I rushed back to school so that I could write this blog post as soon as I could, so that I could put down all of the ideas that are running through my head into something that can save them. Let me start off by saying, part of the program here in Siena is to do service in the community to give back and to learn from giving back. There are so many options of what you can do for your service from working at a cat shelter to serving meals in a soup kitchen, to working in a garden or with people that have special needs. One of our options was to work in a school and teach English to students, either elementary or high school. I chose to work in the elementary with 3rd and 5th graders, for an hour each. Today was my first day, and I was told not to worry or try to plan anything for it since it was my first day. So I didn’t really know what to expect. I got to my school, went into the classroom, and the teacher introduced me to the class and told me to go ahead and teach. My thoughts, with a class of 25 7 year olds looking at me, waiting for me to do something, completely blanked. I was honestly terrified. I don’t speak Italian very well (at all). These children don’t speak English hardly at all. So I did what I knew best… I taught them a song. “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” to be exact. They absolutely loved it. They kept asking if we could sing it faster and faster and eventually we took out different body parts (“Now sing the song without saying the word head”). Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes lead to a song that I learned in General Music Methods that Dr. Marshall taught us called “Head and Shoulders Baby” (Shoutout to DM if he is reading this). They loved it too. It was a really cool feeling knowing that even though our communication barrier through language was definitely there, they loved the music. I then taught them a song from Brazil that I learned for one of my units for General Music Methods. I pointed on the map to where Brazil was and talked to them a little bit about it, telling them basic information that I learned in this unit. We sang the song and did the dance to it, which they loved… again. And after the lesson, I asked them where the song was from… AND THEY REMEMBERED. And could even point to it on the map from when I showed them before. In that moment, I literally almost cried. We finished out the lesson with “The Wheels on the Bus” and making up funny sounds for honking horns and squeaking window wipers. Just imagine what I could have accomplished if I had a plan for what I was going to do today… Hahaha.
I came into the classroom with no plan and no idea of what I was going to do. So I went back to what I know best and that’s music. Today, the students learned English words for parts of the body, they learned a song from Brazil and some basic information about it (and retained it YES!!!!) and had some fun learning words for things on the bus (driver, seats, passengers, windows, horn, etc). All of this, with absolutely no plan. Off the top of my head. To most of you reading, it probably doesn’t seem like a big deal that these kids learned a couple silly songs and maybe a few English words that they’ll probably forget in a couple days (or hours), but to me, it’s the first step in the right direction. And it opens doors to so many other things. When I came back to school for my program here, I asked if the students here in Italy have music class. I was told that if they want to have music class, it is always outside of the classroom… So I’m making it my mission to teach these children English through music. Killing two birds with one stone. I’m so thankful that I hadn’t prepared anything for my first day of service in the school because if I had, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of music as an option for teaching English. In my mind, I’m already running through ideas of what I can do next week for them. By following my gut and rolling with the punches, I ran a rather successful first class for not speaking their language, something that could have caused me to fail miserably. And I didn’t. So this all goes back to what seems to be an underlying theme of my time here in Italy; that I am capable. And that’s a really important thing to be learning while I’m here. Even if I don't have the first idea on how to do something, I can figure it out. By no means was I ever a helpless person before coming here, but I’ve definitely learned a sense of independence and confidence in the abilities I have to know how to do things, and do them well. I don’t have a professor by my side telling me what to do next, I don’t have a tour guide to make sure I end up in the right place. I have myself and my instincts. And since I’ve been here, they’ve proved to be enough. And that’s a really cool thing.
Until next time…
Ciao!
I came into the classroom with no plan and no idea of what I was going to do. So I went back to what I know best and that’s music. Today, the students learned English words for parts of the body, they learned a song from Brazil and some basic information about it (and retained it YES!!!!) and had some fun learning words for things on the bus (driver, seats, passengers, windows, horn, etc). All of this, with absolutely no plan. Off the top of my head. To most of you reading, it probably doesn’t seem like a big deal that these kids learned a couple silly songs and maybe a few English words that they’ll probably forget in a couple days (or hours), but to me, it’s the first step in the right direction. And it opens doors to so many other things. When I came back to school for my program here, I asked if the students here in Italy have music class. I was told that if they want to have music class, it is always outside of the classroom… So I’m making it my mission to teach these children English through music. Killing two birds with one stone. I’m so thankful that I hadn’t prepared anything for my first day of service in the school because if I had, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of music as an option for teaching English. In my mind, I’m already running through ideas of what I can do next week for them. By following my gut and rolling with the punches, I ran a rather successful first class for not speaking their language, something that could have caused me to fail miserably. And I didn’t. So this all goes back to what seems to be an underlying theme of my time here in Italy; that I am capable. And that’s a really important thing to be learning while I’m here. Even if I don't have the first idea on how to do something, I can figure it out. By no means was I ever a helpless person before coming here, but I’ve definitely learned a sense of independence and confidence in the abilities I have to know how to do things, and do them well. I don’t have a professor by my side telling me what to do next, I don’t have a tour guide to make sure I end up in the right place. I have myself and my instincts. And since I’ve been here, they’ve proved to be enough. And that’s a really cool thing.
Until next time…
Ciao!