Teaching the Teacher
As a teacher, I am familiar with the phrase "lifelong learner." We encourage it in our students--the idea that no matter how old you are, you should continue to learn new things and improve yourself. And as teachers, we try to be an example in this to our students. After all, who wants to be a hypocrite?
And so this summer, I have undertaken a few new things, trying to improve upon myself as I ask my students to do the same. I've read at least one book a week--sometimes three--but that isn't exactly out of the norm. I have finally begun work on my Europe scrapbooks (only two years have gone by...and I still have things from high school I need to finish!). And I have done something that I have always wanted to do: learned how to play the violin.
I'm still learning, clearly. The violin is not as easy as those orchestra players make it look. It is difficult! It requires a finger strength I was unaware of--being a piano player, I have fairly flexible fingers. Flexible does not mean strong. The bow hold is a strange combination of arched fingers that takes a lot of practice to master. You begin by plucking the notes in a rest position (the violin held at your waist) because your arm needs time to get used to holding the violin up on your shoulder. There is a lot to think about when playing the violin.
But taking these lessons has reminded me of how much I enjoy learning. It is a challenge--I wouldn't be having as much fun if it were easy. I would not have been quite so excited when I mastered "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" if playing it had been easy (it's nooooot!)
Thus, the inspiration for today's blog post. What would I, a teacher, most like to learn how to do? Here are my top five learning aspirations, in no particular order.
1. Fly
Hold up. I don't mean Superman style--I mean flying an airplane. I've always wanted to learn how to do this! Amelia Earhart is my absolute favorite historic figure. Perhaps my dream to fly is an homage to her. Perhaps all of those air museums my dad dragged me to growing up sent something deep into my soul. Perhaps it's the romance of it all--the idea of soaring above the clouds, above everything, just you and your machine.
2. Speak a foreign language
I took some Spanish in college, but let's be honest: other than a few select words and phrases, I didn't retain very much of it. Blame it on what you will--poor teaching (I had one excellent teacher and one not-so-excellent teacher), gaps in practicing, no real-world context with it. The point is, I enjoyed it. It was hard, but it was fun (well, my first professor made it fun...professor #2 made it a headache). I felt like I was bettering myself. And as far as what language, I'm not picky. Spanish would be the most practical and have the most real-life application, at least in my current locale. But French sounds so pretty when spoken fluently. And German just has this feel to it that I love. Then you've got Italian, Russian...I don't know what to choose!
3. Surf
Surfing has this appeal to it. I can't explain why I'm drawn to it, but I have always thought it looked fun. It requires coordination that I likely do not have. Plus, living near water helps. Sure, one can learn on vacation, but if one does not have an ocean nearby, one cannot practice and one's surfing skills get rusty real quick-like.
4. Ballroom dance
I took two swing dancing lessons last spring, and I had such an amazing time! And then I watched one season of Dancing with the Stars (mostly because of Donald Driver) and suddenly, I wanted more. Maybe it was all the times I watched Dirty Dancing as a teenager, but there is something about ballroom dancing...it's romantic, it's intimate, it's challenging. I now regret all the swing dance classes I did not take at ISU. And I don't want to be that girlfriend/wife that forces her boyfriend/husband to take dance lessons, but it's easier with a partner (and think about how close you get to be to each other in public in a way that isn't taboo...you'd think more guys would come up with this on their own!) Plus, I always wanted to be Vera Ellen in White Christmas...or like Ginger Rogers, dancing with Fred :)
5. Cake decorating
Who wouldn't want to be able to spit out a beautiful birthday cake rather than pay through the nose for it? (Although no one should want to spit out birthday cake anyway...that stuff is tasty!) I suppose it's the creative person in me who can't draw a stick figure to save her life--I seek other ways of making "art." Scrapbooking, knitting (already crossed that one off the list!), jewelry making...none of them are quite as edible as cake decorating (okay, none of them are actually edible...if you choose to eat a scarf or a scrapbook page, we need to talk). This seems to be one art form you don't need to be born with a natural ability to do. A person can practice until they can make a perfect icing rose. A person cannot just whip out a Mona Lisa at the drop of a hat.
Well, there you have it. Maybe I'll choose one and do it next summer. Or, knowing me, I'll choose one halfway through the school year and give myself another thing I have to do until it no longer becomes something fun but something stressful instead... Next summer. Let's shoot for that.
