The Things I have Seen...

So...I was conducting the concert last Tuesday and there was one of the strangest occurrences that I could imagine. I was standing outside the auditorium and I watched a service dog walk in leading a man into the auditorium. I thought little of it except for simply noticing it. As I stood up on the stage helping to corral the students onto the risers I saw that the dog was in the front row. Everything seemed to be going fine until one boy tried to go past the dog to get on the stage. I was turned around at the time and all I heard was a loud bark and a growl. Apparently, the boy had gotten too close to the dog and scared it, causing it to lash out and bite him. The boy was fine and the dog never had any more problems. It was a lesson to me though. Any time you think you know what is going to happen or that everything is going to be fine you are setting yourself up to be caught off guard. I was so sure that I was ready for the concert and just when I let my guard down something went wrong. Thankfully, the principal saw and stepped in as there will most likely be a legal issue involved and the concert went on just fine. I also have to say I was equally surprised when one of my students gave me a hug and a stuffed Koala along with a card saying how much she loved choir and how she thought I was a great teacher. I had never directly talked to her but it felt great knowing that I had made things better for her. I felt more justified in my teaching just because of that and I needed that validation. Strange as it will seem to some as I am very optimistic about life in general, student teaching has made me feel pretty down about my teaching. I do not always feel like I will turn out to be a very good teacher or that I am ready to be a teacher yet but this event really helped. I am going to finish out student teaching strong and see what happens. Everyday is an adventure, good or bad.

I think these videos are fitting.