Music Classroom New Year's Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions have always seemed a bit silly because January feels mid-year to me. However, this can actually be a really good opportunity. Eventually, every single one of us will have one of those years where September to December feels absolutely brutal, and resolutions can be a fantastic way to refocus for the craziness that is January to May. Below are three resolutions for my classroom this year.

Resolution One: Find more projects that I’M excited about

My school has expanded by about 100 kids this year, and since we have a pretty high ratio of kids moving in and out, roughly half of my school is new. That is much higher than I’ve had in the past. Coupled with a new and more restrictive (but better organized) curriculum that dictates which quarter to teach which standards and accompanying assessments that determine pay, at times the first semester felt more like checking boxes on a check list than actually creating authentic opportunities for kids to make music. That isn’t what anyone needs. I could try to find things to make the kids happy, but it can be hard to tell what that will be. So this semester, I’m only doing projects and pieces that make ME geek out. If I don’t flap my arms like a weird little happy bird when I think about doing it four times in four days, it’s a no-go. At the very least, my enthusiasm will help the kids get engaged as well.

If I'm not Cheese Doodles Guy excited about something, I'm just not doing it.

Resolution Two:Purposeful Professional Development

Closely related to the first resolution is to be more purposeful in my approach to workshops. It’s tempting to go to a convention or Orff/Kodaly workshop and be the dog from Up: Look, a (Hop Old) Squirrel! Look at this cool activity! And this one! And this one!

I have a bad tendency to get too excited about everything and when it comes to actually taking things back to my classroom, using my same old safe stuff. Especially at a convention, it is tempting to hop around gawking instead of purposefully looking at one or two things from a session you can bring back immediately. Not something to do once your kids have the Orff (or Kodaly) approach down better, not once you have some time to build up knowledge of this or that standard, but the very next Monday.

My goal for the convention coming up in a few weeks is to find 3 things-pieces, activities, classroom management strategy, whatever works-to implement in my classroom right away. My goal for the next Orff workshops is to find one thing to implement immediately for every workshop. I’m also taking an Orff Level this summer, so finding things I can use right away will be a priority as I go through the classes.

Resolution Three: Know when to pre-plan and when to walk away

Stress happens to the best of us, and I will freely admit it’s gotten the better of me at times this year. But I know myself, and I know that when I get too stressed and try to work through it, the result just isn’t as good. I get sloppy and grumpy. So instead of stressing and driving myself crazy, I want to try to do my best to stay ahead of the game and pre-plan so I can leave at a decent time with decent brain power (not to mention a decent mood).

I have Programs coming up in late February and May, so one task for the teacher work day will be to print off my parent notice letters and send them to the print shop. I use templates from years past, so there’s no excuse for procrastinating. I also want to have the program itself done and printed for both programs as soon as possible.

Motivation, in case you need it. :)

What are your teacher resolutions this year?