at Temple Hill, I'd be done and returning home, but... Duane asked me, "Tyler, what are you doing next week?"
"Um, nothing yet."
"Would you like to work at camp next week?"

And with that, I was set to come back for another week, this time with Woodside Bible Church network out of the Detroit metro area and its kids camp. It was definitely different than VFC but they were also appreciative and I liked working with them too. Lots of time spent in housekeeping (as with the previous week) and at the flying squirrel and climbing tower. And after Thursday's programming was up, I had myself already packed up and ready to go and had to say my good-byes to everyone who was still there. In a way, I was ready to say farewell for the summer but at the same time, it was hard. But then came the whirlwind weekend-Spring Lake, Muskegon, Coopersville, and Holland all in two days for Ben's bachelor party/prayer night, visiting Leah, visiting Ross (and seeing Matt!), and Ben's wedding! Quite a weekend.

So. What did I take away from one and a half weeks of staff training, five weeks of counseling, one week off, two weeks of retreat hosting/housekeeping, and a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends/watching one of my closest friends finally tie the knot with his wife?

1. I felt completely, utterly inadequate to teach my guys on some of the scariest topics that people face. I knew that I had to talk to them about this stuff, and I didn't want to touch any of it with a ten-foot pole. But somehow, despite all my failings (and the fact that God knew I really didn't want to do any of this), it still worked out. I'm not Moses. I'm not Elijah. Or Jeremiah. But my kids still got the point. And it made a difference.
2. I really, REALLY need to know my Bible better. I felt like the parts that I did get through earlier this spring in my attempt to read through in three months I know better than ever. But the rest is still cloudy. And make no mistake, this goal will be a lifelong goal. It's something I know everyone should strive for, but I believe especially as someone who wants to work with kids at youth group and camp that it's possibly even more important.

I don't want my whole summer (because it pretty much has except for a few weeks) to be a gigantic Jesus jolt, as my camper, Darin, rightfully describes it. Yes, I miss my friends and would love to see them all the time. I miss the place called Center Lake Bible Camp. I gladly admit that I miss people that I love. I love the memories.

But as summertime has ended: I take away a resolve to know my Bible better. I REBEL AGAINST IGNORANCE!!!!

They DID it! THEY DID it! THEY DID IT!!!!!

The feeling hasn't really worn off yet.

This must be what it's like to meet your students, work with them like crazy on something, wonder if it will come together when it's showtime, and then you wait to find out the judges' ruling, and BAM!

I seriously couldn't be more proud to have been a small part of it.

I got thrown into the Solo & Ensemble cycle rather late this year, as it seems a lot of things happened with my teaching work. But the experience was well-worth the effort. My co-teacher asked me to work with two of the students here at Ludington in prepping for State Solo & Ensemble, which meant not only did I not get to work with them at Districts, but I had less time to work with these students and my first experience as an instructor/accompanist at S&E is at the state level! So no pressure at all to deliver.

But funny how things work out.

Out of the seven Ludington HS planned to take to state, I ended up only working with one of them, which kept things fairly simple for learning music, even if scheduling got a little bit tricky. In the end, it worked out quite well and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to basically teach voice lessons for a spell with this student. What was really refreshing was he took it all in and WANTED to take something out of it-I didn't sense he was merely parroting what I was teaching/saying, but thinking it through and sharing his own thoughts and watching the final product take shape. (And, might I add, I discovered at the festival that he also wants to be a music teacher! THAT makes me happy!)

The result? When it came for performance, EVERYONE gave pretty much everything they had despite a normal amount of anxiety. And the best part?

EVERYONE also earned an overall Division I rating, including one of them earning a straight Division I. I couldn't be more excited or proud of what was accomplished!

That, right there, is part of why I love teaching. Working with singers that WANT to sing, that WANT to get better, and WANT to go farther. And celebrating the victory together is the sweetener on top.

A good laugh from teaching

One of the things I've learned from working as a teacher again up here in Ludington is that laughter is important.

