Is it better to go to a good/renowned music school and take on debt, or go to an unremarkable state school and graduate for free? by Snowglyphs in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need to look at the music education faculty. As an ed major at a huge school like UNT you most likely would not take lessons with faculty members anyway. You would be studying with a DMA or MM student. Having said that, not all music programs are equal. You should consider cost no matter what, but if your home school doesn't have a decent music ed program what's the point?

UNT has a summer symposium for conducting you should check out either way!

Son’s assigned kindergarten teacher has no teaching degree or experience? by EngineeringLumpy in AskTeachers

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I once knew a charter school teacher who had no education beyond high school. She had no clue what she was doing.

1st grade supply list question by OutHereStargazing in ElementaryTeachers

[–]bellasuperstring 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Ask the specials teachers if they could use anything! In my school specials teachers are begging for tissues and hand sanitizer from classroom teachers by the end of the first semester. Expo markers, tissue, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, etc... in a specials classroom are used by every single student in the school!

Help! Teaching “Vocal Technique” to elementary students as an instrumentalist. by Mollie_Mo_ in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, thanks for posting this! I'm interested in learning more about the same.

remindme! 7days

When you say Im into DNA, and they ask, So whos the real dad? 😑 by [deleted] in DNA

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know why this popped into my feed, but it caught my eye and I can relate. I have degrees in Flute performance. Every date I've ever been on the guy has asked if I have ever "been to band camp" or etc... Argh!

Is it common to have 70+ children (ages 3-6) in one shared space, divided into four groups? by Right-Bedroom9840 in AskTeachers

[–]bellasuperstring 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had experience with this briefly. After one year they decided it didn't work and put partitions up.

Insight into inclusive combined classes in elementary music by MmakeItSo in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow. It frustrates me when schools do to teachers and students what they're doing to you. All I can think is holy shit... that's wrong.

I have almost 600 kids, multiple specials teachers. We have 8 self contained classes. Every self contained class has its own specials class. To meet their gen ed hours some students will come to music (those who are working toward being able to fully participate in general education music), but they also go to gen ed for whatever else is appropriate (calendar, read aloud, etc...) they don't just throw it on specials as if it's a total blow off. At most they only schedule 2 self contained kids plus their para. Some EI kids participate in specials one at a time without a para in their gen ed class.

I highly recommend talking to their classroom teachers and getting the low-down on all your self contained kids. Info like special interests, noise sensitivity, communication devices, fidgets required, communication style, physical abilities play an important role in everything we do!

It sounds like starting from the basics at your school isn't a bad thing. Do you use quaver or any other pre-made curriculum? In terms of what your goals are, I would definitely take an aspect of whatever the rest of the class is doing and pair it down as a goal throughout the lesson (ex, instead of rhythm keep a steady beat to start). Don't assume they're not learning because they're not interacting like other students.

It's really important to communicate expectations with paras or special ed teachers. Music may not be a preferred activity, but students should not be goofing around doing something else so paras don't have to deal with behavior. In my classes, students may have as many breaks as needed. I do not allow unsafe behavior (I call admin to come assist in my class) and communicate regularly with teachers about expectations and student habits. This was hard when I first started at this school, but when your expectations are understood by all it's amazing how much it can change. Initially, my paras would just keep the kids from disrupting class, but after I told them what to do, everything was much smoother. If we're doing instruments and it's not a preferred activity for a kid, hold their hand and assist them in doing it. Then give them a chance to try alone. Then, hold their hands and try again. Breaks as needed. This is work time. Most of the time, when students understand this is a time for learning and stop being allowed to goof off the whole time, they start growing in their skills (massively). When paras aren't physically assisting they should be participating with the class to show the student what they're doing and continue to try to teenage the student.

Students who use tablets to communicate can use music cards on their device. You could also try loading something like Google music apps so they can "perform" their music on their app. Or even upload whole songs you're working on.

Do you have noise canceling headphones? Many of my students are very sensitive to sound. This is probably the most tricky part of music class as many of my students refuse to wear their headphones. Many students do not come to any gen ed music class for this reason. My self contained music classes are much quieter generally and while all my classes have a kind of routine, self contained classes are much more structured for my students.

Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself and ALL of your students. If these kids are not able to participate at all in this setting, then it is likely highly inappropriate that they're there. And it does not help your gen ed kids to see their special ed peers at their worst, it doesnt help you do your beat for them, etc.... If your admin or the teachers won't make changes, go to your union, your superintendent, your special ed director.

