My Favorite Worst Decision
My favorite worst decision:
My favorite worst decision was becoming a Math teacher at a choir school. Working in a school where students prioritize learning the lyrics to the song they will be singing at the weekly concert, over studying for the algebra test, forced me to shift my thinking. Teaching a subject that is usually of high importance to students and having to find the balance between academics and passion was a challenge. With weekly concerts on a Wednesday my schedule had to be shifted so that no studying or homework of importance was to be done on a Tuesday evening, allowing my students the opportunity to work on learning their voices' part to the numerous songs that were to be sung. The scheduling I could wrap my head around...then came to random outbursts in class. Where normal disruptions in a classroom involved a fight between students, or an argumentative student challenging the teachers authority, at this school my most common disruption was when one boy would sing the first line to a song, the others would spontaneously chime in in perfect harmony. Literally.
I've always understood the drive to do well academically and on the sports field because those were my passions. Working at the choir school taught me to be more understanding of the students who are in my classroom. It taught me that the students in our classes will put hours into their passions, rather than their academics, but that they could someday become their career. Working at this school also ignited in me a new respect for music and the art that it is. I'm not sure labeling my time at the choir school the 'worst' decision is appropriate, but it was certainly a journey where I learnt a lot, and one that has played a role in shaping me as a teacher.
There were two hidden traps in my decision to work at the school. The first is the 'status-quo' trap. My family was already living and working at the school. Before taking the job I had resigned from my previous job to pursue working internationally. The job offer to work at the school came quickly after they heard I was no longer intending to stay at my previous job for the following year. Before I had had a chance to explore options overseas, I accepted this job because it was familiar, understandable and a safe option.
The second hidden trap of working at the school was the trap of 'sunk-cost'. Taking this job turned out to be a financial burden - although convenient and safe the pay was not enough, especially after Covid-19 had hit and staff were forced to take pay cuts.
Reflecting on the hidden traps that I fell into, I believe they were an opportunity to learn, and I do not regret the decisions I made. Going forward, I will try to be more conscious of these traps when accepting jobs.
The dilemma that I was faced with daily working at the choir school was the trade off between allowing the students time to focus on their music and learning their songs, and teaching them enough of the Math curriculum to prepare them for their next school where music might not be the priority. I had to give up my teaching time for tours, additional practices and sometimes just exhaustion that was evident in the students.
In the end I believe that although I may not have had the best marks in relation to other schools in the region, I was teaching students who had learnt that a passion was important, they had learnt how to manage their time, and in the end they had in fact learnt some Math. The trade-off in the scheduling changes, cherry picking of content, and shifting of thinking I had to make, resulted in my own new appreciation for music and, in all honestly, my appreciation for the capacity of the students that I teach.
Comments
Post a Comment