So, I have a few things to do before I am finished with school. Literally, finished with my undergraduate degree. Scary? Nah. Exciting? You bet. Busy? Not really, but since I put a lot of stuff off, moderately so.
Coming up later in the week (Thurs, Fri. or Saturday at the latest) I will have some footage (Great Scot!) and a trip to the zoo.
As my time in London is diminishing rather quickly, if there is anything you want me to report on in the blog, please let me know.
ALSO:
Think about your favorite moments from the videos I posted this year. I quite like the idea of a "Best of London" video that has all of my (and yours!) favorite clips all strung together into a masterful work of art that will make you laugh, cry, and crave a hefty serving of brown rice. I will of course take into consideration any requests that people put forward in comments or e-mails to me.
Have a great week everyone, happy Monday...
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A day in the life
I thought it would be neat to take a quick audio snapshot of my day at various points. Let me know how this is from a listeners perspective... I think maybe it would work better if there were shorter clips that happened more frequently. Let me know what you honestly think.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Mmmm carrotgingerorange juice
It's true. I ordered some today from this cafe and it was really tasty. £2 though so I don't know that I'll be getting another one soon...
So today was my first day doing the teaching thing. It was a lot of fun. Today I taught at schools A and C (just to keep them anonymous). Although they are a few miles from each other, I was lucky to be able to catch a ride with one of the other music teachers who was also going from A to C. At the first school, we had a group of about 20 or so. First we learned a new song and sang it (Calypso!) and then each of the teachers took half the group to work on getting notes to come out. I stayed to help with brass and percussion. Now these kids are in the equivalent of 4th grade and have already done a class on djembes and recorders and now have band instruments. I liked that the teachers used solfege and that the children were pretty comfortable with it. Also, they are not shy to sing when asked. The full band rehearsal was okay. I helped the percussion keep a steady beat and use good stick techniques. All of this is a big change from working with a HS wind ensemble last semester trying to convey the subtleties of Robert Russell Bennett and make some very fine music. But I welcome the change! The experience here is going to be just as valuable if not more I think.
At the second school, we followed a similar scheme with band, except there were about 50 kids (!!!) so we made a bit more of a racket but they are good kids. I also sat in on some flute lessons.
Favorite quote of the day-
Teacher: "I don't know why your memory is off today!"
9-year-old-student: "I know... It's like a sieve."
Tomorrow, I need to be at school at 9:30. School L is much further away too... I need to leave early and take two tubes and a bus plus walking to get there. Fun fun!
In other news, I don't have the video from this past weekend's walks done yet. I was hoping to get to it soon, but I need to make sure I get to bed early enough so I'm not a zombie in the morning. When it is done, I'll post it. I dislike these boring posts almost as much as you do I'm sure!
So today was my first day doing the teaching thing. It was a lot of fun. Today I taught at schools A and C (just to keep them anonymous). Although they are a few miles from each other, I was lucky to be able to catch a ride with one of the other music teachers who was also going from A to C. At the first school, we had a group of about 20 or so. First we learned a new song and sang it (Calypso!) and then each of the teachers took half the group to work on getting notes to come out. I stayed to help with brass and percussion. Now these kids are in the equivalent of 4th grade and have already done a class on djembes and recorders and now have band instruments. I liked that the teachers used solfege and that the children were pretty comfortable with it. Also, they are not shy to sing when asked. The full band rehearsal was okay. I helped the percussion keep a steady beat and use good stick techniques. All of this is a big change from working with a HS wind ensemble last semester trying to convey the subtleties of Robert Russell Bennett and make some very fine music. But I welcome the change! The experience here is going to be just as valuable if not more I think.
At the second school, we followed a similar scheme with band, except there were about 50 kids (!!!) so we made a bit more of a racket but they are good kids. I also sat in on some flute lessons.
Favorite quote of the day-
Teacher: "I don't know why your memory is off today!"
9-year-old-student: "I know... It's like a sieve."
Tomorrow, I need to be at school at 9:30. School L is much further away too... I need to leave early and take two tubes and a bus plus walking to get there. Fun fun!
In other news, I don't have the video from this past weekend's walks done yet. I was hoping to get to it soon, but I need to make sure I get to bed early enough so I'm not a zombie in the morning. When it is done, I'll post it. I dislike these boring posts almost as much as you do I'm sure!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Firsts
Okay, so I survived my first class and clarinet lesson here in London.
The class is "Empire and Decolonization" which seems interesting enough. I don't feel that I got a lot of history in high school, especially European history. Perhaps zero. Anyways, once this is underway, I think I shall enjoy it. I already have a book from the library to read that our professor wrote. Note: Classes here are 2.75 hours in length and meet only once a week. That will be the biggest adjustment I think.
My clarinet lesson was fine. The teacher, Janet, had me play some scales and basic stuff just to get a feel for my sound and what not and then we dove right into music. I feel a bit bleh since I haven't been taking proper lessons since early October, but hopefully these lessons will help me find some focus and make some real progress. I think we'll get along just fine.
I took a picture of a High Kensington St. underground platform just to share.
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