Syllabus Day(s)

as a school operating on an alternating block schedule, i effectively had two first days at central high school. as a reflective journal/blog, it is not my intent to spend time on the regularities of basic observations, school play-by-plays, or accounts of my daily schedule. rather, i intend to take a snippet (or snippets) of my day and reflect on their effect to what i am learning about being a real teacher.

one of the first inquiries i threw at Mr. Rohrbaugh was about a suggested reading, as a music teacher. evidently, he was prepared with a book that "changed the way i taught." the book is called The Creative Director: Alternative Rehearsal Techniques, by Edward Lisk. since yesterday morning i've been wading into the book, while keeping an eye out for how i can apply concepts sooner rather than later. thus far the book has been discussing the use of hemispherity as a means of understanding how to approach music not only from a detailed and analytical standpoint, but also to involve a wholistic approach. i'm finding the text pretty thought provoking, especially when considering that as teachers of music, a big chunk of what we do is fix mistakes and critically evaluate music making based on what is wrong with a performance. lisk stresses the importance of "right brain" involvement in the rehearsal, in order to infuse the music with emotion, and to really involve students on an affective level. it is also explained how bands who focus energy on entirely "left brain" processes tend to be accurate in the tinniest of details, but when it comes to the finished product of performances, these groups are methodical and "sterile." when the music making is explained in a verbal setting, what attempts to be musical expression is seen as mechanically "contrived."

in my experience of both performing and instructing, i apparently believed that this methodical approach to performance is a path to success, even if it lacks non-verbal musical expression. but really, i suppose that what what i've been experiencing isn't simply a lack of right brain, but more of a shifting process of left to right. in the university wind ensemble, orchestras, and solo playing, preparation has involved and almost entirely left brain process, initially. hammering out notes, dynamics, phrasing, etc are all part of this first phase. but once the mechanics of the notes are there, what is involved in switching what's happening as a human midi reading device to human performers of art? how do we put emotion into notes on a page? how do i get students to "go beyond the music?" is there a way to relate non-verbal attributes of right brain imagery to a sort of verbal blog? i guess that's where the teaching thing comes in!

Letter To Dr. Hook

Hi Dr. Hook!
Rather than bore you with the details of my experience on "syllabus day," i wanted to give you the nutshell version and let you know that i am working on creating and publishing a daily blog for my experiences in the field. As soon as i have the rest of the details worked out, I'll send you the link so that you can view my reflective journal entries at your convenience.

Though I've met and familiarized myself with Mr. Rohrbaugh before this week, he and i hit if off pretty well today and i feel that he and i will work well together. I've found that central is a pretty interesting and unique experience not only in the music wing, but all over the building. (I'll explain more of that as i transfer my pages of notes to the blog). Class-wise, today i had intermediate high school band, 8th grade band at pipkin middle school, and beginning band as part of central hs's "middle years" initiative for more academically advanced students.

all in all today was interesting, even as a rather tame/bland first experience with the places I'll be and the people I'll see for the next 8 weeks. (that is not to say that it wasn't worthwhile by any means, its just that usually student teachers come in the second week of sps's calender, not the first day... oh well! what can you do?)

thanks,

Zac Fruits
Missouri State University
Alumni - Phi Mu Alpha, Iota Rho
fruits86@missouristate.edu
(573) 424-0792