For many years I’ve been a teacher…more than I care to admit. As the years pass, it becomes easier to use lessons from my files that are convenient and easy to teach. There’s nothing wrong with using materials that have been collected and gleaned over the years. The problem is that all of us can get stuck in a rut.

I have seen too many teachers get comfortable in teaching. They lose their passion of learning new things to inspire not only themselves, but their students as well. New trends come and go. Some are worth following, some are not. You don’t know what is good or bad until you try it!

So how do you stay a life long learner? How do you stay relevant to the newer generation? How do you keep the passion to not only teach, but also to learn, alive and well? How do you avoid becoming stagnant and dull as you grow older? The solution is to challenge yourself by trying new things that make you uncomfortable, and push you to learn new skills.

Noteflight

Within the last few years, our school corporation purchased Chrome Books. The Middle School and High School have a one-to-one ratio on Chromebooks. Students take the Chromebooks home, and use them for homework or research. At the elementary level, we have Chromebooks to be shared by each grade level at school. The elementary students do not take the Chromebooks home.

The Noteflight Learn program intrigued me since it is an internet-based program. Students could use the Chromebooks at school and work through the lessons on Noteflight Learn. Next, I could assign my students homework they could access through phones, iPads, and other devices since Noteflight is internet-based. I took a survey of my students, and all had access to some kind of technology.

As I take the course in Noteflight Learn, there are many skills that come easy. However, last week’s lesson of writing out portions of a Jazz score were extremely challenging! When I first looked at the score, I felt defeated before ever even starting! I have NEVER written out a score that looked like that.

Our teacher gave excellent directions, tutorial videos, and kept encouraging us to hang in there. After MANY hours and much experimenting, I finished the score feeling quite proud of myself! Completing that lesson made getting around the program feel easier, and I better understood how to use it when writing a musical score.

I am glad to be taking this course. It proves to me what my students must feel like when I give them an assignment that seems so easy to me! It’s simple to forget that music comes naturally to me. My parents were both musical, and I have always been surrounded by music. Starting at age 4, I felt comfortable singing, reading, writing and performing music. It was an important reminder for me that this is not the case for most of my students.

The Learning Curve

Technology was not as prevalent when I was growing up. Fortunately, when I started working in the North Lawrence Community Schools, technology was fairly new, and we all got a lot of training. I feel comfortable on a computer now, but it still does not come as easy to me as the younger generations who have been around it their entire lifetime. This includes my current classmates who are taking the same course in Noteflight Learn with me. They have an advantage over me, but I won’t let that stop me from trying!

Being a life-long learner means taking chances! Being a life long learner means stop listening to negative self talk and get out there and try new things. Age is only a number! Every day offers a new opportunity. Look for those opportunities and strive to be the best you can. Learn something new, and try it out on your students. You will both be glad you did!

I wonder what my homework will be this week?

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

-Benjamin Franklin