Looking Back

This year has flown by and all of the teaching experiences I've had have been quite amazing.  The two highlights of teaching this past year were working with the Stewart County High School marching band over the summer, and volunteering with FUMC UMK program throughout the fall.  Along with those  two programs, I also had the privilege to do my Practicum at Calloway County Middle School, help with the McCracken County High School marching band, and further my own musical skills and experience.

The all girl/one boy drum line.  Such sweet kids.

Working with Stewart County was a completely new experience for me; I've never been to or worked a band camp that was actually held at a camp site.  They had one week of percussion camp, one week of pre-camp, and the following week was band camp.  The campsite was in the middle of nowhere-Tennessee where no one had cell service, and everyone got a quiet night's rest.  There were two other bands sharing the site with us, but there was enough room for each band to have their own field and warm-up area.  I think that having band camp at a campsite was very beneficial because we were able to practice all day and not have to worry about anyone commuting home each night.  The schedule was very busy; the students started at 6 a.m. with stretching, and went until 9:30 p.m., with breaks for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a few hours off in the afternoon for free time.  Because of the long schedule, they were able to complete the majority of their show and accomplish a great amount of team-building.

This group of kids was one of the most hard-working groups I've ever worked with, and they had some of the greatest attitudes towards everything.  What really shocked me the most was their use of manners.  Everyone used "please, thank you, yes mam/no mam", and called me "Ms. Stephanie".  They had a successful season from what I could tell, and I'm really looking forward to where this band program goes.

The next highlight was volunteering with FUMC UMK program throughout the fall; you can read all about it in previous posts.  They were such kind children and I'm glad I had the opportunity to lead them in music.

The last highlight was having my practicum placement at Calloway Middle School.  Mr. Suiter is the band director there, and he leads a fantastic group of students.  I was only there from the middle of September through the week before Thanksgiving, but I learned so much during those few months.  The students were also very well mannered, hard-working, and kind kids.  Before being placed there I didn't really want to work with the middle school age group...I was afraid I wouldn't know enough or teach them wrong.  After the first day of Practicum I made my mind up to become a middle school band director!  The way Mr. Suiter teaches his students was very inspiring to me, and I hope to one day be as good a teacher as him.  I could go on and on talking about how great it was to be there, but I don't want to bore anyone... I know their band program is going to go far, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to experience just a little bit of what they do.

This past year was a huge learning experience for me, and I'm eager to see what all I'll learn and experience in this last year of college.  Where my next Practicum placement is, and where my Student Teaching placements are doesn't matter to me; it's about what I can learn from them and what I can give to those students and teachers.