I learned a lot this week. As you know, I am supervising a student teacher at another Pennsylvania institution of higher education. Well, figuring out what I am supposed to be doing has been a struggle. So far, I have four different contacts at the university (and I am not sure who is who or what each does), information has been sent to me from all four, and in both digital and hard copies. I have been so inundated by this barrage of information from multiple sources, that it has been nearly impossible for me to figure out what is going on. I am still not exactly sure of my responsibilities, but I am trying to work through it. I imagine in my future career as a music education professional that I will have to supervise folks who are supervising student teachers. I have learned from this experience to keep it simple. Information should be concise and come from a single source. Clear expectations, guidelines, and responsibilities should be laid out from the beginning. And there should be ample opportunity for student teaching supervisors to voice their confusion so situations like my current one (4 weeks into observing a student teacher and still not sure of what I am supposed to do) don't happen.
What's more, there was a clearance issue. You may remember the Penn State football scandal a few years back.
Well, because of that, Pennsylvania makes all people who work with kids go through a rigorous screening process. Let me just say that I am in favor of screening those trusted with the welfare of children. My frustration is not with this process. Go safety! Woo!
However, it would have been nice to know I had to pass the clearances. See, here's how it happened. I knew about the Penn State thing and that I had to get my child abuse clearances done. Well, when I was hired, the lady I was receiving instructions from set me up with the information to get my child abuse clearances done. I filled out some paperwork, got fingerprinted, and was officially shown to be a perfectly law abiding citizen. So, I checked that off my list. But, it turns out, the clearances needed for the university to hire me are not the same as the clearances needed by the state department of educations. Which is fine. Except nobody told me! So, there I was, about to go visit my student teacher, when I was told I could not set foot in the schools until I got my clearances done. "Wait a minute," I said. "I did them!" But, I was told I needed other clearances. So, I rushed to get them done. I even needed to be finger printed again. Yes, again! So, when I was getting my finger prints done - THE SECOND TIME! - the guy told me that PA finger prints are transferable and they can be used for any job in the state. "Wait a minute," I said to myself. "If they are transferable, shouldn't I be able to use the finger prints I ALREADY DID when I was hired?" So, I asked one of my other contacts at the university. And she said, "no. You have to do them again." But then, AFTER I PAID FOR AND COMPLETED MY SECOND SET OF FINGER PRINTS, a third contact at the university told me, "oh wait. The first set of prints is transferable. You didn't need to get the second set."
I just hope that, when I am in charge of a staff of people, I will be more organized than this!
Anyway, Monday was not my day. Classes went fine. But, I realized I had forgotten to check on the recording equipment in the band rehearsal room. Dr. C. had asked me to do it the week before and I agreed. I have been trying to write down in my calendar everything I have to do in an effort to keep myself organized. And it has been working... when I remember to write down what I have to do, which I didn't when Dr. C. asked me to check on the recording equipment. So, I remembered on Monday that I needed to make sure the equipment worked and that I knew how to operate it. Well, I went to the rehearsal room and found out that the cabinet has two locks on it... and they only gave us one key. I went down to Dr. C.'s office to tell her the bad news (it was after the office was closed and we couldn't get a copy of the second key). She scolded me for not doing my job in a timely fashion. She certainly didn't yell at me or act in an unprofessional way. But, she let me know I had dropped the ball and that she holds a much higher standard for my performance. Well, she was absolutely right. I had dropped the ball and it was totally my fault.
I went to set up for Night Owls rehearsal after finishing with Dr. C. It turned out there were multiple events in the building that night, so music stands and chairs were in short supply. I went in search of chairs and found some in the practice rooms on the third floor. On one room, there was an oboist. He was in the middle of playing something and I waited patiently till he was done to knock on the door and see if I could gran the extra chairs in the room. I could have sworn he had finished playing and given me a nod to indicate I could enter the room. I was wrong. He yelled at me for interrupting his recording. Strike 2 for Mitch. So, needless to say, I wasn't feeling on top of the world when I got to Night Owls rehearsal that evening. It took me a while to perk back up, but I did and got some good work done on my pieces.
My preliminary paper (the one I am using for Seminar) is having an identity crisis. I am writing about how chamber music can be used to foster students' creative thinking. In Seminar this week, we took a look at what I had written so far. I had my introduction ready to go. An introduction should serve to set the purpose of the paper and draw the audience in. Well, my introduction had the opposite effect. My classmates had trouble wrapping their minds around what I was trying to say. They couldn't figure out how I was attempting to integrate chamber music and creativity. They felt like, in my writing, they were two separate ideas. So, I need to spend some time really figuring out what I am trying to say with the paper and then find some words that actually say it.
I gave a presentation this week in History and Philosophy of Music Education on the Steamboat Springs High School Ski Band. It is a marching band out of Steamboat Springs, CO that performs on skis. Here is a reenactment of my presentation: (Sorry for the sniffles and tripping over my words. It is cold season, after all. Also, sorry for the volume level. I need a new microphone for my computer. The onboard one just doesn't record loud enough.)
I have a professor with whom I am having some trouble and I don't know what to do about it. I am not naming names, nor will I identify the class. The professor is incredibly knowledgeable in the subject matter. However, the professor treats the students in the class differently based on the degree each student is seeking. It feels like the professor has made assumptions about each of our prior knowledge and experience and lets that inform the way instruction is delivered. I thought I was imagining it, but one of my classmates has also noticed this behavior. I feel like a second class student in that class. It feels like the professor is very interested in educating a certain degree track and is less interested in the rest of us. I am not sure what to do about it.
I decided to cancel half of my repair workshop sessions. Though people said they were going to come to those sessions, actual attendance numbers did not justify having the sessions.
Well, that is all for this week. Until we meet again, Future Dr. Mitch, out!
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