The past couple of days have been taxing, although we HAVE gotten some good things done with my kids. I'm still feeling encouraged by how well they're singing and am SERIOUSLY looking forward to our spring concert and my first one teaching on my own! *Happy dance*

Today (well, "yesterday," technically), I spent a bit of time working alongside Ms. Sopha with the Concert Choir while they were doing sectional assignments. I remember doing those in high school and at Hope with Dr. Richmond, and they're absolutely fascinating. The nuances of the human voice make vocal blend tricky yet interesting. But when you hear it come together, it's unmistakable.

And apparently, these high school students knew that *I* knew too. When Ms. Sopha working with the bass section, I was sitting out with the rest of the choir listening as she kept having students move around until the lineup was almost right, and then I thought I heard them find their sweet spot, as it were. Two of the guys switched places, and apparently I did something. One of the guys said, "Don't do it! Racey doesn't like it!"

I absolutely love it when students make me laugh like that.

SPRING BREAK

It feels like a million years since the last time I've posted anything on this. Mostly because...

Several days after talking to Ben (refer to the previous post), I got a teaching job in the Ludington Area School district for the rest of the year. It's only one class at the middle school. But it's definitely a start, and if it dovetails into a teaching job either in Ludington or somewhere else, it'll be great. And I've had a chance to dip my feet into the water of working with students in middle school drama, middle school choir, and high school choir. It's been an absolute blast. Plus, I get to go with two of the high school singers who will be singing at State Solo & Ensemble in April. So I get a little bit of experience coaching/accompanying them like a voice instructor. My work really is a little bit of everything!

It's had its challenges, working mostly with middle school students, but I enjoy my job.

And on top of that, I had the wonderful surprise of working the final Quiz Bowl meet down in Newaygo. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to moderate, but in working Jordan's room, we made it like the WSCC tourney. Awesome. Plus a little extra cash is nice.

In other news, life in church music never fails to take its twists and turns. "Unfailing Love" with the Paynes was awesome. So was "All Because of Jesus" with Nate & Bob. I'll admit I was a bit frustrated with "Glory" and doing that with Lifted Voice, but it seemed to turn out well. I'm SERIOUSLY looking forward to the planning process/putting together "Desert Song" with the Paynes and everyone else involved. Hopefully it'll be fairly smooth, sound amazing, and most importantly, glorifying to God and minister to everyone who hears the song (yes, I'm geeked!)

And I might be headed to Center Lake for the weekend in April (maybe?!)

Life is good.

Oh how life changes in a week

I was talking to Ben just on Monday night. It was awesome because,

1. I miss my friend. College relationships are a blessing and a bummer. I love them, hate them, love to hate them, and thank Jesus for them so much.

2. We got a chance to ask each other how we could pray for one another. I mentioned stuff on my end about, amongst other things, teaching and finding a job.

Two days after that, I get a voicemail related to a part-time job at LUDINGTON. Two days after THAT, I actually HAVE said job. Two days from now, I start.

I couldn't be more thankful to, first of all, be WORKING, and second, in MUSIC EDUCATION, for the first time in about two years. It's such a great feeling to say, "HEY! I'm WORKING. I'm a TEACHER!" If this dovetails into a real, honest-to-goodness "big person" full-time job, it'd really be my dream come true.

But for now, I'll be thankful for what I do have. God answers prayer. (And I have to lesson plan REALLY FAST!)

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Jobs and Playing

As I sit here writing (and enjoying the fact that I'm blogging on a more regular basis again, regardless of who reads or doesn't read it), I have a number of thoughts bubbling in my head.

I'm eagerly anticipating sending off a REAL job application to an institution here in town. Like the kind doing what I want to do-teaching music to young bright minds. That sounds like so much fun to me that I can barely contain my excitement at just the thought of printing a résumé, cover letter, application, having references together, packing it up in an envelope, putting the postage on it, and sending it away and having someone even think about all that. It gets to be a drag after a short time (especially if you have to do it lots of times), but there's a certain sense of exhilaration the first time you're doing it for real. Especially now that I'm really starting to get that restless feeling of wanting to teach MY students. MY kids.

