As most of you know, I am completely obsessed with music. I have nights where I hear one song that gives me that feeling; whether it's inspired, happy, sad, makes me wanna dance..whatever the feeling is, I feel it. And that causes me to go on a frantic search for more songs that make me 'feel'....so I hop on YouYube (back in the day it was Myspace music pages) or I go through all my CDS, and my iTunes....and I spend hours just listening to different songs that make me 'feel'. These are some of my favorite nights because they bring me back to the realization of what makes me tick, of who I am and why I am the way I am. People....connecting with people....music...connecting through music. Feeling that existential feeling of 'we are all here, we are all good, we can all make a difference'. That's just me. And it makes me sound like a hippie :) But that's okay. There's a point to this, I promise....let me continue..:)
So I'm working on the Communication Model in my classes now. We are studying the concept that there is a Sender, a Receiver, a message, feedback, interference...etc...etc...and I'm at the end of the unit, and have realized that some of my kids need a little more. They're not quite grasping the concept the way I want them to, so I'm coming up with ideas to review the communication model in ways that really grab their attention and help them 'get it'.
Some of you may have heard of the new show, "The X Factor". It's pretty much a glorified American Idol and yes...I know that reality television is terrible. I know it's trash. However, occasionally on shows like these...you see someone shine. They sing that song that makes you 'feel'. They draw the reaction from the audience that grabs at your heart strings and makes it apparent that people are connecting on a level they never would have connected on before, and it's stuff like that, that keeps me watching shows like this. Tonight there were two auditions that really grabbed my attention and got me thinking. I thought....I should show this to my students, they'll love the song, they'll like watching a video in class, and I can ask them to watch for parts of the communication process...message...feedback....verbal...non-verbal......and we can all reflect and review and maybe they'll start to understand a little better. And then I got to thinking about how much I give a damn that my students understand this stuff. It seems so simple, it's just the communication process, right? But it's so much bigger than that for me, which is why I studied Communication, why I went to school to teach it, and why I'm still so passionate about how Communication should be/is the most important subject a student will study.
So then I start to think...you know, this really could be great. I'm keeping it relevant, current, I can do so many things this week in class that will really help them grasp these concepts and start caring more because they'll understand it more. And then it occurs to me, that I'm watching this show called the X-Factor where judges are sitting there watching people audition, and deciding whether these people have the X-Factor to make it as singers in the entertainment business.
Here's my real 'ah-ha' moment...you ready? I start thinking about my class and my teaching in regard to 'The X-Factor". The question is, do these people have what it takes to make it in the music industry? Then I turned it around on myself. Do I have what it takes to make it in my classroom? My kids are my audience and I'm the one auditioning. How do I grab their attention? How do I make them want to keep listening? How do I make them 'feel' enough to start understanding and start giving a damn about this subject I care so much about? It's not really the 'day to day' stuff that I'm worried about. I've got the lesson plans, the classroom management, all of that stuff I've got down. The next level is making a difference. Sure my kids are behaving, doing their assignments, getting the surface stuff. But I really want to challenge myself to have that "X-Factor" in the classroom that makes them want more....makes them remember the things they learned in my classroom for years and years....
I think I've got it. Just gotta keep tryin' new things. And don't think that I'm the naive little new teacher who's all hopeful and rainbows and lolli pops. I know I will meet resistance, I know I won't reach every kid I teach and I know for sure that most of my kids won't care about this stuff as much as I do. But what the hell else would I be doing if I wasn't trying my best to try to get them there? :)
Okay. That's all.
Peace, love and communication, ya'll.
