paper 3 rough draft

Rough draft: how I would run my classroom on the first day…. add class readings and sources later :) 

A lot of times in school you find that teachers try to control every piece of what students learn and how they learn by teaching by the book. I find this way of teaching boring and keeps the students from being interested in what they are learning. if I were a teacher, I would break tradition and let students have control of what they learn in class by choosing what they learn in my classroom.

I would be a music teacher. To create a fun open environment that welcomes students in and makes they want to listen to what has to be said because students always seem to become interested in class when they are put in a welcoming teaching environment. I would also want a give and take relationship with the students where they feel I learn as much from them as they learn from me. I’ll listen to them and always give helpful feedback. I will always have a smile on my face when students walk in and not ignore them when they walk up to my desk. If I need a minute to finish something I will tell them. I will tell students that they are welcome to come in at any time and that I can always talk if they are having a problem, school related or personal. Students need to feel like their teacher cares about them and what they teach to their students. It is the main reason why students act out in class is because they are bored. My walls will not be white. They will be warm inviting colors that create the feel of an exciting environment. When I teach I will not just stand there I will move about the classroom and bring students up to the front and get them involved in what I’m teaching. If student do a good job of if they get in front of the class they should be rewarded. This can be with candy or stickers or just being told good job in a warm and sincere way. If a student does something wrong, they will not be looked down upon. They will be told what they did wrong and their mistakes will not be announced for the whole class to know.

            On the first day of class I would have non- classical music playing in the classroom when they walked in. it would be a song that the kids would know from the past year.  The student would sit down in the rows of chairs and begin to talk. I would stand in front of the class and smile then ask them to stand up against the wall. I would separate the people who were talking and set them back down in the rows. to introduce myself I would say my name and my favorite song and why. Then I would have the students do the same. I would write it in my notes.  I would then ask them songs that they want to perform in front of their peers and tell them that I am giving them full control of what we sing as long as it is appropriate. I would tell them that I am not like most music teachers and I want to teach them what they want to learn and mix technique into the song we love and still have little personality into the song. I would tell them “I don’t want the choir to sing stiffly on stage with no personality like you see the most the time. I want you all to have fun in this class and remember it because you had the control of choosing what you learned.”  I would also tell them that these privileges would be taken away if I was disrespected in class or there was too much chatter. Then I would have them write a list if the songs that they want to learn and write the song on the board and have the class vote one their favorite five and tell them I would have sheet music for them in the next week. I would also tell them that the concert is optional and is not part of their grade. I think that all grades should be counted only if they are during school hours and requiring student to do something after school is ridiculous because students may have something going on or do not have the resources to come, like uniforms. also I would only want them to come if they want to be there because if they don’t want to be there it shows on stage. for the following days of the first week I would continue to connect to my students by listening to music, introducing them to my favorites, them introducing me to their favorite, playing games like musical charades and musical chairs, and trying to get to know them better while trying to break down the teacher student barrier slightly. my students would enjoy my class because for once they would fell in control of their learning in school.

             I would know I was successful in my teaching if the students enjoyed coming to my class and looked forward to performing in front of their peers and accually go to the concert for their parents, unlike most student who are taught the traditional way and see the concerts as a joke and only come because it affects their grade. I would also know I’m successful if I hear from parents that the students talk about how much they like me or my teaching style and I see them again, whether it a visit or in my class the following year.