"Model" First-Year Educator

In my last post, I mentioned that my girlfriend, Emmi, is a music teacher at an elementary school here in Maryland.  She bravely moved across the country with me when I decided to enter the School Counseling Fellows at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  When we moved, she had few professional contacts or job prospects, but she threw caution to the wind, networked her "bass clef" off, and basically landed the teaching job of her dreams a week before the school year started.  Before the first day of school, I asked Emmi if we could take a picture of her EVERYDAY before she leaves for work to document her first year as a full-time teacher with the intention of making a video at the end.  Well, we are well over 100 days into the school year and still going strong.

Emmi approved all photos.

Emmi is a tremendous "model"... both in the pictures and as a first-year educator.  Her love for introducing young children to the wonders of music grows everyday and I hear her exude excitement and growing confidence everyday at 5:00pm when she gets home.  Since I am still a student, I feel that watching Emmi both succeed and fail in her first year as an educator is something of a "test run" for me.  No day is the same for her, much like a school counselor.  So, today I asked her what her three most important lessons as a first-year education professional were.  Here they are:

1.  "The first year is all about failing and THE WAY you learn from your failure."

To Emmi, you have two options 1) you can let your failure freeze you and prevent you from growing or 2) you can pick yourself up, look at what you did critically and let it prepare you for next time.  For counselors and teachers alike, there is no prescription for how to complete an objective and sometimes we make the wrong decisions.  We can wallow in our failures or we can use them as motivation to try something different and serve our students  best.

2.  "A lesson plan is only a plan.  You can think through and write up the most elaborate lesson with great introductions and transitions-but you have to factor your audience."

As a counseling intern, I already have some experience with this piece of advice.  Emmi said, "you may have a great plan for the day, but you cannot prepare for what Susie or Tommy are bringing with them."  She makes a great point.  Unlike accountants or factory workers, our "products," (the students) are dynamic, carrying their homes, neighborhoods, and communities to school with them.  We need to remain flexible and understand that everyday is new and every child is fluid.  She clearly plans and maps out her objectives, but she has learned to be "okay" when things go off-track... a skill and attitude I am still developing.

3.  "An effective lesson is one that gives students the chance to use their voice."

Emmi teaches children between the ages of 3-7.  She loves to offer her students the opportunity to share music and express their own, unique points of view.  I watched Emmi develop an after school "bucket band," in which the older children played rhythmic music on empty paint pails.  I agree with Emmi.  Giving students the chance to voice their opinions, concerns, and views is a powerful exercise.  Personally, I like to pull students into my counseling lesson planning, which changes the focus from the product to the process.  When counseling, I always remind myself that students are the experts on their own lives.  Lessons in goal setting and self-efficacy can help them take control and teach others.   

Bottom Right=Pajama Day at school.

Watching Emmi this past year certainly makes me proud... and a bit anxious to start my own educational career.  As I move forward, I will reflect on the anecdotes and lessons she shares.  Ultimately, I am left in awe realizing how fast a year goes.