Teaching Stories

The Time In Between

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You know it well…

The time in between sleep and wakefulness. When our subconscious  has the opportunity to bring the hidden to the forefront of our minds. Whether good or bad, scary or humorous, often we do not have control over the content of our thinking in this twilight or early morning transitional time.

This morning it was fear that I had not planned my music lessons for the day, I felt unprepared. But when fully awake I realized I had planned the entire week the Friday before. Mondays! Yikes!!

This type of mid-dwelling does not often catch me with fear or ‘not good enough’ feelings. Normally there are no thoughts or I am listening to the Bible or Worship songs. I was reminded this morning of WHY I have this practice!! Guiding the mind as I begin the day is a weapon and a protection.

I will not forget again! Ugh what a horrible way to start the day!

By Stacey Britton | March 28, 2022 | The Time In Between

Updated Thoughts…

Now, after suffering a head trauma and going through a long recovery, still recovering time, I find that the fear I rarely experienced is becoming a discipline to manage. My thought life is re-building and fear that I cannot do what needs to be accomplished plagues me, with a realistic ‘lack of confidence’ healing process. I am now learning about grace and mercy. Relying on the scriptures of joy and thankfulness as well as singing songs of worship to the God of the Universe asking Him to direct my path. Taking one step at a time is the new mindset and pattern, before I loved to run and ahead and planning was a joy and creativity was easy. Now, not so much. I need to pace and not overdo, be a methodical and steady joyful for each day, type of person. I am building confidences each day and remapping my brain in new and powerful ways. Ways of peace, balance, hope and joy in my creator who proclaimed at the beginning of time in the story of creation in Genesis, that He looked upon all that He created and it was good. He breathed His spirit into created mankind and said it was very good. Those are good words and truths to remember, especially when I can’t find my phone…again. (Smile)

By Stacey Britton | January 11, 2024 | The Time In Between, Updated thoughts…

A Creative Person?

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by Stacey Britton | May 23, 2019 | Blog: A Creative Person?

I’ve never thought of collecting data for lessons as an act of creativity.

Nor have I thought tallying point for a choice day particularly creative.

More like survival for the best of teachers. Data represents thought, and in this case the thoughts of a growing person. Points represent choices by groups of little people working together toward one goal, choice by choice.

When I began thinking about a teaching career I never thought of these things and how they connect to supporting a child’s social development, stability, trust and encouragement. The tally mark represents so many things in the music room. This I NEVER thought about. Tonight, it is foremost in my mind…

Tonight as I begin to enter a copious amount of data into a district grade recording system, I am reflecting on the power of the tally mark. It’s daily impact on my life and the life of my students. The silent vote system that is one of the basic foundations of VOICE – singing and speaking, predicting and finding solutions, the tally mark is effecting my life tonight and will for several nights ahead. Let’s see, 350 students each student receives 3 music grades, (3×350=1050 grades) each grade represent at least 100 tally entries for each student for Semester one and the same for Semester two .(1050×100=105,000×2=210,000) I’m probably missing a few thousand somewhere!

At least 210,000 tallies! Sometimes just one tally means grading a test (10/20 questions = 1 tally) and if I really wanted to show you my two-2 inch binders full of observations, grades, and so forth I would. But then I haven’t even begun to share about lesson planning, building rubrics, creating power points, exit question forms, check in quizzes AND I have not even spent one moment teaching YET :->. (more, more and more…)

In my wildest dreams I would have not thought that a tally mark was creative, nor in keeping track of all the jots and tittles, the little details, would that help me be a particularly creative, fun teacher. BUT IT HAS and tally, or observing and WRITING DOWN what I have seen has been creative and fun for me. The students look at what other classes decide or vote for, their likes and ‘not so much likes’ 🙂 it begins to build community in all types of ways – the tally – who would have thought that?

Not me! A Creative Person? I never would have thought the tally could be used in so many different ways and for a multitude of purposes.