Jack
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Garner Magnet High School
Garner, NC
Student Teacher
Jack student taught in Fall 2020. He taught four different classes; Beginning women's choir, intermediate women's choir, advanced women's choir, and mixed choir. Jack received his bachelor's degree in Music Education from Appalachian State University.
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Essential Questions: (to get an idea of what the classroom looks like)
-What did you expect a normal day in teaching to look like, pre-covid?
I would go into class, warm the students up, do a little music theory, and rehearse them.
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-What does a normal day in your classroom look like now?
Much shorter than I thought it would be. Classes were only 50 minutes long, so the school day technically ended at 11:45. I would usually take an hour for lunch, and then spend about two hours doing planning. I was out most days by 2:30.
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-What restrictions are in place for the school you are teaching at, specifically revolving around singing?
When I was student teaching, students were not allowed at school during the school day. Eventually, we were able to have after-school rehearsals in the auditorium, but the students had to be 10 feet apart and wear masks at all times, even when outside. At these rehearsals, we would temperature check everyone that came in, and at the beginning, they were only allowed to hum.
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-Is your classroom all online, hybrid, or all in person? Has that changed?
At the time of my student teaching, students were fully online and were only allowed at after-school rehearsals at the very end of my semester. They are now on a hybrid schedule I believe.
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Teaching Related Questions
-How has the content you are teaching changed (from what your lesson plans looked like in undergrad)?
The lessons I taught looked primarily the same but were much shorter. I used the 6 point lesson plan.
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-Has there been any positives to teaching in an online format?
I knew there were some students who preferred online, but as a teacher, I definitely didn't enjoy it. I don't think anything good came from it, except for people not getting COVID and dying.
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-What has been the most difficult part about teaching music in these times?
The most difficult part for me was that I didn't really feel like I got the experience that I needed for my future classroom. I didn't get conducting experience, or any classroom management experience. It was also much harder to make connections with my students.
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-Has the pandemic shifted your approach to teaching in the music classroom? Do you think that if you were teaching not in a pandemic that you would have taught differently than you did this semester?
It's hard, because yes I definitely would have taught differently, but because I didn't have the opportunity, I don't know exactly how.
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-How do/did you keep your kids engaged in a virtual setting?
We asked for a lot of student participation. For example: if we were teaching sight-singing, we would ask students to unmute themselves and demonstrate for the class. If nobody volunteered, we would pick students that we think would do well to demonstrate for the class.
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Philosophical Questions:
- Do you think there was anything you could’ve been taught in undergrad that may have prepared you more for the pandemic?
Yes, I think that I could've used more training when it comes to music technology. I took a class on it in my undergrad, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be. I would've liked more instruction on how to teach online, but before this pandemic, no one really thought we would be teaching music online. I just would've liked to have more resources.
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-Post pandemic, do you think the music classroom will go back to how it was? Will this pandemic shift how the classroom changes forever?
I think that singing assessments will have online options and that it will be beneficial to those students who are nervous to sing alone. Maybe technology will become more incorporated. However, I think the classroom will mostly go back to the way it was.
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-What has been the biggest takeaway from this year, teaching-wise?
As a teacher, it is really important to be flexible. Be ready to have to adjust and change.
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