The second thought I had spinning around had to do with practice tonight. Bob had mentioned with a certain degree of irony I think on Sunday how strange or ironic that the youth are leading music on the very first Sunday of Advent and on Communion Sunday. I personally don't understand why there is a certain taboo with Advent, Communion, or why the youth would be "banned" from playing on any particular day if needed or the calendar was arranged so. If we played and sang to the Lord, with joy, as skillfully as we can (and don't sell the youth at our church short-it sounded great tonight), why isn't THAT really good enough? Isn't that what worship through music really is?

I really don't understand it myself.

Monday, 23 November 2009

DON'T PUNISH EDUCATION!

I want to be a teacher. And it's been a dream of mine for a long time.

Right now I'm working on becoming one again and hopefully that'll happen. But I've been reminded how current events rarely seem to be in favor of teachers. There's always plenty of demands placed on them, like lesson planning, grading, conferences, and all the needs of the students that aren't always so obvious, such as when parents aren't there and they rely on a teacher they trust for guidance. It seems like the work never ends.

And one of the most obvious points is how glaringly low pay has stayed for teachers. Despite costs of living continuing to increase, pay for teachers just isn't going up and with school districts everywhere having to make sacrifices, teachers are never paid well. The one potent counterweight is that teachers have great benefits.

But now Congress would love to tax the daylights out of them in order to raise money for the public health plan. How on Earth is this the right option in a recession, especially in states (like Michigan) where school districts are facing record-setting losses and trying to shield students from the losses year after year?

Thursday, 08 October 2009

What's Come Over Our Schools?

So at dinner tonight, I heard about one of my friends who has a teaching job down in Indiana. As I heard how she's doing, I wanted to throw my fork in the wall (and visualize it sticking to the stud and vibrating like in the movies).

My poor friend graduated from Bethel College with a major in Elementary Education and probably had high hopes for her own classroom and dreamed of all kinds amazing things she'd do once she was on her own as a teacher. Instead, she's scrambling to write curriculum while her students have NO TEXTBOOKS and what, for all practical purposes, sound like bare-bones resources to work with. Meanwhile, she's barely keeping her head above water with lesson planning, correcting papers, quizzes, tests, and the like, managing the classroom, and let's not forget that with being married, she has to be a wife too. Coming home through a half-hour commute from school to my house at 9:30 sounds AWFUL.

"Well, Tyler, surely it gets better with experience in larger districts and when you're a veteran."

WRONG. I was just talking with Dr. Richmond while I was down at Hope College during a visit after seeing Jeremy Camp in concert in GR and deciding to stick around for a short visit with friends. Needless to say, I was dismayed to hear how Mr. De Boer has been treated.

For starters, he's now in the last two schools he can picture himself possibly teach in that he hadn't already worked in the district. I know I find that ridiculous that the district has shuffled its music specialists that much and never let them settle with their resources/establish themselves in their own space. But what really gets my goat is what he has to work with in one school in particular.

My host teacher is a loyal employee. I'm not sure how many years he's worked in Holland, but in his time, he started the elementary choirs, the Ensemble (which has sung for the Detroit Pistons), established a friendly working relationship with the Hope College Department of Music, and there's more. Now, my teacher (who taught ME so much as well as a teacher-in-training) is now forced to work off a small cart in each teacher's room for music class. He doesn't even HAVE a classroom in one school.

I can't imagine how I'd feel. I always had at least a ROOM to work with during field placements and student teaching. If I didn't have a space... what to do? How do you TEACH music when the students can't even move from their seats and do anything besides listen?

I think of my friend's plight and being almost in over her head with planning and my mentor's plight of not even having ample space to work with. As much as I want to start teaching (and I was recently reminded how much happiness it can bring me), those kinds of prospects REALLY frightens me. If all I'm doing is staying up late working on lessons and cramming myself/students into tiny spaces that don't teach much, I'm not sure how much I want to be involved.

Currently MMHMM By Relient K Be My Escape see related

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

Thank you, Hope.

It was good to visit Hope. I needed to visit people. I needed to goof around with Ross. I needed to meet with Dr. Randel. I needed to have her answer some questions for me. I needed to see the campus. I needed to laugh at the shuttle bus. Yes, Hope College now has a bus (for real). I'm still in shock. I needed to take care of some business and have a little closure on some things. And as usual, I needed to have someone be rude to me so the whole thing wouldn't be a bed of thornless roses. And to make the whole experience complete, I needed to get rained on.

