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Teaching is an interesting profession. We are responsible for the education and development of our students; we see them every day from the hours of 7:30 am until 2:30 pm or later, while trying to maintain discipline and fostering a learning environment. What prepares us for such an undertaking? Many think that college prepares us for teaching, and it does to some degree, but a lot of it is trial and error. During my first year of teaching, I walked into my new office with several crates full of textbooks and notebooks full of information on various aspects of being a music teacher. I had high expectations and lofty goals. I created a checklist of things I needed to accomplish before marching band season began.
Armed with my clipboard and checklist I marched towards the goals set forth. I met secretaries, administrators, janitors, coaches, the athletic director; I reorganized the music library, inventoried the marching band uniforms and instruments, selected the music for the marching show, compiled a list of band students, sent out letters and called a seniors-only meeting to get a feel for the traditions of the program...and then it happened. The first day of summer band rehearsals had finally arrived and in walked my...13 students?!?! Talk about a shock to the system! I knew when I accepted the job that it was a small program, but I was expecting around 20 students. Now it may not seem like a big difference but when a group is that small to begin with, a drop of seven musicians is a big deal. It was then I realized that not everything I was planning was going to happen this year.
It has been two years later and my high school band currently has six students. They are the hardest working students I have ever met and strive to excel on their individual parts and despite the small high school numbers, the future of this program looks bright. Four of the six students are freshman; I have two eighth graders, five seventh graders, 14 sixth graders and nine 5th graders! If things continue to work as they currently are, we will have around 20 students in marching band at two more years and around 30 students at three more years! Things never work as quite as we expect, but we usually turn out for the better because of it!
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