~Stay gold!
And so this summer, I have undertaken a few new things, trying to improve upon myself as I ask my students to do the same. I've read at least one book a week--sometimes three--but that isn't exactly out of the norm. I have finally begun work on my Europe scrapbooks (only two years have gone by...and I still have things from high school I need to finish!). And I have done something that I have always wanted to do: learned how to play the violin.
I'm still learning, clearly. The violin is not as easy as those orchestra players make it look. It is difficult! It requires a finger strength I was unaware of--being a piano player, I have fairly flexible fingers. Flexible does not mean strong. The bow hold is a strange combination of arched fingers that takes a lot of practice to master. You begin by plucking the notes in a rest position (the violin held at your waist) because your arm needs time to get used to holding the violin up on your shoulder. There is a lot to think about when playing the violin.
But taking these lessons has reminded me of how much I enjoy learning. It is a challenge--I wouldn't be having as much fun if it were easy. I would not have been quite so excited when I mastered "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" if playing it had been easy (it's nooooot!)
Thus, the inspiration for today's blog post. What would I, a teacher, most like to learn how to do? Here are my top five learning aspirations, in no particular order.
1. Fly
Hold up. I don't mean Superman style--I mean flying an airplane. I've always wanted to learn how to do this! Amelia Earhart is my absolute favorite historic figure. Perhaps my dream to fly is an homage to her. Perhaps all of those air museums my dad dragged me to growing up sent something deep into my soul. Perhaps it's the romance of it all--the idea of soaring above the clouds, above everything, just you and your machine.
2. Speak a foreign language
I took some Spanish in college, but let's be honest: other than a few select words and phrases, I didn't retain very much of it. Blame it on what you will--poor teaching (I had one excellent teacher and one not-so-excellent teacher), gaps in practicing, no real-world context with it. The point is, I enjoyed it. It was hard, but it was fun (well, my first professor made it fun...professor #2 made it a headache). I felt like I was bettering myself. And as far as what language, I'm not picky. Spanish would be the most practical and have the most real-life application, at least in my current locale. But French sounds so pretty when spoken fluently. And German just has this feel to it that I love. Then you've got Italian, Russian...I don't know what to choose!
3. Surf
Surfing has this appeal to it. I can't explain why I'm drawn to it, but I have always thought it looked fun. It requires coordination that I likely do not have. Plus, living near water helps. Sure, one can learn on vacation, but if one does not have an ocean nearby, one cannot practice and one's surfing skills get rusty real quick-like.
4. Ballroom dance
I took two swing dancing lessons last spring, and I had such an amazing time! And then I watched one season of Dancing with the Stars (mostly because of Donald Driver) and suddenly, I wanted more. Maybe it was all the times I watched Dirty Dancing as a teenager, but there is something about ballroom dancing...it's romantic, it's intimate, it's challenging. I now regret all the swing dance classes I did not take at ISU. And I don't want to be that girlfriend/wife that forces her boyfriend/husband to take dance lessons, but it's easier with a partner (and think about how close you get to be to each other in public in a way that isn't taboo...you'd think more guys would come up with this on their own!) Plus, I always wanted to be Vera Ellen in White Christmas...or like Ginger Rogers, dancing with Fred :)
5. Cake decorating
Who wouldn't want to be able to spit out a beautiful birthday cake rather than pay through the nose for it? (Although no one should want to spit out birthday cake anyway...that stuff is tasty!) I suppose it's the creative person in me who can't draw a stick figure to save her life--I seek other ways of making "art." Scrapbooking, knitting (already crossed that one off the list!), jewelry making...none of them are quite as edible as cake decorating (okay, none of them are actually edible...if you choose to eat a scarf or a scrapbook page, we need to talk). This seems to be one art form you don't need to be born with a natural ability to do. A person can practice until they can make a perfect icing rose. A person cannot just whip out a Mona Lisa at the drop of a hat.
Well, there you have it. Maybe I'll choose one and do it next summer. Or, knowing me, I'll choose one halfway through the school year and give myself another thing I have to do until it no longer becomes something fun but something stressful instead... Next summer. Let's shoot for that.
~Stay gold!
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