But there's definitely a sense of... the place has moved on. Hope College and Holland, Michigan, while they are special to me, aren't my home anymore. Unless I were to move there for a job, or for Western Theological Seminary, or back to Hope for another baccalaureate degree (umm, no?), I know that those places aren't home anymore. It just ISN'T. It's another place, where I marked out a valuable four years of my life and I've now closed the book and opened a new chapter somewhere else.

I think Dr. Randel made it a bit clearer to me where my path lies, though. "Can we talk about graduate school, please?" And the thought that kept sticking in my mind is what she said about what her life is like now. "My life now as a professor isn't all that different. It focuses more now on teaching, but I still do my research when I'm not doing things related to teaching. It's not that different from graduate school."

Music education, while it is something that I will always advocate for, and value, has slowly changed for me. That sounds, more and more, like something that I want. In fact, I think that's probably more what I've always wanted all along. I've wanted to teach at a higher level. And in fact, I think the preparation in the music education program at Hope may come back to be the most helpful thing for teaching if I do in fact want to teach at the collegiate level. I remember ranting about professors who have no teaching ability because they have no idea how teaching works or qualities of a teacher. I know if I want to be a professor, I don't want to be one of them.

The question is now... where to begin? Where would I like to go? What do I want to study? And... how do I reach Dr. Randel's elusive goal that she laid for me: NOT PAYING FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL? Is this the next step? Or does God have something else for me first?

Comments(1)

Just keep following God's lead! sounds like an interesting visit to hope!

Buhcaw

Wednesday, 30 April 2008

Learn from the experts today!

Today was an observation day. I watched North Shore Middle School's bands hard at work preparing for the parades for Tulip Time in the morning with Ms. Root and then two of Mr. Bird's choirs at Holland Christian High School. And that was fun-I've never watched a marching band practice before!

I've also seen how my reputation has gone before me, to an extent. One of the students from the 8th grade play remembered me right away. I wouldn't expect to hear, "Hey Mr. Racey," from one of the band kids, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. He's one of North Shore's finest and sharp as a nail.

As I watched Mr. Bird teaching, I couldn't help but hope that my students would end up singing with him. I hope that they stay in choir and enjoy it, because even in those two rehearsals, I can see why kids can come to like him. He's fun. And his program is successful. It's clear. They're doing good music.

I also met a student who's an older sibling of one of my students. It was funny, but maybe the word I'm looking for is remarkable. This fellow was everything I'd expect him to be: in voice timbre, musicality, looks, and even mannerisms. Growing up, even though I know I didn't look a thing like Jordan, I drew comparisons from teachers to him all the time because of the way I acted and how I would think. Having lived with that so much, I learned not to do the same to this older brother today because I could just tell he and my 8th grade student get the "You're just alike!" bit all the time, and that grows old. I hope as a teacher that I don't do that to students. They're all different. But I quietly thought to myself how the simlarities were uncanny. It's cool.

Seeing Mr. Bird and what he can do with such a large group of students gives me hope. Students can do great things with music. And I don't care what I'm being told, about this whole nonsense of, "You need to go for elementary." I won't give up something that I have a passion for that easily. I love it too much, and I've watched with my own eyes what can happen when good things are produced. I will continue to dream.

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Random Teaching Thoughts

1. My middle schoolers are resilient creatures. They have adjusted to my methods remarkably well, even though I don't work exactly like my mentor. One example is in performance. I have stuck to my guns when it comes to never, EVER singing with the students in performance, and they know that. 7th and 8th graders have come to realize that, and they pulled it off in Lansing at the State Capitol. My 6th graders at South Shore just pulled it off yesterday for Grandparents Day, and I'm proud as punch. They were great.
2. Teaching recorders takes grit. You have to be prepared for lots of overblowing on the first day because the students are going to use too much air and they take time to figure out how little is required, and a few might even find it funny (note to self: DON'T LET THEM. IT ISN'T, AND IT ISN'T GOOD FOR YOUR SANITY TO LET THEM.). Keep the headache medicine nearby for the end of the day.
3. Music theory CAN be an interesting unit... provided there's a fun goal in mind. I just successfully finished a six-week unit on music theory to students in grades 1-3, and they LOVED it. The trick was to make writing songs the end goal, and my oh my, did they run with that. I was a little sick of playing elementary music compositions by the end, but to see the delighted responses by the end was worth it all. And engagement level in some of my students when they were independently working to correct and adjust their pieces was priceless-something I wish I could have recorded on a video and uploaded to TeacherTube.
   

