Mentioned in a previous post titled “Musical Classroom” I mentioned that the elementary classroom has instruments and how much I enjoy that being present in the classroom. It was this realization that made me want to have my next lesson music based. I did know that several of the students in the elementary knew some parts of music, but I did not know the extent of that; however, I learned pretty quickly that it was a small amount. I had expected that, with Stephens being a liberal arts school, they would be more versed in music, but that inaccurate for me to assume. They didn’t know notes, rhythms, tempos, or most anything technical. But I soon realized that that did not matter. 

Watching the children try to pay attention to the technicalities was almost painful. It was obvious they were not interested or understanding what was being discussed. So, I insisted to them to get an instrument and find the note on the instrument. This spurred them on, and it made me realize something; people don’t play music for the technicalities or to make it perfect, they do it because it is fun and fulfilling. After this realization, I actively stopped being technical and instead let the children teach me some ukulele notes. While they were playing, they were all so excited and happy to be messing around on an instrument, and it caused me to learn something else; something that we, as adults, are constantly told but I have a hard time seeing regularly. That is that children tend to teach us more things than we teach them. 

I forgot how freeing it can be to play music. To just go wild with random notes and rhythms or to play an instrument as loud as possible. Sure, I may know how to count in a time signature of 6/4 (which means there are 6 counts in measure with 4 beats) and how to play three different instruments, but they know how to have fun with music, which is something that I haven’t been able to do since I was in middle school. I hope that these students keep that enthusiasm with them as long as possible, and get reminded of it as often as they can, because over the entire span of a lifetime, everyone often deserves to feel like a child who is having fun. 

I ran into Rachel Johnson when she was outside during the elementaries’ usual recess time on Thursday. She had maybe 10 students with her. I asked why there were so few of them; she replied that the rest had decided to stay in the classroom and play with the musical instruments, rather than have outside recess. I was almost in shock, as many of the more rambunctious students hadn’t even decided to come outside. The children had to go to lunch, so I left, but it has stuck with me throughout the last few days. I was thinking various things; why did they choose to stay in the hot classroom – which they are already stuck inside of all day – to play with instruments, instead of going outside with their friends and being able to run and be loud. Have the students been around musical instruments before? Do any of them play outside of school? I ran into Rachel outside during the childrens’ usual recess time. She had maybe 10 students with her. I asked why there were so few of them; she replied that the rest had decided to stay in the classroom and play with the musical instruments, rather than have outside recess.  I was almost in shock, as many of the more rambunctious students hadn’t even decided to come outside.

The children had to go to lunch, so I left, but it has stuck with me throughout the last few days. I was thinking about various things; why did they choose to stay in the hot classroom – of which they are already stuck inside all day – to play with instruments, instead of going outside with their friends and being able to run and be loud. Have the students been around musical instruments before? Do any of them play outside of school? I ran into Rachel outside during the childrens’ usual recess time. She had maybe 10 students with her. I asked why there were so few of them; she replied that the rest had decided to stay in the classroom and play with the musical instruments, rather than have outside recess. I was almost in shock, as many of the more rambunctious students hadn’t even decided to come outside. The children had to go to lunch, so I left, but it has stuck with me throughout the last few days. I was thinking various things; why did they choose to stay in the hot classroom – which they are already stuck inside of all day – to play with instruments, instead of going outside with their friends and being able to run and be loud. Have the students been around musical instruments before? Do any of them play outside of school?

I have been in band since sixth grade, and one of the things about Stephens that made me sad was that they didn’t have a collegiate band. I know there are plenty of vocal classes and majors, but the only instrument I have seen offered is piano. That being said, I was quite excited at the fact that part of Stephens, even if it was the children’s school, was getting involved with musical instruments. The benefits of music are so far-reaching and have such an effect on the perception of those who learn about it. There have even been studies showing that people, specifically children, who play an instrument and/or read music score higher on average than non-musical students in math and literacy. It makes sense; a lot of math is used in music, throughout the time signature changes and the notes themselves. Literacy also makes sense, as a person basically has to learn to read a whole new language.

A came to Stephens wanting to major in education. I realized within 3 days that that was NOT for me, and have since settled into wanting to become a LCSW and an advocate for children. That is still what I want to do, but for this upcoming lesson plan I based it primarily on reading music – and I realized how much I missed it. If I ever did pursue a career in education, I would strongly want to go into music. This lesson was the easiest I have ever written, and I know how much of a safe space the music room can be. Honestly, I am so excited for this upcoming lesson and the opportunity to help children get involved in music. I love that the students here at Stephens, even the little ones, are so excited about music. The idea of a classroom all knowing how to read music and possibly perform, just makes me so happy. I feel like the arts are greatly underappreciated, and I am so grateful for the lab school giving the children the opportunity to experiment with instruments and music.

Lately I have been hearing the following word often: money. A popular phrase that goes with money is “money can’t buy happiness,” yet it seems that is the answer to everything. Listening to Betsy Devos talk about funding and put money towards charter schools, listening to the debate circulate almost exclusively about costs and money and funding makes it seem that money is the backbone of worries. Children need to have access to resources and proper care, but we need to also acknowledge that a lot of the issues today stem from home life, even when that home is financially stable and capable of proprt child care. So many children experience abuse, neglect, and/or a dysfunctional household. Money may help with some of these, but what children need is support. They need to know that their are poeple who care about them.

