Woosh...

That's how January seems to be going thus far... These full work weeks (I subbed both last and this Friday) really make the days fly by, even with MLKJ Day squeezed in there! As I'm too impatient with myself to organize by topic, I'm going with a chronological rundown of life since last blog.

Friday I (See II after "Thursday")
First time subbing ever!! What a strange and delightful experience. Working with a totally new group of students for the first time in 5 or so months provides much insight on my progress so far as a teacher. It took a while to settle into the rhythm; my class knows my routines and pace and I know their personalities (and names!) and abilities... Though both part of the NYC public school system, my school (PS 43) and the other one (PS 75) are run very differently. At 43 we have uniforms, very structured hallway procedures, school-wide rules to reference... 75 doesn't seem to have any of those. Obviously different populations require different educational atmospheres, but I'm pretty confident in saying my school is better than their school. =) Hard to succinctly communicate the comparisons here, so as always, I'd be happy to provide further details upon request!

Saturday
Marathon friendships! Lunch with a teacher friend formerly of ETM (she recently was offered and accepted a full-time position in NJ... actually makes her commute shorter!), coffee with a friend from high school (Timmy!), and dinner with Meghan at Sally's. Goodness I love sustained human contact. =)

Sunday
More enjoyment of people at the monthly (free!) bagel brunch at church. For the first time I really felt part of the group, like I was contributing to conversation and general atmosphere as opposed to being the new kid that everyone's nice to because she's the new kid.

Monday
Laundry, lesson plans, Laura Skype, Lincoln Center concert. "L" day. The concert was pretty sweet, particularly insomuch as I haven't really done any cultural things in the city since about summer. Meghan got free tickets to the otherwise moderately pricey event from her agency and invited me. The performance consisted of two hour-long choral works with orchestra and soloists and loosely thematic video clips... All in all an intriguing multimedia display. I discovered I had never before witnessed a full choral work--orchestra, band, sure, but extended choral compositions? That's a first. Thanks, Little Sisters of the Assumption in East Harlem!

Tuesday
Professional Development. SOOOOO nice to actually be friends with teachers now!! Not surprisingly, the sessions didn't so much pertain to me, but I love a good puzzle, so I always have fun coming up with connections to the music classroom. Expect more writing and reading comprehension activities to find their way into music lessons from here on out. That is, if you visit my classroom. (Takers??)

Wednesday
Supervisor visit (all good), crazy testing schedule switching, and probably my best lesson ever with my most difficult class. Some days I feel like I have this teaching thing down...

Thursday
...And sometimes not. No epic fails, just less engaging lessons than I anticipated. There's always next week.

Friday II
Another day subbing at PS 75. Sat in on a lesson from one of the position's candidates... Let's just say some people click better with middle school & high school and some with elementary in terms of style and content goals. We'll see how she pans out...

Aaaaand scene. Three weeks until another break (what?) and I'm feeling energized about my lesson arcs for that duration. And my developing social life in the city. And my cooking skills and products. Life is good. =)

KP