So hard to think that my student teaching is almost coming to a close.

Saturday, 19 April 2008

Being a student teacher... out in the world

I sure do teach a lot of students. A LOT of them, ALL OVER CREATION. Some of my fellow teaching colleagues figured that out, too. I was talking in the teacher's lounge during lunch at Harrington this week to one of the second grade teachers and she mentioned to me that she thought it was cool that I teach her daughter at Holland Christian in addition to her second grade class. I had to laugh; she told me how she and her daughter were talking at home one day about it.

"There's a student teacher working with the music teacher out at Harrington."
"Really? That's interesting, we have one, too."
"Hmm. Do you remember his name? Ours is named Mr. Racey."
"Are you serious? That's OUR student teacher!"

And then it dawned on them. The student teacher was the same guy.

I sometimes live in a fantasy, dream-like world as a teacher. When the clock strikes the end of a day of school, I know I don't exactly quit being a teacher. I've realized that much. But when I leave school, I sometimes forget that my students also leave, and that they're just as much out there in that big world, too. And that I might see them, too, when I leave Hope's campus and go out there. Boy, did I ever experience that tonight.

Encounter No. 1: I'm sitting at Wendy's, eating my dinner, enjoying a nice read with a copy of St. Augustine's Confessions. I had a long day busily teaching at Maplewood and the really small kiddos at Lakeview for the first time since February, so they were happy to see me. To my surprise, one of my 3rd graders from Maplewood that I had just taught that day spotted me and says hello. I wave and say hello to Alex, a little embarrassed-I'm dressed pretty casual and looking like a college student.

Encounter No. 2: Nate, Nik, Ross, and I decided that a movie night required some more fun-ness by some ice cream first. That necessitated our first spring outing to Captain Sundae. As I'm walking with my friends, one of my 4th graders from Jefferson is walking with her parents towards their car. Emma looks at me, stares for a second, and says, "Hey Mr. Racey!" I look back and smile, say hello, and wave. Two student encounters in one day? That's unusual.

Encounter No. 3: I know exactly what I want... the Sand Dune looks delicious, and ice cream sounds great tonight. I get to the counter, and I'm greeted with, "Hi, Mr. Racey!" I can't believe it. Inside is one of my sixth graders from North Shore with a huge smile on his face when I look to see him. Matt helped make a delicious sundae for me, though. I can't complain.

Currently Reading St. Augustine Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) By Saint Augustine see related

Thursday, 21 February 2008

What is my method of choice?

In elementary music, there are tons of different methods to choose from. Zoltán Kodály's methods & Carl Orff 's Schulwerk are two classic examples. Another that is a little less-frequently used and sometimes not seen until even college comes from Émile-Jacques Dalcroze. Shinichi Suzuki's methods have grown since World War II, and a big one that's certain to become more influential at Hope with our new music education professor are Edwin Gordon's methods.

Sticking to one method is unhealthy, so my hope is always that a good music teacher synthesizes a variety of methods in the classroom to teach elementary students about music. However, it's natural to gravitate towards a particular method that resonates with you. I think I'm finding mine.

ETM. Education Through Music. Singing and games. Singing games. They're so engaging, but they're fun. They're what I would call truly exuberant. "Sing joyfully!"

I tried my hand at teaching students ETM games for the first time today. I actually had neither song or "choreography" in my methods references, so I had to refresh them with Mr. DeBoer, but thankfully my memory wasn't TOO dusty and after about one lesson, things started to go pretty well.

It's really fascinating to see differences from one class to the next. Some catch on so fast and get it almost instantly. Others need more practice. But, that's music. And that's what makes it so cool.

