Peking Acrobats

I attended the Peking Acrobats and as I was sitting there enjoying the amazing stunts I realized that this could be a very good educational experience for me. I first listened to the musical instruments and how their folk music was very different from American styles of music. The Instruments were very different and the techniques for playing the instruments were also very different. I noticed that women were playing the string instruments and the men were playing the percussion instruments. Then in the stunts they always tried to get it right even if it was a very dangerous stunt. One man who had a balancing act flipped bowls up and caught them on his head. He had a problem catching the 3 bowl combination and kept trying until he got it right. If something didn't happen right they would always try to get it right before they would let the audience applaud for them. I believe that never giving up is a part that has been integrated into their culture for a long time. I really respect their effort for accomplishment. If I could create an environment in my classroom to have students keep trying until they succeed, it will be a very good life lesson for them. This experience for me has helped me to really think about traits that other cultures have that would really aid me in my quest to help students become the best that they can be.

New Eating Habits

After last week having better learned about my spiritual living I decided to go more on the physical aspect of my life. This week I made an effort to eat a fruit and a vegetable every meal. I have discovered that the Cafeteria really does a good job of giving us great vegetables to eat. However, I found it hard on day 3 to keep on eating those apples and bananas that we only have. I had a large variety of vegetables to choose from and then a very limited selection of fruits. Once leaving Luther I found it even harder to make this effort to eat a fruit and a vegetable at every meal. I found that at one meal I would eat a fruit and at a different meal I would eat a vegetable. Then I also got in the debate if a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable with other people. I found though that eating healthier allowed be to get better sleep at night. I was also more alert during my classes during the day.

Attending New Church Services

I have attended 2 different church services this past week. One was Vespers Wednesday night at Decorah Lutheran. It was interesting to be at a place off- campus and then try to fit in with the local patrons. Then I also attended Campus Palm Sunday worship. I have never heard the reading of the passion quite like how they did it. I also thought it was interesting to see how these new Lutheran Worship practices differed from the Catholic structures I have been brought up knowing.

technology

I think that some technology is needed in every classroom. However, some areas need less technology than others. For example, in music and other art classes, I find that technology can only be used to aid learning on a basic level. The music classroom can use technology to play recordings and have students listen to their parts. In an art classroom I cant see how technology will really help artists. The students have to actually do the actions that they are trying to learn. A general technology problem is the use of computer slang in writing at a young age. This may be a reflection of poor parenting allowing their children to talk online before they really know how to use proper grammar and spelling in a formal type of writing. The instant messaging craze has influenced children. But technology does open up doors for proper sites on the internet and it can be a very useful source if used properly. I think it is advantageous if used properly, but in my practical application of it in the classroom, all I need is a cd/tape player with good speakers.

video

Here is the link to my video about the budget cut issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR5-zUE6BOY

Vagina Monologues

I decided to attend the Vagina Monologues to just see what it was like. Thankfully I was there with my girlfriend which made the situation less awkward. I would not have had enough nerve to go by myself. Some of the monologues were very funny talking about how some women were looking to find themselves because they were so reluctant. The also said the word Vagina a lot. They also used other nicknames a large amount as well. They brought up many issues that happen right here in today's world about treatment of women. One culture would burn a woman's face or body to try to kill them. Also in Iraq, the soldiers have raped many Iraqi women. I enjoyed how each monologue had a different delivery. These monologues have opened my eyes to the treatment of women.

Gospel Choir experience

I attended a Gospel Choir workshop this past Saturday and Sunday by Dr. Keith Hampton. Here I had an experience with the African-American worship rituals. He taught us the the main difference between European worship and Black worship, as he preferred to be called, was passive participation versus active participation. He explained to us that in normal Black conversation the two people will say something after nearly every sentence. We performed two songs that he had written as well. He taught us how to sing some songs by rote. Rote is learning orally with-out music. Dr. Hampton taught us by having us listen the first time, sing the second, and be perfect the third time. This was an effective method to teach college students. However if he had taught us more complex music it would not have been so easy to learn these songs. The songs that we learned through this method were very repetitive. If we had done harder songs with more complex harmonies this would have been very hard to do. He didn't really have to maintain control of the group because he is a very highly respected composer and we respected him and he respected us. Because of this he did not have to worry about keeping the focus. He also was funny and integrated humor into the long rehearsal. This experience was very good and I really learned about something I didn't know before.

