Chapter 9: Spreadsheets in the Classroom

After viewing a number of presentations teaching the use of spreadsheets, I can't figure out for the life of me how I would change these 'lessons' to fit the needs of my future band students. So I took a different approach, and decided to change them for my (future) Spanish students. This was much easier.

It seemed to me that the lesson I could most easily adapt to Spanish was a presentation on volcanoes. This lesson had the students look up some basic information about specific volcanoes, and input that info into a spreadsheet in order to create some graphs of comparison.

Now, I believe that volcanoes are very different from a foreign language. However, the principles taught using the spreadsheet are somewhat the same. Instead of the question, "how often does a volcano erupt?" I can ask the question, "what is the ratio of Spanish-speaking countries to the rest of the world?" Then I can show that information in a graph to make it easier to interpret.

I said that I couldn't figure out a musical application, but I figured a different spreadsheet might work better. So I used my own M&M Spreadsheet and changed it for instruments in the band room: How many of each instrument do I have, and how many of each instrument do I need? Or rather, how many players will I need? This could be useful at the start of the year when I am not sure what instrumentation I will have (student-wise that is) so I can show the students what I have and what I need. Then I would be able to ask students if they would like to learn a different instrument than one they already play and switch things up a bit. It is entirely possible that at our first rehearsal, I will have 20 French horns and zero tubas (yikes!). I can show this data to the students and ask for their cooperation and reduce the number of horns and put them on different, more necessary instruments (such as a bassoon).

I'm sure that I could figure out other ways to use a spreadsheet in a band room, given enough time and motivation, but those are things that I am somewhat lacking at present.

Chapter 8: Technology

My teacher went to a conference somewhere where some new, interactive technology was being modeled.  There were three technologies that were being modeled: a Smart board, some 3D modeling technology, and a Smart Table.

The Smart board is in some classrooms already, but the expert who was modeling it demonstrated the different useful functions, such as 'multi-touch'. First of all, as a music teacher, a Smart board can be very beneficial in teaching theory and rhythm or even key signatures. Second, this 'multi-touch' feature would allow a teacher to create friendly competition between students. Personally, since I will be teaching high school band/music classes, I think using a music composition software in conjunction with the Smart board would be useful for a competition. It might be nice to see who can harmonize a melody faster, or more accurately. The Smart board/ composition software combo would be a very good way to show improvisation. I kind of like the idea of writing a melody on the spot without prior preparation.

Anyways, the 3D technology would be useful if you want to create your own instruments and/or take it apart without actually damaging the instrument. For instance, if a students wants to figure out how to re-string a French horn they can use this technology to figure out what string goes where and how it is attached to everything else before attempting it on their actual instrument. Side note: a student in my classroom should never, ever try to re-string a horn on their own. Take it to a professional, because there is less chance of irreparable damage. Like I said, this technology can be useful for looking at the interior of instruments (don't try it on an actual instrument!) or for designing new ones.

The Smart Table is more or less for cooperation and collaboration. I can't see a use for it in rehearsals or practicing, but composition is another matter entirely.  Or if students need help with theory homework, they can collaborate with other students to figure out different ways of writing music without breaking any rules.

On an end note (no pun intended.... I don't think...), I think the Smart board would be the technology of choice in my classroom, but the Smart Table comes in a close second.

Chapter 7: Education's Future

Technology has come a long way, but has it come far enough? I guess that depends on the next question: "far enough to accomplish what?" Back in the 80's, there were some videos made about the classroom of the future. These short videos detailed an assignment of a high school track star who was stuck at home with a broken leg. The video however, purveyed the idea that the student was still able to participate in class via video conferencing, and how he was assigned a partner to do a research project for the following day. For his part of the assignment, this crippled track star accessed the school database via voice commands and found an article that interested him and shared it with his partner over the computer.

So, while watching these short videos, I determined that parts of this story were completely plausible with today's existing technologies, but other parts of the technology used may exist, but is not commonly used. Today video conferencing is completely plausible, and becoming quite common actually. We have Skype, we have Adobe Acrobat, and we have other such programs. However, accessing a school's database via voice command from your home computer seems a bit out of reach.


Side note: If they can depict the kind of technology described in the aforementioned videos, and seen in this clip from Iron Man, then why not in reality? If it has been done in reality, why is it not available to the masses?

Anyways, technology may have come far, but it still has a ways to go to match our imagination.

Chapter 6: World of Creative Imagination, or the Soul-drainer of Dread?

So, in a chapter of one of my "textbooks" for school, the author emphasizes the capturing of a classroom vision. He mentions several possible ways of capturing said vision, including (but not limited to) a flute solo, macaroni art, or interpretive dance. He then gives an entertaining scenario about the difficulties of making your vision mesh with the school's. This scenario involves a teacher in a unitard and a flute, declaring to the principal that his (the teacher's) classroom is a magical wonderland, and attempting to perform a dance move and pulling a muscle in the process.

