Well, Shoot

So I'm wearing glasses. In public. For about the first time since I was 13. I'm not very comfortable. Here are some of the reasons I don't enjoy wearing them: 1. My eyelashes are too long and keep making smudges on the lenses. 2. I'm used to wearing my glasses before going to bed and before I'm ready for the day, so I feel that I should be sleeping all the time, not going to work. 3. It's hot here, and my glasses fog up when I go outside. 4. I can't see well enough in the morning to apply my eyeliner, and the eyeliner pencil is too long to allow me to get close enough to the mirror to see what I'm doing. On the upside, I've been told that I look really smart, and that people feel they should treat me with more respect. I'm just waiting for the time when I can get a new pair of contacts. So, what can i do about it? Nothing much. That's why the "Well, shoot" in the title.

Last week were the concerts - High School on Sunday night, Middle school on Monday. Honestly, the high school concert was a bit of a fiasco for the choirs. I really wish I knew the secret to relaxation on stage for my students. They froze. Their voices froze. They didn't sing as well as they can. It was disappointing. Although, the big choir froze more than the little choir. So here's the thing - apparantly there are a lot of comments floating around, none to me personally, about how the choirs were really bad, and what on earth is happening to the vocal program? And here's my response: just wait. Wait for next year. I basically had to start from square one with these choirs - and we did advance about 3 squares. Would I have liked to go to square 10 this year? Yes, of course. But the kids weren't ready for it. They have been very resistant to me this whole year; they don't trust me yet. They don't really trust that I do know what I'm talking about, and if they actually do the things I ask them to, they'll improve. Plus, they're not used to working in a choir. One student commented that she thought the class would be an easy A, and really it's not. How true. They actually have to work, and they weren't willing to. Are there things that I could have and should have done differently? I'm sure there are, and as I think back over this year, I'll find things I need to change with my teaching. I really don't know what else I could have done this year, though. Here's another well, shoot.

The middle school concert went very well - they didn't freeze on stage as much as the older kids did. I was expecially proud of the 7th grade choir - they came the farthest this year. The 6th graders started off in a good place, and the 8th grade really did improve, but by and large the 7th grade started off the weakest and improved the most.

After the concerts, I had each class critique the concerts, and also list 10 things they learned this year in choir. Here are some of the highlights:

"Solfege"
"When Ms. Camp says "You may sit", it does not mean "you may talk""
"I learned to be an alto, and learned how much harder it is to be an alto than a soprano"
"I learned that the choir sounds much better if we sing formal vowels"
"I learned to try your best and keep singing even if you mess up."
"You'll never learn, and you'll never know what you are capable of unless you go for it and try."
"If you look like you know what you're doing, people will believe you."
"I learned that Ms. Camp really enjoys bursting out into random stories in the middle of class."
"I learned to sing with chutzba"
"I found my inner Brunhilda"
"I learned to suck it up and smile"
"If you are on time you're late, and if you're early, you're on time."
"We learned to dance, which was great FUN!"
"I learned that choir isn't a girls thing, and that all the boys aren't losers"
"I learned how to be an appropriate audience member"
"I learned not to get sucked into the different parts that others are singing."
"I learned to be nice to the person who sang the wrong note."
"I learned never to say 'can't' in choir"
"I learned that with hard work, there will always be improvement"
"I realized what a tenor is, and that I am that"
"I learned that I can be friends with freshmen"

And what have I learned this year?
1. Middle schoolers really are capable of great things.
2. Living in Dubai is not that much different from living in the States.
3. When travelling with a group of students to Oman, have everyone acquire a visa before going, even if Oman's tourist website tells you that all you need is a Dubai visa to enter the country.
4. High school students will always complain if you let them.
5. Solfege really does work and can make a difference in a choir.
6. I learned to contra dance, and how to call a contra dance.
7. Debate is really not the best thing for me to coach - can't we all just get along and try to see each other's point?
8. I do love to teach music, I just hate having to fight the same battles all of the time.
9. I would rather be in charge when it comes to directing a school musical.
10. I really love Target and Barnes and Noble, and I miss them. (here's another well, shoot moment)

I already have a great number of plans for next year - I just am thinking about high school, and the comments that people were making. Here's the thing - I know that I am not qualified to teach science or math or other subjects. I don't really have an opinion about how they should be taught. Everyone has an opinion about music - what they like, what they don't like, etc, and for some reason, they seem to feel that they know how I should be teaching my class. Well, shoot. They're welcome to do it. I guess that's all I can say.