Knowing that so many children go to bed hungry or feeling unloved is saddening. But knowing that so many adults, and people with the ability to take care of these children, do not seem to care is both heartbreaking and infuriating. A child, while they may want a new toy or a piece of fancy tech, want love and support the most. Knowing that so many families have the money they need, yet still struggle to have healthy and happy children, goes to show this.

I am by no means saying that children living in poverty are fine and do not need help. I am saying that all children should be taken care of, and it seems that when that it said, a lot of people think that money is the first and only answer to the problem. But its not. Children need support, exercise, time outdoors, time to play, friends, and adults who they know care about them. Without these things, and so many others, a child is not being set up to succeed in their life.

Money is necessary. It is needed to pay for shelter, food, even water. But take a look at Maslow’s heirarchy, and you will see that first is psychological needs, such as water, food, and shelter. Next is safety, which can include jobs, resources, and security in your position. But the very next part needed for optimal survival, is love and support. Feeling connected or a sense of belongingness can make all the difference between a child who is thriving and one who is lost. Let us take a stand to help as many children thrive as possible.

When people think of teachers, the term ‘mistake’ probably isn’t the first one that pops in your head. As a child myself, I thought it was impossible for teachers to make mistakes, because mistakes are bad and should not happen. However, I learned that is not an accurate way of thinking, and it was proven to me once again by a teacher; this teacher was myself.

When I was heading into the classroom on Tuesday, I volunteered to do read aloud with the children. I didn’t know how long I would have to read, what I was reading, or anything besides the fact that I was reading. Regardless, I am a solid reader, so I did not forsee any issues or mistakes that I would make, at least not in the literary sense. I was wrong.

Sarah Parks decided on the book The Mouse and The Motorcycle. As soon as I opened the book, just flipping through, I saw a couple words I didn’t know. As I was reading through the book, once I got to those words, I hesitated before butchering the pronunciations. It was then that I realized that children may think that I wasn’t a good teacher because I made mistakes. However, the kids were more distracted by my pause than by my lack of vocabulary, and I don’t think any of them realized or cared that I didn’t know the words; they were just happy to be read to.

I think some of the best lessons in life are ones that aren’t taught or planned; they simply happen, whether we expect them to or not, and the results frequently shock us, yet we continue to be surprised by these random lessons. The lesson I took away from practicum this week is to wait to judge peoples’ reactions until after they react. Such as, I was wholeheartedly expecting the children to laugh or snicker when I said the words wrong, but instead they simply looked at me with curiosity about what was going to happen next. I judged their reaction before I even gave them a chance to react.

In the future, I know that this lesson will help me be more confident in myself. Even if the kids do laugh or snicker, I now have the knowledge that it is okay for teachers to make mistakes. All humans make mistakes and teachers, just like everyone else, are simply human.

At fourth grade, most children aren’t aware or don’t acknowledge things that don’t affect them directly. While I was observing the elementary children, including C, who is in a constant state of motion, made a comment that stopped me in my tracks, and he just returned to what he was doing as though he had asked about the weather. To give some background, the class was discussing  Egyptian pharaohs and if the binary genders could be a pharaoh. When the other children debated about whether or not only men or women could be pharoahs, it was brought up that both Tut and Cleopatra (who seemed to be the most significant) were both pharoahs, and C simply said, “Maybe King Tut was transgender.” A couple of the kids appeared confused by his statement, but the majority just accepted it as a part of the conversation. The idea of LGBTQ+ people being so openly discussed at such a young age was completely baffling to me; as I looked at my peers, I could tell they too were shocked by his statement.

After this statement was said, the teachers and the rest of the class continued on without preamble, but I was too deep in my thinking to be able to watch as closely as I had been. How did he know about transgender people? Does he know someone who is transgender? How much more does he know about the LGBTQ+ community? At first these thoughts seemed normal going through my head, because I know that when I was in elementary school, I had no idea what anything other than a mom and dad were, or that other people did not identify as how they were born. Then I got to thinking about my own views and experience; I come from a small town where everyone knows everything and anything different is frowned upon; it makes sense that I would not have learned about the LGBTQ+ community.

However, C (and the rest/majority of the elementary), live in Columbia, MO, which is significantly more diverse than my hometown. Just going to the store or downtown I see so many different variations of religions, opinions, physical appearances, races, genders, sexualities, families- so many different people living in, what I consider, harmony. In the childrens’ eyes, they don’t see separate and categorize different types of people as different; they just see them as people.

I believe that this is one of those basic lessons that we can learn from children. We frequently are so caught up in our own mindsets and thoughts that we forget to look at the bigger picture. Children, however, do not focus only on the parts they understand. It is like a puzzle, with our various differences as the pieces. We see each piece as separate, divided, and question or feel uncomfortable when we are beside pieces that are different than our own. Children don’t just look at the separate pieces. They look at the whole picture and help the pieces connect with one another, even if some pieces are wildly shaped, sized, or colored, they just accept that they are all part of the puzzle.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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