But the thing about these ETM games was... every set of students were collectively engaged. Once they started to get the hang of what to do, they got into it. Fast. And they wanted to keep doing it. It's fun.

And isn't that what music should be?

I think I believe in ETM.

InterVarsity's larger group gathering was just plain sweet tonight. I'm not sure what it was, but I sensed something bigger tonight than just Ross, Nik, and I simply singing in front of our friends. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would be at work and that it wouldn't be us. Was that what I noticed? I know one thing's for sure... the old school music definitely can still reach people. I love songs like "Better is One Day" and "Beautiful One" and all, but it was great doing our own take on songs like "Be Thou My Vision" and "Be Still My Soul." Mmm...

Be still, my soul... and be my vision, O Lord of my heart.

Thursday, 17 January 2008

Be Quiet

I told Brandon last night that while I'm student teaching, one thing I think I'll need to do in order to maintain my sanity is to take at least a little time for myself each day. I'll simply lose it if I don't.

Funny thing is, when I do, it often ends up relating to teaching, in at least some obtuse way.

I've been reading through Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Last year, a lot of students here at Hope read that book in small groups and Campus Ministries focused a lot of talks on the topics discussed by Bonhoeffer. I'm still not entirely sure what possessed me to wait so long to read the book. Trygve invited me to read it last year and it sounded interesting. But I think it was the Holy Spirit's leading that had me wait, and in the end, I think it was good.

Last night, one of the things I read really struck home. Bonhoeffer wrote that in order to minister to others, you have to be quiet. Sometimes, the person you're ministering needs to talk to you, and you need to shut up, listen with full attention, and not throw in your thoughts all the time. Be quiet, and listen.

I've heard similar things with teaching. You can't be talking all the time when teaching. Students can't stand when the teaching is talking all the time, especially in music. I know I would go crazy if I never got to participate or sing in music classes. It makes sense for the music teacher to shut up.

I didn't think that reading Bonhoeffer's advice on how to minister to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ would help me with my teaching. But I guess that's the little surprises I sometimes get.

Be quiet. It's a good practice. Listen to people. They have something to say, too, and it really does matter when you listen.

Currently Listening Handel: Messiah (Complete Oratorio); Battle, Quivar, Aler, Ramey, Davis By George Frideric Handel, Andrew Davis, Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, John Aler, Samuel Ramey, Toronto Symphony Orchestra & Toronto Mendelssohn Choir No. 53-Worthy is the Lamb see related

Thursday, 06 December 2007

Wow, what a day

Telling my student at West Middle School goodbye. I hate saying goodbye to students. Ending field placements is TOUGH.

Being sick is no fun, and losing my last voice lesson is a bit scary. If nothing else, though, I feel reassured that I've learned enough that I can discern what I need to work on.

I presented my senior research paper (what I have so far). For having no time to do a practice run or even time it, things went very well. My audience seemed attentive and interested, Dr. Randel looked pleased, and the other attending faculty from the music department seemed to be pleased as well. I was particularly glad Dr. Husbands from the Religion Dept. was there to respond to my paper-I have another idea to write into my final submission!

Walgreens on Riley was closed. A tanker truck crashed somewhere, leaked something, and caused an evacuation. I couldn't get my medicine and got thrown into a wild goose chase at the other one in a scenario taken straight from a movie. Fun stuff.

Madrigals Feasts. We're almost ready, and they're going to be fun, as always.

And I got an e-mail tonight. I'm student teaching... HERE IN HOLLAND?!?!?

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodnight to all. I sleep with a smile on my face.

Tuesday, 20 November 2007

Insert HUGE laugh!

I let my students ask me personal questions if they work hard. Sometimes they're a little bland. Sometimes they're fun. Sometimes they're just great.

Yesterday was one of those. One of my students asked me, "Is that your natural hair color?"

I about died laughing. I never thought guys were asked that question.

Sunday, 18 November 2007

Done, at least for a little while

Well... it was just a little late, but I prevailed.

My first round on my research paper is now done and e-mailed to Dr. Randel. I don't know how coherent it is and I think I've stopped caring. I have somewhere between 9 and 10 pages written and I have some ideas to expand to the full 20 along with the feedback I'll hear on Tuesday.

