I am more excited about this year than I have been about anything in awhile (new child excluded). There is such a positive energy, an open dialogue, a healthy approach to new things. I am not seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. I know this position is going to take energy and work, but the faculty I have met seem to be willing to put that energy in. The reason I have so many plates spinning right now is because there are so many great ideas to implement. Many of these ideas are not going to be perpetual time-eating, but it does take a little push to get off the ground. I don't mind that.
I will likely attempt to post a blog on repertoire somewhat soon. But I will say this: Planning a methods course is tough. I want to give my students the best education possible for their future careers as educators. I have spent and will continue to spend a lot of time planning lessons, and I'm still not convinced the lessons will accomplish what I want them to. I don't want the students in my class to get the short-end of the stick in any way. I know many of my deficiencies, and I know that my expertise is in choral conducting.
Thankfully my predecessor left a wealth of lesson plans for this class. It has made the planning much easier.
I had a new course added to my schedule, and a course taken away. I will no longer be teaching class voice. I'm a bit bummed, as I love teaching voice. However, in its place I will be teaching a vocal jazz ensemble. I have been secretly studying vocal jazz for a few years, and I will be excited about trying my hand at it.
Back to revisions of my thesis document. Anybody out there want to read a chapter of my thesis document and give me feedback? (I'm just about burned out of this academia thesis document thing).