Now, after your imagination has just processed the above scenario, I need to emphatically declare in three monosyllabic words: I don't dance. Having said that, I think we can safely rule out interpretive dance as a means of capturing my vision.

However, I see no reason why writing it down in this manner is not considered capturing the vision. Actually, one of the first recommended steps is to write down your vision. I took it one step further and organized it into the following breakdown:
Vision
   /       \
Goals   Objectives
      |
Steps

Now there is something I must clarify. It is a quote from a forgotten source: "A goal not written is just a dream". Granted, Cinderella (the Disney version) does teach us that "a dream is a wish your heart makes," but how do you turn that wish into reality? You write it down, and start working towards it.

But is writing it down enough? No, it isn't. What good does it do you to write something and never look at it or read it again? So that is the next logical step after writing it down: remind yourself often of your vision by reading it and posting it where it can be seen. It may be helpful to enlist the aid of others in fulfilling your vision. This can be helpful because when you stray from your vision, others can slap you back onto the path your vision dictates.

So, basically, this chapter was all about how to make your vision appealing to your students, parents, and other teachers/administrators. Your vision can be one (if done right) that inspires learning, imagination and creation, in which the students will enjoy the atmosphere and want to return. On the other hand, you can also envision a classroom akin to The Trunchbull from Matilda that inspires fear and loathing. That may be an extreme example, but it serves its purpose.

Chapter 5: Netiquette Guidelines for the classroom

Netiquette Guidelines for High School Students (Grades 9-12)

The following are some general rules of being on the internet in the classroom. They are divided into two categories: Searching and Writing deals primarily with research for papers and whatnot, and Email and Chat are rules for internet communication. I reserve the right to make changes to these guidelines at any time.

Searching/Writing
1. Pornography of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in revocation of internet privileges.
2. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any writing.
3. Searches should be limited and relevant to the project at hand.

Email/Chat
1. Protect your identity: never use your full name in your chats or email address.
2. Any obscene comments or photos/images in chat or email will not be tolerated.
3. Be polite: imagine you are talking face to face without the aid of technology.
4. In your emails, it is always a good idea to put in a subject line that is relevant to the email. This will help ensure that your email is read instead of immediately discarded.
5. Keep your chats and emails short. Be respectful of other people’s time.

Chapter 4: Intelligence (or lack thereof)

Have you ever wondered who is considered smart and who is not? I have, but I also have wondered what qualifies as 'smart.' I have often said, "every one is normal according to their own definition of the word," but you can also replace the word 'normal' with the word 'intelligence' or 'smart'.

Now, in my amateur opinion, there are two kinds of smart: book smart, and street smart. Book smart is exactly what its name implies: the acquisition of knowledge from books (or in this day and age, from the internet). This is the kind of knowledge that the schools are teaching. Street smart however, isn't something that you can learn from books. In many (if not all) cases, street smart is something you can acquire only by experience, and that is something you have to earn for yourself (although you can often learn from the experiences of others).

Since I want to be a high school band teacher, my classroom will most likely be a band room. So how would I tell the 'smart' people from the 'not so smart' people? I won't worry about it too much. I will teach them some basic rules (never drop/throw your instrument, follow my rules/advice) and if they learn to follow these rules they will succeed in my classroom. So then the question becomes what do I do with them? That kind of depends on what I need. I might try experimenting and putting different instruments in their hands, or maybe I can do what other 20th century musicians have done and have them invent their own instruments from what we have available (that would be an interesting experience!), but either way, they will be encouraged to use the materials we have to make the most of learning, which would add to their experience, thus increasing their street smartness.

Chapter 3: Lessons Learned from The Sandlot

So I was watching The Sandlot with my wife today, and the idea came to me to write down some lessons learned from this classic movie. Here is the list that we came up with.

Lessons learned from The Sandlot

1. Don’t be a goofus.

2. Learn to have fun, even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

3. Bluffing sometimes is a very useful tool.

4. Don’t think too much! Just have fun.

5. Have faith, and trust in those who know what they’re doing.

6. Beware of (big) dogs (see also Philippians 3:2)

7. Take chances (big ones). Sometimes they pay off…

8. Don’t eat too much bad stuff (like tobacco) right before going on a festival ride. The results are not pleasant for you or for others on the ride.

9. Never give up on a problem. Just be more creative in solving it

10. Most people only get one chance to do something great.

11. Use phrases like “pickle the beast.” It makes you sound more awesome.

12. A good pair of shoes can go a long way

13.  “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

14. Help your enemies when they need it. They will become your friend

15. James Earl Jones makes an awesome blind man, mainly because of his voice

16. Sometimes, the experiences you have in your youth shape who you will become later in life.