The Curve in the Path

“I don’t think I’d have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I’d known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed”.

-Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes

The luscious view from Perseverance Trail.

Sophia entitled her blog post this week “The Beginning of the End”, which I think is a proper way to frame my post as well. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I’m looking at my calendar and seeing that I have five weeks left of my student teaching. Five weeks! How did that happen? It’s a weird feeling- I feel accomplished, excited, and nervous. I think I mostly feel nervous because I don’t feel ready for this stage of my education to be over! I still have so much to learn.

Thank you so much for all you do, Dick!

And yet, I had my final teaching observation with Dick last week, and he, Lorrie, and I sat down for my final evaluation on Thursday. I walked away feeling encouraged, seeing how much I have learned and knowing what I can still work on. To hear these two veteran teachers say, “You can do this”, and better yet, “You’re a good teacher”, means a lot to me. Sophia and I were sad to say goodbye to Dick, who has been one of our many wonderful cheerleaders this year. We ended up doing a gift exchange, with neither party expecting to receive something in return! The beautiful bowl he made me is sitting right in front of me on my desk, fitting nicely with the collection of other things I hold dearest.

UAS classes also finished last week, and my final class meeting with the other MAT students was wrapped up with kind words and touching videos (check out the amazing one Scott, my professor, made about our class! I am mentioned at 4:08). It’s neat to think about the journey we all went through together. Even though I haven’t met most of my colleagues in person, we all bonded over the fears and joys of being pre-service teachers. I loved that online community!

Sophia, Heidi, and I had a little photoshoot in front of this
exciting poster on campus the other day! 

With finals happening this week, I am now just one assignment away (my Teacher Work Sample, which I can finish as soon as my jazz unit finishes this week!) from finishing my semester! Sophia and I met together last Monday and cranked out our research project, which studied non-cognitive traits in our JAMM students. We worked really hard on our project and feel very proud of it! It was also very touching to record all the quotes we collected from our students to find out their views on growth mindset, belonging, and self-efficacy. When asked what they liked about playing music with others, my older JAMM students said things like, “Playing with others pushes me to play better because I receive feedback from my peers”, “The music sounds better with all the parts together”, and “We are all working toward a common goal: to make music”. Such wisdom and joy! These kids embody the success of El Sistema. It has been proven through research that making music with others develops essential social and intellectual skills in adolescents. And I have the honor of seeing it happen before my very eyes every day. #STEAMAdvocate #MusicEducationisWhereItisAt

Me and my cello student, Finn!
He played so well today!

Although some things are ending, it feels as if others are just beginning! Many, many performances will come and go in this next month. There were two fun ones this past week: a JAMM barn dance fundraiser, where JAMM violinists and violists from all three schools came together and played folk music. A fantastic local band (which Sophia was in!) also provided music for parents to dance before and after the JAMM student performance. It was awesome! And how neat to see all three schools come together. The kids did a great job! Speaking of kids doing a great job, one of my high school private students performed the Prelude to Bach’s Suite No. 1 at our annual studio recital today! He closed the recital of 26 students from around Juneau, and he did an incredible job. It’s been so fun to come alongside my students and watch them grow as musicians. It’s also so weird to be on the other end- I was a student for so long, and now it’s my turn to pass it on (although I wouldn’t mind being a student once again someday :)). It’s an amazing feeling.

On top of the everyday things, there are plenty of big, future-related things that are constantly on my mind. I checked out a great church last night that really filled me up spiritually and let me relax and “just be”. With so much going on and 100 emails sitting in my inbox, it is incredibly hard for me to be in the moment. For pete’s sake, I just registered for my five summer classes and ordered the books for them, even though four of them don’t start until June! My mind is constantly running at 60mph. Because of that, I decided to take myself on a long hike this morning. It’s funny because this past week, there were two days that were the prettiest I had ever seen in Juneau. But when the weekend came and I actually had time to be outside, it was, of course, pouring rain. Oh well. I was dressed properly for the weather and thoroughly enjoyed my 8-mile hike from my house through Perseverance Trail, via the Flume Trail. I got all the way up to a basin called Silverbow Basin and basked in its wet beauty before turning around. No one was around (including no bears, sadly! I have yet to see one!!!), so I prayed out loud, sang, or just plain talked to myself. I really never knew I could keep myself so entertained until I went on so many solitary hikes this year! I found it hard even then, surrounded by nature and away from cell service, to slow down and take in the moment. I have to intensely train my mind and body to stop for a moment. I took hold of a few still moments, as I was standing in the pouring rain, eating my trail mix and listening to the ten different kinds of birds singing around me, and it was glorious. Times like those make me never want to leave Juneau.

As final concerts happen (like the giant cello ensemble concert this Saturday and my final Thunder Mountain orchestra concert, which Sophia and I are completely in charge of), I daily face the questions I am also daily asked (and guesses as to what it is? Anyone who is graduating from a program knows exactly what it is). That is why I have to take even more moments to still myself. Similar to my path I hiked this morning, I have no idea what is around the corner. But if I keep walking up the winding path where the mountains meet, stopping to take a breath of fresh air along the way, the view will become clear before I know it.