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Do you often tell yourself you did a good job?
I don't. In fact, I've had to teach myself how to do it. Last Friday, when I was rehearsing my VSLA presentation, I panicked as I envisioned presenting to an empty room. After all, it was the very last conference session on a Saturday. I thought I need to give attendees something right off the bat that they can take to their classrooms. So, I I searched up fun classroom cheers, and I decided to work a bunch of fun movements into the start of my talk. I'd work in a round of applause for the conference organizers, a cowboy "yeehaw" cheer for the hotel staff, and a disco cheer for anyone who actually showed up to the last session of the conference. What's a disco cheer? Stand up, channel your inner Bee Gees or John Travolta, and put your finger in the air. Then chant, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, I did a good job. I did a good job." It was so much fun, I took the cheer back to my classroom. On Monday, I told my class how I had been grading all weekend, when I wasn't presenting, and how I was so proud of their tremendous improvement. They did a round of applause for increasing math fact fluency, a yeehaw cheer for reading comprehension and a disco cheer for written responses to literature. On Thursday, as I was packing up to go home, the custodian entered my room. This is a relationship I have nursed for ten years. He is not someone who easily engages in conversation. So, when he stepped in and started talking I was surprised. "You know that music you were listening to the other day in class?" My mind raced. Music? I hadn't listened to any music in class that week. What was he talking about? "You know, the Bee Gees song." Still dumbfounded I stared at him. "They don't music anymore like they did in the seventies and the eighties." And then it clicked- "Stayin' Alive." "I have that song on my phone." He smiled and walked out the door. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, I did a good job. I did a good job." It's your turn. Stand up and try it. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, I did a good job. I did a good job." Fun, right?!
8 Comments
Diane Anderson (newtreemom)
3/26/2023 05:58:08 am
That’s great! I could hear the music in my mind! And making the connection with the custodian is priceless!
Kim Johnson
3/26/2023 07:40:42 am
Nope. They sure don’t make music like they used to. And there aren’t any groups like we knew whose next album we just couldn’t wait for - these “bands” and “musicians” today are one and done. Then gone. We don’t have any new Eagles or Journey or Styx or Kansas or America or Bee Gees or Beatles. Every generation says their music is the best, and they can believe it all they want. But here’s the fact of truth: music reached its pinnacle of superlativeness in the 1970s. It has stayed alive like no other generation’s music. I love this post!! 3/26/2023 06:54:26 pm
Hi Kim, 3/26/2023 11:17:45 am
Oh, Kate, that is such a wonderful post. I love how the custodian liked that song and the music of the 70-80s, and how you mention nurturing this relationship. I did stand up do the Disco cheer, and I hope I remember to use it! I've made a note, so the next time I have an opportunity, I want to do these cheers too. Thanks for sharing. 3/26/2023 06:51:43 pm
Hi Denise, 3/26/2023 07:14:12 pm
Kate: First, I love the idea of coaching oneself into confidence with a disco cheer! And let's face it...the Bee Gees were iconic. Those beats and lyrics stay with you forever. And then to think of it being the random thing that finally breaks the ice with the custodian after so long trying... well, music IS the universal language! Who'd have thought Stayin' Alive was the key? Oh, there's so much metaphor here-!! Priceless. 3/27/2023 10:15:32 am
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Slice of Life ChallengeMy 2023 one little word goal is PLAY. So, one of the ways I'm playing is by joining in the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life Story Challenge. My first post will be March 1st. Happy reading! ArchivesCategories |
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