Recharge Your Batteries

My batteries have run down.

Right now I travel back and forth from Bethany Christian Schools to Goshen College in a frantic attempt to cover all of my responsibilities. When I go home, my energy is nearly completely spent and preparations for the next day must start. I keep thinking to myself, "when classes are over...", or "when spring break is here...", or even, last spring, "when summer comes." But, the truth is, when those times come, I'm ill-prepared to recharge those batteries.

This semester, I've tried to take a more active approach to recharging my batteries. What I've learned is that you need to find some way to renergize, not just to relax (though relaxation may be a part of reenergizing). When I have downtime, I have a tendency to want to "veg out" and do nothing. Doing nothing might rest my body, but it does not bring any new energy into my soul.

I have been keeping a journal. Journaling has given me time to reflect and to empty my thoughts onto paper. I like to journal when I have time and it is an emotional carthasis for me. Yet, I don't think it is necessarily the best way for me to recharge my batteries. I think it is better for me to 1) exercise, 2) read, and 3) play music.

In the end, then, my practice of journaling hasn't been the best way to recharge. At the end of this semester, what I've realized is that the way I've recharged my batteries all semester is to play music. I've accompanied the Goshen College choirs. I've played in the Goshen College orchestra. I've played in the festival orchestra. I've played at church. I've played in my classes and I've played at home. While my principal has encouraged me to reduce outside commitments (such as accompanying), this is the key thing for me that actually revives my energy to continue doing what I must!

For next school year... no, wait... beginning at the end of this college semester, I will use my newly "relaxed" schedule to plan time for exercise, for reading and for playing music. My students will benefit. My family will benefit. More importantly, I will be getting on with the business of living a rich life, doing what I love to do, and centering myself in the disciplines which give me strength.

Practice Democratic Principles

In my high school orchestra class, I realized today that I practice democratic principles. We just completed our Orchestra Festival last weekend. Therefore, it is time to turn our attention to the Spring Concert. In Full Orchestra and in Concert Band, we discussed the repertoire we just performed and whether we wanted to perform it for the spring concert. We ended up "taking a vote" about the pieces. Then, we chose a couple of new pieces. First, we listened to a few options, and again, we voted about the preferred options.

It seems that the students really like to have a say in what they learn and perform. As I become more experienced as a teacher, I feel like I am able to present them with better, higher quality, educationally sound options. Then, it is easier for me to accept their decisions about what we are performing. I still reserve the right to make programmatic changes to make a better balanced program, since concerts tend to be "high stake" events. The music program is deemed "good" or "weak" based on our performances, so it seems critical to present the students' abilities in the best possible light.

In another class, we have discussed classroom "problems" and worked at some solutions together. For example, we have been working on classroom management issues in Middle School orchestra. The class simply talks too much. They are happy and having fun, and the result for middle school students is chattering. So, we devised together a reward system for them. I have worked much harder at my own behavior to help enable better behavior in the students. I believe that the students having a say in the classroom environment has helped them to participate better in making changes in classroom behavior.