Bummers

The big thing that happened this week was a set back.  On Monday I finally heard back from the school about the music teaching job I interviewed for. I didn't get it. The principal said I was at the top of their list, but because I don't have a teaching credential HR wouldn't go for it. Honestly, I get it. The school has to show the State that they are hiring people who are "highly qualified" to teach. The bummer is that the principal, the one who actually interviewed the applicants, thought that the best choice for the job wasn't necessarily the one with the right piece of paper. So, I need to figure out a way to to get the magic piece of paper. That's harder than you might think.

Actually it's not THAT hard, there are just more obstacles now then there would be if I were 8 years younger and didn't have kids. Had I just graduated with my undergrad and could spend the time student teaching it really would be no problem to jump through the hoops. But student teaching, maybe especially for a music teacher, is more than full-time work, and it's unpaid. I need child care for a two year old for the full day, and for a 5 year old after school. And my husband's work schedule is kind of erratic. Not awful, but the band he's with now will be traveling a week or two a month, and not all at once. It's more like 3-4 days out and some time at home, then a week out and a week home, etc.  If I student teach at a high school I'll have to work with marching band and jazz band, which are often taught outside of regular school hours, as well and put together lesson plans and practice conducting. I'm not sure any other teachers actually have to rehearse teaching...

Actually though, I don't want to student teach at a high school. Mostly because I don't want to teach at a high school.  While I love making good music, I don't think teaching high school is where my skills lie. What I'd really like to do is work with elementary school kids to give them a firm foundation of musical basics. I think I can do cool things to help them understand rhythm, beat, pulse, melody, and the joy of music. I'd like to introduce them to some of the great works of music so that they understand how cool it. I think I can get them ready so that they understand how to count, subdivide and read music. Then I can send them up to a good middle school teacher where they can learn fingerings on an instrument, but they'll integrate that into what they already know. They'll learn so much faster if they don't have to learn everything at once.

But, I have to figure out what to do. There are some programs where you can do the coursework over an intense summer semester and then student teach the year after that, but you have to have district that already wants you to work for them. And there's still the problems of child care and a traveling spouse. Essentially there is very little I can do about this for about a year.

So, I decided to reassess (there's a word that just doesn't look right) and figure out somethings that I CAN do. So, some plans for this week:

1.  I want to get started on looking for some private students. This doesn't actually help reach any of my goals, but it does help with the money thing, and it might help me get to know some of the local secondary music teachers in the area
2. I need to spend more time playing with my kids.  This is something that is strangely hard for me. I'm not good at playing little kid games. Sometimes they just bore me. But my kids NEED me to play WITH them. Seeing me productive and interested in the world is important for them, but it is also important that they see me interested in them.
3. It's time to get back on track with my cleaning schedule. I know it sounds super dorky, but a cleaning schedule really frees me up in the housekeeping realm. Here's the thing: I like a clean house. I don't even mind cleaning most of the time. But I can't keep the whole house clean all the time. And when I try to I get annoyed with my house of 4 mess-makers, and throw up my hands and ignore it all. We end up eating macaroni or PB&J and sitting in a pile of half folded clothes, mixed into which are the kind-of-dirty socks that none of us like to keep wearing once we've taken off our shoes. So, I have a cleaning schedule. One room or set of rooms (bathrooms, bedrooms) gets cleaned everyday and the rest of the house tidied. Apart from that I can do as little or as much cleaning as I want with no guilt. But I haven't been on schedule lately, and I'm feeling it, mostly in my apathy toward clutter. And clutter actually makes me apathetic and grouchy.
4. Finish The Neverending Story and start The House at Pooh Corner, and perhaps move on to Misquoting Jesus. I love the Library. I may start  The Lightning Thief,  but it depends on when the ebook becomes available. Again, I love the library.
5. Decide which free economics class to take. MIT has some, but you don't get the lectures just the lecture notes. I kind of feel like if you can get the whole lecture from the notes than your teacher is worthless and MIT should be able to offer better than that. But, maybe not for free. There are some lectures available from other schools, but they don't include any readings or quizzes to test yourself, so that's just running ear-fodder. I guess education ain't free huh?But I will pick which one to take and get things set up so I can get started once E starts Kindergarten in a few weeks.

Onward! Forward! Hurrah!