Budget Cuts

This past weekend I received word from my mother that the Waukesha school district wanted to cut the 4th-5th grade orchestra programs and the 5th grade band program. When I heard that one again these programs were up on the chopping block I was up hauled. Waukesha has its roots in music and we have some of the best music programs in the nation. We have attended nation competitions and have won them. These cuts will not only eliminate those music programs but they are also cutting up to eight music teacher positions. The biggest problem that I have with the music program going under budget cuts is that these programs are self sufficient. Each school in the district has a parent organizations made to raise money for the directors and the schools. My second big problem with the cuts is that it is part of Waukesha's heritage to have music. Waukesha is the birthplace Les Paul. Now for those of you who do not know of him, he is the inventor of the Electric Guitar. Now take a moment to think about where we would be if the Electric Guitar was never invented or invented years later. We would not have all of the music styles that we have today.
Now let's take a look from the students perspective. In my high school of around 1,400 students 600 of them participate in a music program. The band program caters to 400 students per year. That is over a quarter of the student body. To me that is a significant amount of students compared to all the smaller clubs. Music also helps for some students to find an expressive artistic outlet during the day, a break, or simply something they really enjoy. No matter what the attitude towards music is from each individual student, it is proven to stimulate the mind and to help the mind develop. Students who are proficient in music are also very proficient in other areas of schooling. Music also teaches students about how to work together in a very large group. It takes a coordination of many students to pull together a concert. Also no matter what the race, ability, or personality of the student is, everyone has to work together. In the band I student conducted we had a deaf percussionist and he was a great player. I had to use a signer to talk to him but he was always there willing to rehearse.
Music can cater to every student and it is a large percentage of the student body. We need to keep the fine arts around to help develop well rounded students ready for all aspects of life and when have you ever heard someone say I hate all music.

Opening Convocation

I attended the opening convocation ceremony and saw the bishop of the ELCA speak. He had great speaking skills making his speech interesting. He weaved his true message of his sermon with jokes, stories, and topics that everyone could relate to. Throughout the sermon he kept my attention by throwing these different aspects of his life into them. The one thing that really brought me back into his sermon was when he was telling a story about how someone asked him what he did as a retreat or to become re energized. He said that he would visit college campuses. That brought me into his speech again and kept me interested to the end. I was amazed at how much my generation could influence years to come. This drove my will to become a teacher ever farther. Being a teacher is my vocation it is what I am called to be.

Why Teach?

I want to teach so I can share my love of music with the next generation. I also want to teach because I enjoy helping others succeed. I know that if someone never teaches others how to do something, then skills and ideas will be lost. It would be terrible if people would lose the things that we all worked so hard to get. Without teaching none of this knowledge could be passed down to the people who don't know it even exists. I particularly want to teach the fine arts because they offer so many different things that a typical classroom setting class can offer. The fine arts are a way to offer expression, to show yourself, to become part of a community that works together to reach one goal, and to broaden the boundaries set forth by a classic education. There is a fine balance between what core classes, i.e., Math, Science, English, and Social Studies, compared to the"non-essential" classes where the fine arts fall. In my opinion music is such a part of todays culture that no matter who someone is they will enjoy some form of music. Music is in the T.V. shows and movies we watch, the concerts we attend, and the hit pop music sensation. It is our responsibility to teach young people about the wonders of every aspect of education. If we don't the mysteries of music could be lost.
School work and school learning create a fine line for the teacher to walk. I believe that work happens when a teacher assigns a large homework assignment that is very repetitive in nature or not enjoyable for everyone to do. Everyone can remember some teacher that just assigned a huge amount of work to do so you would just have to do it. Learning should be an enjoyable process where students want to return every class to find out more. Although learning is achieved through some form of work, learning is something that is enjoyable for everyone it will also be remembered by the student for many years to come.
Good teaching creates an environment where every student can learn and flourish in the classroom. This can be a fine line to walk for the teacher to properly balance work and learning. There are also lessons that have to be taught about how to be a good person and brings out the goodness in every student. These life lessons are valuable for living in a community like what we have today. Good teaching also makes learning enjoyable. This is the hardest challenge for a teacher to balance fun activities and the curriculum that must be taught. The best teacher I have ever had made it feel like we were not working for our grades but that they just came naturally. Also on his tests the information just came out like it was the most natural thing ever. He is the perfect example for me of good teaching and I want to follow in his footsteps.