Fire Drill

Waking up to an alarm in the dark, walking out the door with my recorder in hand and getting in the car to drive to work—it was like the old days for this retired teacher! But instead of the 20-minute drive to The San Francisco School, it was an hour and eight- minute commute to the Almedan Country Day School in San Jose. I agreed to spend a morning with 3^rd and 5^th graders and their teachers, teaching one class, observing two others. 

 

Since retirement, I’ve continued to do some level of work with kids at some five different schools in San Francisco and another 10 schools worldwide. So it wasn’t as if this was an entirely novel experience in these last five years. But it had been some six months since I set foot in a school and so there was a sense of returning home to my natural habitat. The buzz of kids passing in the halls, the squeals of kids playing in the yard, the murmurs of kids coming into the music class wondering what adventure awaited them. For this 50-year teacher, this is where I thrive and feel utterly at home.

 

I observed one class each from my host teachers and both were delightfully. Lovely rapport with the kids, good development of the material, clear organization within the lesson and both teachers thoroughly enjoying themselves. I got to teach my classic Intery Mintery to a group of 3^rd graders with various admin and teachers watching. I began with another chant that invites the kids to make different kinds of jack-o-lantern faces and then invited the teachers to do it while the kids watched. I believe the children were thoroughly delighted to see their principal make a distorted scary face!

Then back to the kids and I led them through chanting, singing, making motions and playing a challenged six-part piece on the xylophones. They did a great job and when it was time to go, one said “Aww! Do we have to?”

 

During the last class, there was a fire drill and here I was wholly back in the school environment. Out silently to the yard waiting for the “All clear!”, the kids playing silent clapping games to pass the time while waiting. 

 

Next week, I’m going on a short Men’s Group retreat up in Bolinas an hour north and knowing the music teacher who works in that small town, will do a guest class with her 8^th grade. A few days later, I’ll go to a local elementary school to sing Halloween songs, a place I’ve gone every few months or so for the last four years. Then up to Portland to visit the grandkids and another Halloween sing at my grandson’s school and yet another as the school of some college friends’ grandkids. No money involved (though sometimes, yes!), just this happy forever music teacher looking for opportunities to return to his natural habitat. And if I’m lucky, maybe there’ll be a fire drill to make feel even more at home!