Musicological research and analysis is hard. It takes a lot of work. It's so much reading. It takes so much organizing of thought. It takes so much rewriting. It takes so much cross-checking sources and putting all the stuff together into something coherent. It's where the musician gets yanked out of the practice room, out of the rehearsal studio, and turns into a historian. I've been acting like a history major, only the difference is I've had to work closely with a musical score and a recording as well as the dusty books and all my notes. Aren't you proud of me, Jordan?

But this is such interesting stuff! Nik asked me on the phone the other night what I've been up to and after doing some of this writing and all that reading, I can really begin to articulate what's behind Britten's War Requiem and what I've learned. Plus it's pretty sweet music. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of 20th Century music, but this one hit the target.

Last week was a week from, well, you know. I had to have my first round of my lifeview paper finished and do my presentation.
Check.

I had to finish this first round on my research paper.
Check.

And I had to improve on my teaching by the time Mr. DeBoer checked back in with Mrs. Poppen.
Check.

Manfest. Sing tons of men's choral music with Dr. Richmond right behind me (no pressure).
Check.

Mission accomplished.

Saturday, 17 November 2007

Yay Friday!
I needed a good day. And Friday wasn't all that bad, really.

Oh those nutty kids at West Middle School. I love them. But what is it about Spirit Week that makes them so crazy? Hopefully we're ready for the concert. They seemed to enjoy solo/ensemble auditions and I think I'm finally getting a sense of really working with the class, using the discipline plan, and all that jazz. Huzzah!

Improvement. I needed that in my teaching those nutty kids. After the previous week, which was a bit discouraging, some improvement and encouragement was what the doctor ordered. Mrs. Poppen & Mrs. Koopmans both seemed to think I'm doing better and I was doing better enough that the band teacher, Mrs. Mamane, noticed from the office as well. I practically danced out the school and to my car.

I had my senior portrait taken. Not nearly as fancypants as high school ones, but then again, those are for high school. You get your chance to do all the crazy pictures for high school senior portraits, and that's that. But I think my collegiate senior portrait actually doesn't look too bad. I'm not carrying all those extra pounds, the green sweater's pretty sweet, and the longer hair doesn't look ugly. Let's hope it doesn't when I look back ten years from now and laugh. I did notice my neck looks a little long. Giraffe Tyler!

I saw Sarah! She and Kyle came up for a visit-Kyle made some presentation in the Chem Department and Sarah came with him. Awesome!

Jeannette took me contra dancing. Think of it as a combination of line and square dancing, only it's actually pretty complex and a good workout. None of that Custer Bootscooter redneck goofiness. This is what I'd imagine at a barn-raising or something from the late 19th Century.

And I talked to Nik on the phone for probably too long. But it was sweet to catch up with a great friend. That always makes me happy.

Yay. Friday.

Wednesday, 07 November 2007

Going Home

I shouldn't leave. I have too much to do. I really shouldn't leave.

Research paper. First round to hand in next week. Lovely.
Lifeview presentations. Are you serious?!
I have to go meet my potential student teaching placement teacher/students. Already?!
Ross and I have practicing to do for Sunday.
And based on how I'm doing at my field placement in teaching a song... I need to do some re-evaluation on my technique because right now, what I'm doing just isn't cutting it.

That's a lot. And I don't get much done when I go home. And I'm bringing Ross home with me.

But I don't care. This place is stressing me out. Regardless of how much I get done at home, I just need to get away from Hope and from Holland for a little while. And I know that in the end, I'll be okay. Somehow.

Lord, please give me strength. I am realizing, again, that I can do nothing alone.

Currently Listening Stay By Jeremy Camp Breaking My Fall see related

Friday, 19 October 2007

New Beginnings

I began another field placement today. 6th graders this time. Quite a switch from 9th & 10th grade. And I was nervous... like usual. I don't know why I was like that. I was honestly excited to meet my teacher and my students, but I still had butterflies.

It's another semester and I'm sure there will be moments where the classes will drive me crazy, where I'll make myself angry, and where I'll have moments of inspiration. But what really "got" me is the fact that I already know I like these students, the teacher, and where I am.