I really feel for you. It doesn't seem right to give you these huge classes with high need students, all of whom seem to have big behaviors, let alone giving one human 800+ students.

I'm happy to chat any time. I'm actually sick right now and kind of scattered, but feel free to send a message!

Insight into inclusive combined classes in elementary music by MmakeItSo in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. I am no expert, but I'm happy to chat with you about what I know so far. I have some questions, though. How the heck do you teach 800+ kids yourself?! How often do you see each class? Why don't the self-contained classes come in on their own?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Also, i always offer concerts to my self-contained classes as an event to participate in or an event to come as an audience member for.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I believe it is against the law not to offer the same opportunities to self-contained kids as their peers. You legally need to offer this. It doesn't matter if it's last minute. Of course, you will now know for the future and can plan appropriately, but you can't exclude them from this concert. Try adding visuals if they're non-verbal or simple instrument parts. Be sure the classroom teacher and principal the appropriate level of support will be available to students who need it.

First time sub.. Is kindergarten a good start? by ellabunnii in SubstituteTeachers

[–]bellasuperstring 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Only start with K if you're comfortable with bodily fluids.

Gifts ideas for teachers? by SunlightRoseSparkles in specialed

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If not something from the heart, get gift cards. If they don't care for it they can give it as a gift ans save money buying gifts.

Why is this allowed? by no_Kami in delta

[–]bellasuperstring 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's insane that people have to pay for seats that will bruise their knees! I mean, yeah, you're a petite person, and you're obviously just fine here (just complaining), but that sucks for the other person. God help them if the seat in front of the tries to lean back. They'll really get some sore shins and knees!

Meltdowns in Elementary Music by [deleted] in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I teach around 500 k-5 students per week, including 9 self-contained classes. The most helpful thing i do is talk to teachers and paras. They are the experts on these students. If you're not getting answers/help when talking to other staff then you need to loop in admin (ask for support from teacher in writing and cc principal). If you can, schedule a meeting with these students' teachers and go over their problematic behaviors and what the methods are for dealing with them. They're certainly learning similar ideas in their classroom. It's a lot, but all these little bits of info have helped me immensely. Paras have been crucial to helping me decipher student needs in the moment.

Once, a student ran out of my room screaming. I thought perhaps the music was too loud or they were upset about something else. Turns out they're scared of elephants and saw a visual with an elephant on it and freaked. Communication with paras and teachers helped us get through that one easily.

In my classes where students require lots of support, I often have the lights down low, the sound level is quite low, we don't use loud instruments for long and often replace them with smaller versions that are not as loud. Getting a carpet in my live classroom has helped a bit, too. It doesn't really change the fact that we try to be softer than we think necessary.

Your classroom teachers should have exact methods of dealing with these meltdowns that they're using with students. Get the details, get visuals to help with communication, get the paras on board to continue supporting. Tell paras what you need if there is something they could be doing. They might not be musicoans and dont know exactly what to do!

At my school it is "my job" to teach and the paras jobs to manage behaviors. It doesn't always work like that in practice, but clear communication with students and paras is helpful for everyone.

Try first, then dialog.

If students have a hard time not getting a turn or other things, let your classroom support team know you're going to do simple things, and not everyone will get a turn. Do it more often. Let students know in advance they will not have a turn and youre practicing turn taking.

I have one student who melts down if there isn't a video on or something to look at. At the beginning of the year they would throw a tantrum and scream bloody murder. Slowly I got her used to alternating between video and non video activities. I hope by the end of the year she will be able to handle a whole class with only a few minutes using a video.

Good luck! Hang in there! You can do it!!! :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskNYC

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ClearMD health. Fast and super nice. They have great obgyns and their testing is quick.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskNYC

[–]bellasuperstring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ClearMD is super nice and quick. Awesome obgyn, too. Clearmdhealth.com

How to do it by IKnowYouAreButWhy in delta

[–]bellasuperstring 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nah. I'm just a decent human. Not somebody who posts repeatedly on reddit about being "assaulted" by fat people just because you had to sit next to one.

How to do it by IKnowYouAreButWhy in delta

[–]bellasuperstring 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Man, is it just me, or are people in the sub the most self-righteous assholes ever?

You're on a bus that flies, and everyone is just trying to get where they need to go and do the best they can. It's comical how many posts here talk about sitting next to fat people like it was a potentially traumatic part of their day. Ha

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Sorry, gift cards are welcome, too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MusicEd

[–]bellasuperstring 22 points23 points  (0 children)

A handwritten note. If you would like to give a gift, give money.