Tim Peter

During the past few weeks, I have spent a great deal of time with Dr. Tim Peter. As we have been preparing for Christmas at Luther, he has been helping Dr. Hightower get his bearings and gear up for his first C @ L experience. Therefore, I have heard him speak a great deal and I love it. T.P. is such a nice person with such a happy demeanor. He gains respect from the students so easily. I've rarely heard the man yell or seen him get angry. He speaks with confidence and is not afraid to say when he's wrong. He listens to his other colleagues and also asks opinion of the students involved in C @ L performances. One aspect of his speech that I really enjoy, and that I think makes him effective, is his use of humor. He is really funny. He knows the importance of a good laugh to a production that can be incredibly draining to those involved. Finally, when he is conducting, he has a look of pure joy on his face. It really is awesome to behold. That is what music is all about. Tim Peter is a great speaker, director, and most importantly, person. He positively effects the people he comes in contact with. I admire this and would someday like to emulate it to my students.

Speaker: Priest at church

Speaking is such an important part of being a religious leader. We just acquired a new priest at my beloved church. To say the least, his homilies, body-language, and tone of voice make me want to leave this church; a church that holds many memories and that means a great deal to me. I don't think it helps that he is very conservative, because I am not. I love my faith. Although I probably lean more to the right with politics and religion, I am not quite at his level. Despite that fact though, his preaching style is just not easy to listen to. He practically yells when he is at the pulpit giving homilies. During the rest of the Mass he talks slowly and in a monotone voice; both of these styles are hard to listen to. Also, churches and religions are much like schools and classrooms: which must constantly be moving forward. This priest not only doesn't seem to want to move forward (fast enough for me:), but he also hasn't yet given me any reason to believe that we should stay put. This, I think, is a direct result of his inability to convey his ideas in a convincing manner through his speech and tone of voice. I really hope he changes that. I don't want to leave this Church, but he's making if difficult for me to want to stay.

Collaborativeness

Collaborativeness happens in every walk of life. It happens at home, at school, and at work. I think that the best teachers are ones that are willing to work with their co-workers and their students to create opportunities that can only be achieved by working with others. Individuals are capable of much, but groups can be capable of much more. In high school, I enjoyed the classes in which we were given the opportunity to interact with other sections of the same class. It was new, it was different, and it was fun. I also appreciated when teachers would consult each other on projects or homework. They didn't just make decisions themselves which often made for more effective learning. Sometimes, the more opinions you get about a situation/item, the better that situation or item turns out. I look forward to collaborating with the other teachers that I will be working with. I think what makes collaborating work, is the ability to realize that all teachers want their students to succeed, just in different ways. The more opportunity teachers are given to share ideas and work together, the better off school systems will be!

Humility

Finding people who have the attribute of humility in today's world is not an easy task. It's unfortunate that so much of our world revolves around being "right." It's impossible for one person to be right all of the time and working with people who think they are always right is not easy. It's not fun, it's not productive, and it's not healthy for either party involved. In other senses, it IS important, for teachers especially, to be experts in their area of concentration. After all, they are teaching kids important information and it is essential that most of the time, they are correct. There is a difference, however, in being "right" when it comes to hard and fast facts and being "right" when it comes to opinion. I have had moments of stubbornness where I have felt strongly that I was right. I would have to say though, that collectively, humility is not a problem for me. If anything, I need to get better at being firm in my opinion and knowledge. It is not hard for me to be persuaded, which is not always a good characteristic. I hope that I am in a school one day that does not make it difficult for me to be effective because of "know it all" co-workers. No one wants to be in a position in which they feel belittled and in some cases, downright stupid. I will do my best to create environments, wherever I am, that do not encourage a sense of being correct all of the time. Giving kids the opportunity to be that way will only hinder them later in life.

Efficacy

Efficacy is a very large part of any job and truthfully, any part of life. The ability to bring about a certain effect is not one easily mastered or acquired. It is, however, entirely possible. The best way to increase efficacy, in my opinion, is knowing yourself and how you function alone and with others. It is important to know your limits, but to also strive to increase your ability to bring about positive effects in the classroom. Efficacy relies heavily on a person's will to "make it happen." I had many experiences in high school where it looked as though something was not going to get done. One example in particular (almost every year): the fall musical. We often struggled in getting ourselves together enough to be ready for opening night, but every year it happened. How? Generally, it was once again, thanks to Mr. J. He was often the factor that got the rest of us to push towards success. He made us realize that we had put in weeks of work and that it would be a shame to waste it because we weren't willing to push through the toughness of putting it all together. He led by his example of a strong work ethic, persistence and confidence which therefore made us confident; he had achieved efficacy. I think the best way to build efficacy is through collaboration with others and reflection of yourself. Ask yourself and others, what did I do wrong and how could I do it better next time? Efficacy is very much a "trial and error" disposition, but with enough practice it can become a natural attribute.

Inventiveness

Inventiveness is an essential part of growth and learning in every aspect of life. Being creative can lead to the discovery of new horizons; with the people surrounding you, with places, and within yourself. In schools, it is important that we as teachers stick with a relatively ordered classroom, but at the same time, allow for some "exploration" of ideas. Doing this in a music classroom should be quite easy. Music is all about expression of the individuals who are making it. In high school, I was a member of a Vocal Jazz group in which each person had multiple opportunities for "scat" solos; solos that used syllables and a basic chord progression and are completely improvisational. This was a great way to encourage creativity, and the reward was that if you came up with a nice solo, you got to sing it during a concert. Another way in which creativity infiltrates into the classroom is through interpretation of lyrics and/or music. Whenever we sang songs with poetic lyrics or words that could be seen in many ways, we were given the opportunity to describe what they meant to us as individuals. I personally enjoyed these "projects" because they were new and different. Creativity is incredibly important in today's world. Our society is so focused on "the right way" of doing things, which rarely leaves room for new discoveries. Encouraging inventiveness starts with teachers and if we succeed, it will make the world a better, more interesting place to be.

Reflectiveness

Reflecting is a great tool that is not used often enough. I think it is so hard for people to reflect on their work for a number of reasons. There are two that really stand out to me. First of all, reflecting takes some serious thinking. After a day of teaching or working, who wants to THINK more? Second, it may mean realizing your weaknesses or things you can improve on. This can be a difficult task for anyone, but especially teachers because they are supposed to "know it all." Therefore, it is a tough topic. Some people probably consider reflection to be the heart of teaching for the EXACT reasons I just mentioned. It requires critical thinking (which Tony Wagner loves) and it means discovering flaws. People who are willing to do this obviously care about their jobs and want to do all they can to improve their methods of teaching others. I reflect the best when I am alone and preferably in an area of nature. I love being outside where there is still noise, but ideally no human distractions (including cars, buildings, etc). I personally do not like reflecting that much because of the reasons I mentioned at the top of this post. I also believe that I spend too much time thinking (which CAN be good, but can also be bad). Because of this, I don't really enjoy reflection. I tend to over-analyze situations which generally just leads to more problems. I do believe, however, that when done correctly and often, reflecting can be a very useful tool in the world of teaching.