Teachers are people, too.

Out with the old, in with the new.  This year's resolutions: drink more water and blog at least twice a month.  Like many, I've fallen into the blog trap in the past: create, write excessively for a month, and like a kitchen appliance, the concept of the blog loses its appeal and gets shoved to some dusty shelf and used rarely, if ever again.  The idea of blogging is truly fascinating if you think about it.  People have no qualms expressing their most complex feelings, thoughts, emotions and experiences, and posting it for the entire world.  In the technological generation, it's considered abnormal not to have some kind of online presence.  I'll say right now that I'm probably no different than any blogger.  In my mind, I've accepted  that blogging, while creative and arguably an art form in its own right, is the teensiest bit narcissist.  My goal is to share my experiences teaching music, to be open about my thought processes with regards to my private music students and my sixth graders, who I teach general music to at a public school. The other day I ran into a student while eating breakfast at iHop. Cheekiness aside from being caught with a forkful of fatty, syrupy pancakes, I was surprised when my student said "I didn't know you ate here."  Kid rhetoric aside, teachers are people, too! I buy groceries, eat out, and get my oil changed.  It's a shame that even with my private students, who receive the most one-on-one attention, our interactions revolve around showing up, warming up, singing or playing, and giving a performance twice a year.

If I could de-censor these things, I would, because many people are actually quite surprised to learn that when I'm not teaching, I'm pretty sarcastic, often zany, and relatively off-beat.  The control and tendency toward OCD of teaching has taken over my personality more than I would have liked recently (I am technically a first-year teacher).  This blog will be for my students, parents, and myself to get to know the thought processes involved in running a private music studio and balancing teaching with performing, learning, and living life.  So while I'll try to be succinct in my posts, I'm going to go out on a limb and risk my students, their parents, my teachers, and colleagues understanding who I really am.