The First Day

Wow. The first day. I hoped and wondered and wished for this day to come, and even now I am still so excited to have a job and to be teaching a subject I love and feel so strongly about teaching. I started my day with friendly faces and a non-functioning main entrance, followed by all the chaos one associates with first days, times about ten. My classroom is the Cafe. That is to say, the cafeteria. Because our campus is mostly "learning cottages," the large group gathering spaces are the Cafe and the gym. This means that all large group functions were held in my room today. Breakfast, lunch, per usual. Also, schedule changes and agendas. So I had about 10 minutes to set my room up after breakfast, only to discover that no one had informed the cafeteria staff of my class schedule. This was followed by a parade of students getting schedules and agendas while I tried to hold class on the other side of the room. What a logistical nightmare! I did what I could, but I was so flustered I couldn't remember how to play the piano and skipped entire chunks of my lesson plan. Eventually, I had all the students standing and singing together and the cafeteria staff was eating lunch, like they always do, at 10 AM. I had the students standing around the piano, which happened to be placed directly next to the table they have always eaten at. This apparently gave them freedom to comment on my lesson and my students' performance, and one staff member made it clear that my students "can not sing!" I was shocked. Everyone on staff has been so supportive and encouraging, even when I would never have expected them to be. It stunned me and I didn't know how to respond. By lunchtime, word had gotten around and I was assured it will be taken care of. The next period was lunch and planning, during which I retold and heard the horror stories of first period, then 2 periods of general music. These were generally (ha!) very smooth, though my older students got a bit bored with name games. I look forward to a successful rest of the week. I met some fantastic students who I really look forward to working with this semester. I also learned a lot about standing up for yourself as an educator while at the same time compromising and making do with what's available. Please, if you are reading this and thinking "Man, my first day was just as insane!" share your story with me! I have already learned the lesson that "there's always something worse out there," and I'm all in all very grateful that everybody lived through the first day. I would love to hear your "first day" stories! Tomorrow is a new day and I'm sure I'll live through it too. :)

The First Job

So here's a milestone I thought would never come. My first day back to school - as a teacher rather than as a student. Four years of college dragged by, and then a long drought of a summer that proved unlucky for music teachers. Interview after interview, I thought "Could this be my job? Could this be what I've waited for all this time?" Until finally, 2 weeks before school starts and I'd given up hope. I signed up to be a substitute in 3 counties and submitted myself to 4 hours of training on dress, behavior, and employee benefits. Little did I know that none of it would matter in a few short hours.
I accepted my first teaching position at a charter school in Charleston, SC, just a few hours after a tip from a fellow sub led me to Craigslist and eventually an interview, which in turn led to my first offer. I will be teaching general music and show choir to a school full of high achieving students from around the county. I have a week and a half to plan a curriculum, gather materials, get myself acquainted with my new classroom, the cafeteria, and figure out how to teach choir with my paltry piano skills. I hope to chart my adventures, frustrations, triumphs and not a few funny moments in my quest to become a second-year music teacher. Wish me luck, grant me wisdom, and share your advice. Lord knows I'll need all three.