Yeah, I'm totally over it. I somehow managed to grow a spine in the first few days of school.
Things have started off A LOT smoother than I hoped. There were a couple of rough spots, but we're chugging along. Remember "Guard Girl" who I mentioned in quite a few of my posts last year? Yeah, she's gone. Quit. Got fed up with seniors trying to boss her around. She's a sophomore and the most clumsy, awkward, uncoordinated kid I've ever met. I was a little sad to lose her, but if she's going to cop an attitude every time I ask her to do something, forget it. I now have five girls who are twirling their little hearts out. The guard now has two-a-week morning practices, and they almost have both routines memorized for the first show. Junior high band has the Star Spangled Banner learned and almost the majority of the school song. I'm going to have them play at the homecoming pep rally. There will be 60 (!) kids in the pep band loft. It's going to be loud and crazy!!!
Jazz band will be starting in about two weeks. Yikes! Time to start picking out some good tunes. I have a crap-ton of kids interested...but I'm sure part of the enticement was telling them I'd buy dinner. :-)
It's amazing how much better I feel about Year 2 vs. Year 1. It feels good to know the lay of the land and the kids a little better. I still don't like coming to work on some days, but hey...who doesn't?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Resolutions for the new school year
Recently I've felt the need to make some resolutions for the new school year. These are things for me to keep in mind with my day-to-day interactions with students.
1. I will continue to run my classroom effectively, regardless of my students' negative attitudes and/or opinions.
2. I will take a positive attitude into rehearsal. I tell my kids to leave it at the door; I need to do the same.
3. I will not take my students' opinions about band and equate them with how they feel about me.
4. I will leave work AT WORK. My home and my time with my husband are my sanctuaries, though I reserve the right to stay at work a little late to keep it that way.
5. I will stand my ground and follow through with everything.
6. I will stand by the decisions that I have made. Once a decision has been made, it's done!
7. I will do my best to be professional and objective at all times.
I'm feeling very anxious about the upcoming school year. And not the good kind of anxious. This is more the nervous, upset, can't sleep cuz I'm so worried anxious. I just would like everything to get going so that I'm done with this weird limbo period. Some of the source of my anxiety comes from the high school band. I started a Facebook page for the band. I've found it's a really quick, easy way to disseminate information to students and parents. It's not without its pitfalls, though. Such as, students postingthings, good and bad, that I can read. Lately, I've been using this tokeep in touch with my color guard girls (the words "color guard"should inspire a ton of drama alone).
Last year I had a squad of four. This year, two incoming freshmenapproached me saying they also wanted to be on the squad. I said yes.Told the other girls about it, and they were worried about money forequipment, etc. Fair enough. So I tell them I will check into themoney situation. Turns out, hey! We're fine! So I decide over the summer to go ahead and let these girls on the squad. But, it was already in the thick of summer, so I didn't get the chance to tell my vets. So, I send them a note asking when could we get together. THEN they all notice who the note is addressed to, and THEN they all start getting hissy-fitty. So I have these poor freshmen who are totally innocent in this whole thing, and four vets who are mad andor frustrated. They're mad about me rescheduling meetings (I have people out of town and want the whole squad there as much as possible), ordering shirts without their knowledge (when they gave me approval for the artwork at the end of the school year), the fact that the shirts are so expensive (when I told them they would be $10-$15, and the shirts are $15.49), and that I didn't tell them about the new girls on guard (when they knew at the end of the school year that these girls were interested). Good. grief. So, I took the Facebook page down because I figured that if I can't handle reading the drama, I just can't do it.
I think part of my problem is that I hate it when people are mad at me. I want to be liked (who doesn't?) I had an extremely shitty high school experience in this regard, and now I'm in a situation remarkably similar to that. The biggest difference is that I'm in charge. My husband and I were talking about this today over lunch. He has a way of putting things so that they make total sense. Basically, he says that I have to stick to my guns on this one. Does the volleyball coach care that you don't like to run? No! Does he care that you don't like all of the people on the team? No! So, how is this situation any different? Making it an analogy like that makes the whole situation make more sense. I think I'm looking for a "quick fix" to all of this--something that will make it all better instantly. Well, unfortunately, nothing will do that and allow for a quality band program to build. These girls want to feel special. That's why they started a flag squad. They want to feel like they're better than everyone else, and that's why they don't want these other two girls on the squad. So, what I have to do is...keep going. When one balks, deal and move on. This isn't a democracy. I'll compromise on some things, but the minute I start handing over control is the minute I lose control.
So...for now, I shall enjoy my afternoon. I won't think about work or bitchy high school girls. I will sit, crochet, and watch Dr. Phil and remind myself, as all grandmothers have told us from the dawn of time, THIS TOO, SHALL PASS.
