I am pleased to welcome guest writer Jennifer of Sassy Real Talk today to discuss 6 things she wishes parents knew about their kids’ fine arts teacher. Please be sure to read, comment, and give her a follow at the links in her profile at the end of the post. I hope you enjoy!
*****
1.) We are real teachers.
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say “Well, I spoke to my child’s real teachers today…” Excuse me, I have been in band since 6th grade, I majored in music at one of the best universities in the country and I play all instruments in band. I do all of the “real teacher” jobs such as take attendance, grade assignments, before and after school duty, inservice, and parent teacher conferences. We are real teachers, we just teach a different subject.
2.) We hate standardized testing just as much, if not more than you do!
Standardized testing has killed our arts programs all across the country. It has taken away funding from our programs as well as students! If your students don’t pass whatever version of the test they have to take (In Texas, it’s STAAR) they can be pulled out of their electives and put into a remedial class. Frequently, as their fine arts teacher, we aren’t even told this is going to happen. One day your student is in my class, but the next day they aren’t even on my class roster, and there is nothing I can do about it. Not only that, but it is then my job to call home, explain what happened and deal with the upset parents, even though it wasn’t my choice to take them out of my class to begin with.
3.) We do have high stakes testing…. In the form of contests.
All year long we listen to core teachers complain about standardized testing (and we frequently join in on it; we hate it just as much as everyone else does!) Every now and then I hear this in conversation: “Well, at least as a band teacher, you don’t have standardized tests! You just get to play all day!” FALSE!!! We do have standardized tests, and in Texas it is called the University Interscholastic League Concert and Sight Reading Contest. This contest consists of 2 parts: Concert and Sightreading.
Part 1- Concert: We start working on this music in January. Your band performs 3 songs in front of 3 judges who give you a rating of 1-5. One is the best and 5 is the band version of “What was that? What are you doing?” We start preparing for this contest in January and we don’t perform until April.
Part 2- Sightreading: Every group is given a new piece of music they have never seen/heard before. Your teacher has 7 minutes to explain it to you. Students can’t practice ahead of time; if you do you get disqualified. Students can’t talk during the explanation period, or you can get disqualified. Once your 7 minutes are up, you play the song once as a full band and just pray that everyone starts and ends together. You get a score of 1-5 based on the first time you play it, and it has to sound as beautiful as the music you have been working on since January.
If you get a 1 in both the Concert and Sightreading portion of the contest you are considered a “sweepstakes” band. THERE HAVE BEEN TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN FIRED FOR NOT BRINGING HOME A SWEEPSTAKES TROPHY! Talk about high stakes…. And then usually in about a month we have another contest and 3 new songs to worry about. It is an endless cycle. One more difference between our high stakes testing and standardized testing: With standardized testing, each student gets their own score. However, in band, the group as a whole gets a score. This means that little Emily, who practices every day and is the ultimate band student, is depending on little Johnny, who never even plays his instrument or knows the name of it, for the score. Yet again, high stakes testing!!! It may not be standardized, but your fine arts teacher understands the meaning of high stakes testing and all that it implies.
4.) No pass-no play is a BIG deal
If your student is the best musician in the world, but can’t pass math…we have a problem. Your student can’t perform with or even be in the band. I check my students’ grades daily….and I have tutored students in every subject (except math… my worst enemy) because their teachers are out the door before my students can make it to tutoring. I make sure homework is turned in, projects are brought to school and novels are read. I make sure progress reports get signed, and parents are aware of when their child is failing a class. When my classes’ grades really start to drop, I give up whole class periods of instructional time to do “study hall” and let my students do their homework and study for tests. This is a necessary evil. I need that instructional time in class to teach music, but if my students aren’t passing classes, then they will get put into remedial classes, leaving me with no band to teach. Your child’s grades in every class are extremely important, and we realize that! Contrary to popular belief, we all have the same goal, and that is educating your child to the best of our ability IN EVERY SUBJECT!
5.) I know your child better than you do…. And this is a good thing!
Let me clarify, this is not to insult your parenting. This is just math. This means your child is involved in an activity, and is not out doing drugs, getting pregnant or drinking. (Hopefully!) Most of my students spend time in my room both before and after school. I have students in my room an hour before school starts and 3 hours after school ends. These students have been known to hang out in the band hall until 6 pm doing their homework because both of their parents are at work and they don’t want to go home to an empty house, so I will stay and keep an eye on them and make sure they are doing the best they can on their schoolwork. At the high school we have marching band, so I see them 4 weeks before school starts and during games on Friday nights. We also have bus rides together, contests on Saturdays, spring trips, and overnight trips in hotels. During all of those activities I have the same group of students. If your child stays in band from 6th grade through their senior year, I will have your child in my class for 180 days per year, for 7 years in a row! I can tell you who your child has been dating, who their teachers are and what period they go to those other teachers, what their favorite band/color/animal is… and various other details of your child’s life. I love working with kids; it is the reason I became a band teacher. When you ask me for advice about your kid, please listen, because I see them daily and I want what is best for them, just as you do! Your child means the world to me!
6.) I AM BUSY ALL OF THE TIME!
I am never home. Ever. I work at both the junior high and high school, and I am responsible for 300 kids a day! I give up summer to work at school so I can get out of the way of the core teachers during inservice in the copy room. I clean instruments, make binders, design curriculum and a million other jobs during the summer. I go away for 4 days with 110 kids to band camp during the summer. This camp is at a college 4 hours away from my home. I am constantly making copies, fixing instruments, teaching classes, covering for someone else’s class, supervising practice time before and after school, driving a bus or putting grades into the computer. I give rides before and after school. Trust me when I tell you that I am never home. Please be considerate and don’t try and schedule parent teacher conferences at 9 pm, because I am desperately trying to get home to my husband and do all of the basic jobs required of a normal person.
There you have it. Six things your fine arts teacher wishes you knew! Give your fine arts teacher a hug and realize that we are all here for one goal: the education of your student!
*****
Jennifer is a 27 year old teacher living in East Texas. She graduated from the University of North Texas and is married to her wonderful husband of almost 2 years. She enjoys reading, cooking, Pinteresting and, of course, blogging! Follow her on Twitter @jennyren05 or on her blog at sassyrealtalk.wordpress.com.