Reflections on the year 2020 from a Choral Music Educator

So this happened just about 1 year ago with my 300+ middle school choral music students on a gym floor in Atlanta, GA.

On December 13, 2019, none of us could have imagined the way the world would look in December 2020.  

Last year, when I picked the soloist for the first section of this song last year, it was quite controversial among my students because she was in 6th grade.  I remember an 8th grader coming to see me one morning before school after the results of the auditions were announced.  She said, "You shouldn't have picked her.  She has two more years."  My response-  "You don't know that.  She could move away.  Another child who is even more consistent could get the solo.  She's the best right now, and that is why she will be the soloist."

...And this year, there is no concert.  

I never could have predicted that when I answered that question.

My school district is still virtual, and I am grateful. 

I posted this question in the Facebook group "I Teach Middle School Chorus" on Friday evening, December 4th:  "What is the biggest challenge right now in your day to day teaching?".

The timing of the post was intentional.  Friday night...late...   

Teachers are tired, raw and spent at that time of day.  

I felt deep empathy for everyone who took time to post truths about their current path and the challenges they face.

Because I am still teaching virtually from my home, I can't wrap my brain around how overwhelming the enormous task of teaching in the hybrid model must be.  The teachers who posted about teaching in the hybrid model seemed to be the most exhausted.  

*Teaching in a mask all day

*Keeping students engaged in person and managing classroom behavior as we normally would

*Monitoring cameras/video of virtual participants (Zoom bomb anyone?)

*The hours of creating and refining the lesson plans that can be useful for both virtual students and "in person" students

*Hall duties, bus duties, cafeteria duties...

*Figuring out your own child care and managing your household

It is inevitable that my own district will start our phased in approach which will include the hybrid model, but we still don't know when.  My personal hope is that we stay virtual as long as possible.  While I miss the concerts enormously, we won't be having concerts the way we are used to having them until enough people have been vaccinated.  My current belief is that will happen in late 2021, but who knows?

We never could have predicted one year ago where we would be right now, but I've always been a person who looks for solutions, and the pandemic hasn't changed that part of me.

Our students deserve our best...whatever we face...so I had the figure it out to the best of my ability the same way I had to decide to figure out how to teach this age group back in 1989 after failing miserably during my first year.  

So, as we are probably all doing, I am adjusting daily.  I am doing my best to live in the moment and enjoy the new things I've learned because I am teaching in this new way.  I'm using FlipGrid, EdPuzzle and Kahoot regularly and creating asynchronous lessons to "break it up" while still connecting synchronously with the students.  

I've definitely gotten my class structure down-

1). Opening-Connect with students about something random.  On Friday, it was "What is the deal with Harry Styles?"  Tomorrow, I will be wearing a Grinch outfit when I pop up on the Zoom.  

I want to make them smile.  

2). Announcements about due dates and "shout outs" to students who are doing great at something.  We all want to be appreciated.  

3).  Kahoot-Review of things we've been doing.  It's always fun, and because I do it at the start of class, it makes students show up on time because I take attendance using the roster from each kahoot.

4).  Synchronous Learning

I'm focusing mostly on all of my S-Cubed Sight Singing Content, but I've been teaching the 7 important criteria of a great choir-

Tone, Pitch, Rhythm, Diction, Interpretation, Ensemble and "Other Factors" per our Georgia LGPE platform.  I've decided to focus on building the foundations this year so that I can hit the ground running next year.  

5).  Closing-

Send them off to submit an EdPuzzle or FlipGrid related to what we've learned.  Due date-End of class.  

I've been using Music Prodigy way more than ever as well.  I assign 3-4 exercises weekly each Monday morning.  They are due by Wednesday at Noon.  I tell them not to be worried about their grade on it and to simply do their best.  Music Prodigy provides important information for me to help the students as do the FlipGrid assignments (scale submissions/rounds, etc.).

Since I only have them twice weekly, I've streamlined a lot in order to get the foundations laid for next year.  

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Our spring musical review is and has been the force that cranks the engine of my program each year.  So, I decided to do the event in some form.  I am not sure whether it will be performed "live" in a parking lot somewhere or whether we will create a video.  We complete auditions this week.  They are optional.  I've got two amazing people who we hire to help me with the show, and they are on board as stage director and choreographer.  We are going to start rehearsals virtually.  I will begin casting later this week.  

The kids need it. 

It will be smaller.  Fewer have auditioned as of today, and that's ok.  

The students who auditioned showed up, and I'm going to help them have an amazing experience.  

The final product, in whatever form, will occur in mid-May.  

Here is one of the auditions.

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Normally, on this particular Sunday morning, I wouldn't be blogging.  I'd be filled with thoughts of the upcoming holiday concert and trying to make sure I'd dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" so that everything flowed well for the concert.  

2020 had other plans.

And rather than mourning what I've lost, I've decided to try to learn new things and continue to trust my gut instincts about what makes middle school children excel.  I've tried to find ways to take care of myself by seeking new passions.  I've discovered tennis, of all things.  I picked up the racket in late June and now I'm on a league!  It has been part of my saving grace.  

One year from today, I'll be knee deep in concert preparation mode (or at least I THINK I will be), so I'm going to continue to make the best of this moment in time because it is the only one we've got. 

Live performances will be back, and we will all safely make choral art again.  

We will get through this together.

This is temporary.  

Stay safe.