1. I will continue to run my classroom effectively, regardless of my students' negative attitudes and/or opinions.
2. I will take a positive attitude into rehearsal. I tell my kids to leave it at the door; I need to do the same.
3. I will not take my students' opinions about band and equate them with how they feel about me.
4. I will leave work AT WORK. My home and my time with my husband are my sanctuaries, though I reserve the right to stay at work a little late to keep it that way.
5. I will stand my ground and follow through with everything.
6. I will stand by the decisions that I have made. Once a decision has been made, it's done!
7. I will do my best to be professional and objective at all times.
I'm feeling very anxious about the upcoming school year. And not the good kind of anxious. This is more the nervous, upset, can't sleep cuz I'm so worried anxious. I just would like everything to get going so that I'm done with this weird limbo period. Some of the source of my anxiety comes from the high school band. I started a Facebook page for the band. I've found it's a really quick, easy way to disseminate information to students and parents. It's not without its pitfalls, though. Such as, students postingthings, good and bad, that I can read. Lately, I've been using this tokeep in touch with my color guard girls (the words "color guard"should inspire a ton of drama alone).
Last year I had a squad of four. This year, two incoming freshmenapproached me saying they also wanted to be on the squad. I said yes.Told the other girls about it, and they were worried about money forequipment, etc. Fair enough. So I tell them I will check into themoney situation. Turns out, hey! We're fine! So I decide over the summer to go ahead and let these girls on the squad. But, it was already in the thick of summer, so I didn't get the chance to tell my vets. So, I send them a note asking when could we get together. THEN they all notice who the note is addressed to, and THEN they all start getting hissy-fitty. So I have these poor freshmen who are totally innocent in this whole thing, and four vets who are mad andor frustrated. They're mad about me rescheduling meetings (I have people out of town and want the whole squad there as much as possible), ordering shirts without their knowledge (when they gave me approval for the artwork at the end of the school year), the fact that the shirts are so expensive (when I told them they would be $10-$15, and the shirts are $15.49), and that I didn't tell them about the new girls on guard (when they knew at the end of the school year that these girls were interested). Good. grief. So, I took the Facebook page down because I figured that if I can't handle reading the drama, I just can't do it.
I think part of my problem is that I hate it when people are mad at me. I want to be liked (who doesn't?) I had an extremely shitty high school experience in this regard, and now I'm in a situation remarkably similar to that. The biggest difference is that I'm in charge. My husband and I were talking about this today over lunch. He has a way of putting things so that they make total sense. Basically, he says that I have to stick to my guns on this one. Does the volleyball coach care that you don't like to run? No! Does he care that you don't like all of the people on the team? No! So, how is this situation any different? Making it an analogy like that makes the whole situation make more sense. I think I'm looking for a "quick fix" to all of this--something that will make it all better instantly. Well, unfortunately, nothing will do that and allow for a quality band program to build. These girls want to feel special. That's why they started a flag squad. They want to feel like they're better than everyone else, and that's why they don't want these other two girls on the squad. So, what I have to do is...keep going. When one balks, deal and move on. This isn't a democracy. I'll compromise on some things, but the minute I start handing over control is the minute I lose control.
So...for now, I shall enjoy my afternoon. I won't think about work or bitchy high school girls. I will sit, crochet, and watch Dr. Phil and remind myself, as all grandmothers have told us from the dawn of time, THIS TOO, SHALL PASS.
Monday, August 2, 2010
And we're back!
For better or for worse, summer is pretty much over. Now it's back to work, back to school, and probably a little stress. I've had a very relaxing summer, though I've been a bit bored the last few weeks. It will be nice to get back into a routine. I've got big dreams for the upcoming school year. I have the feeling most of them will be dashed within the first few weeks, but I have to keep hoping.
We've had quite a few faculty shake-ups here at school. Lots of people quitting or retiring. I've noticed that many of the teachers here are very clique-y. You have the young popular teachers, and the older established teachers, and then the athletic coaches. Very weird. As one teacher left at the end of the school year, she warned me to be careful of who I made friends with, for fear that I would be the next fly in their spider's web. While I appreciate that she was trying to look out for me, I can take care of myself. I have, however, decided that the best thing for me to do this year is my job. If that means secluding myself in my office, so be it. At least then, no one can say that I did or said something to offend anyone, or cost me my job. This may change as the year goes on, but for now, we'll see what happens.
We've had quite a few faculty shake-ups here at school. Lots of people quitting or retiring. I've noticed that many of the teachers here are very clique-y. You have the young popular teachers, and the older established teachers, and then the athletic coaches. Very weird. As one teacher left at the end of the school year, she warned me to be careful of who I made friends with, for fear that I would be the next fly in their spider's web. While I appreciate that she was trying to look out for me, I can take care of myself. I have, however, decided that the best thing for me to do this year is my job. If that means secluding myself in my office, so be it. At least then, no one can say that I did or said something to offend anyone, or cost me my job. This may change as the year goes on, but for now, we'll see what happens.
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