Professional Goals

I would like to work on my general conducting skills. In the past I have had inconsistent tempo, tending toward speeding up. This is an area that can only get better with practice. I think many of my problems stem from nerves, so the practice must be done in front of students to help calm the nerves.

I would like to learn more about repertoire and texts. There is so much out there in both Music and English that it is impossible to gain a working knowledge from classes at the university. There are databases, but the only good way to learn about new texts/repertoire is to work with them. This is something that I’m excited to do. I would like to see what the school has for sheet music and novels and how a one goes about ordering or borrowing from other sources.

This semester I will also be working with an English class a few times a week. Although it may be difficult because of time constraints, I would like to work on being prepared for each class. In the past I have created lesson plans that didn’t have enough content, or the students already knew everything in my plan. It is difficult to know how much to prepare in pre-internships and field placements because we are parachuted into classrooms. I would like to work on being over prepared. This is a new concept. As a student it seems as if the teacher knows exactly how much time each area will take and that they plan their lessons accordingly. It seems weird that they are always prepared to start up the next lesson on a moment’s notice. The concept seems easier in band because there is always more that can be done. This is something I would like to work on in a typical classroom setting.

My biggest goal is to learn how to rehearse groups. I have taken an English Language Arts Curriculum class along with other classes that have prepared me to teach in a standard classroom, but the music room is different. I am excited to work with the students and develop classroom management skills. I hope to find a balance between stern and friendly that works with the students. It is difficult to be too loose with the rules in a band class because of the noise level; once the students get distracted it is difficult to talk above the noise and get their attention back.