Talking Maps

It seemed so utterly absurd at the time, but I now understand the teacher that moved one of my mischievous classmates to a seat behind the world map in 10th grade.  He continued to talk, so instead of having a quieter more focused class, we instead had a talking map.  Needless to say, it was hilarious for all of us.  Poor teacher.  What does one do?

But I get it now.  I also get that these instances should be times of reflection.  What is the goal of the class?  Is this communicated to everyone there?  Do they understand it?

It is difficult to teach a group class of cello.  It is something that requires individual attention because every person's body needs something specific to do it correctly.  But it also requires that everyone keeps playing, keeps moving forward, train on the tracks.  What is the goal?

I am trying to balance individual attention with the group class needs, but this is a challenge, especially with such diverse abilities and focus needs.  Some are group oriented, some independent, some need to move, others would rather do anything else.  There are only 7 of them, but in a cello class that is 7 individuals.

But we are moving forward.  Slowly but steadily, sometimes a bit forwards sometimes a bit backwards.  My goal, instead of buying a large world map, is to try to communicate the importance and goals of what we are doing a little more clearly.  Maybe we can all get on the same page again.