Moving Forward...

This semester has been one of the craziest I have ever experienced. And being a music major, that's saying something, lol. I have grown to love field basing and being at the school. I have taught several more times with the whole class and run many sectionals, each time getting better and better. I always said I want to teach elementary school, I want to teach elementary school, but I really don't know anymore. I never thought I would say this, but I absolutely love my junior high kids. I don't know what it is, but they have managed to endear themselves so much to me and I just love being there with them. I am honestly considering teaching a middle or junior high school choir now. I like the high school kids just fine too, but teaching them intimidates me too much to actually want to teach at the high school level. (I still have yet to teach there, all my lessons have been with the junior high advanced choir). I had my peer observation today and I think it went well. My evaluator (the lovely Ms. Rebekah Sanchez) liked it and thought it was really good. And let me just say, I did her peer evaluation as well, and she is going to be one fabulous flute teacher. Her students are going to very lucky to have her. :) I looked at my planner the other day and realized that I now have only 3 times left in my clinical classroom. I'm really kinda sad about that. I love my kids too much that I want to finish the year out with them. Hopefully I will get assigned back there to student teach next semester so I can see them again.

Real World experience...

So, today i walked into my clinical classroom and the first thing I noticed was that my teacher wasn't there and there's a sub. Well, my site professor has been talking about how by mid-semester we should be able to take over and teach the class if our clinical teacher is gone and there is a sub. So, I thought, here's my chance to prove myself, to show myself that I can do this. So, since I have the advanced jh choir music, I grabbed my binder, looked through the pieces, found what I could play, and decided what to rehearse when the kids got there. Then, I found the beginning choirs music and the cd accompaniment for it and was ready to go for them too. 2nd period comes and in comes the advanced group. And just like Dr. Cunningham tought us, I said ladies and gentlemen, on the risers please with your music. Obviously Mr. Fernandez isn't here today so I will be running rehearsal now please listen for attendance. Then the sub took role and off I went with sightreading and running through pieces. It went the same way in the beginning group. The sub even told me he was impressed. It was so totally awesome. I left with such a huge grin on my face. If you had told me even just the other day that I would do that, I would have laughed. But the neat thing is, it came so natural. It was just like, Mr. Fernandez isn't here, all right, no problem, I'll do this, this, and this. It was such a confidence booster :) 

The beginning of the the end of a chapter...

So, this is my last year of undergrad. I honestly don't know how I feel about that. On one hand it's exciting, but on the other, I'm completely terrified. I'm doing my field basing this semester and it's really stretching me. It's really different being in a classroom and being in a teacher position and not the student. Even though I've been teaching Sunday School, being in an actual school is different. Although, I do think that Sunday School and VBS have helped me. I LOVE doing VBS. It is always one of the highlights of my summer, although this summer had lots of highlights...the Camerata tour, the Star Wars concert, World Changer's in Birmingham, and of course, teaching the music at VBS. I guess I'll just take this semester one step at time and learn the whole way :)