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RedMusicLady
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Name: Katie
Birthday: 7/6/1984
Gender: Female
Interests: Music-playing, singing, listening, performing...you get the idea; being outside-I am a firm believer that being outdoors is healing to the soul; spending time with those I love-friends, family, Shawn; Children-they give us such a renewed sense of appreciation for the small things in life; Reading; Sports; looking at pictures; Movies; Coke, dill pickle chips, brownies, Velveeta shells and cheese, cookie dough...this list could really go on forever :)
Occupation: Education/training
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  katiebug476
Member Since:
8/23/2005
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| Frazier updateHere's the latest: Shawn and I have accepted jobs at MTCS (Middle Tennessee Christian School) in Murfreesboro, TN for next year as the 5th-12th grade choir director, and 5th-12th grade band director, respectively. We went this weekend to look for a place to live and made an offer on a really cute townhouse on the outskirts of Murfreesboro! Hopefully everything will work out for that contract, and we will be able to move in during mid-July. In case you're not familiar with the area, Murfreesboro (population around 100,000) is right oustide of Nashville, which will be such a fun place to start our adventure as a young couple! :) If you have further questions, feel free to ask because we love talking about it! Have a great rest of your holiday ;) | | |
| Several people have asked what we will be doing next year, so I thought it best that I write one post hitting the highlights of things to come :)
This summer, Shawn and I hope to stay in our apartment...Harding has some silly rule that if you are not enrolled for the following semester, you have to move out 3 days after graduation EVEN THOUGH WE ARE OFF CAMPUS! Anyway, we will be traveling to several weddings over the course of the summer/housesitting while Shawn's parents are in England for the Business Dept.'s study program. Both of us applied to the University of Memphis for graduate study, and are still waiting to hear back on assistantship offers. As you know, I have been working full-time this year as a band director, so if the Memphis thing falls through I definitely already have a job lined up for next year in Arkansas. If that is the case, Shawn will look for a job in Arkansas and we will stay for at least some period of time here. A third option we are considering is to look for jobs in Memphis and do grad school part-time next year. Shawn has heard of a really great job opportunity in Memphis, so that also looks pretty promising. The two main problems are 1) We don't know if Memphis is going to offer us G.A. positions, and 2) Schools do not post job openings until the very end of the school year...sometimes even June! I think that pretty much sums everything up.
In other news, I have absolutely no responsibilities for Spring Sing this weekend and I have to say that it feels mighty strange. I miss performing, being with friends for so many fun hours, and wearing all the silly costumes...but, I have definitely enjoyed going to bed when I want to and knowing that I can spend as much time with my family this weekend as I'd like to. The show is going to be a good one-I hope you plan to be here for it!
Enjoy your Easter weekend, and I'd love to hear your plans for next year at some point :)
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| Praxis 3"HOORAY!!"
I never fully appreciated that word before I met Lindsay Hoggatt. And yet, in this circumstance there is no other word that feels as good to say, so I'll say it again-HOORAY!! I finally got my results back from my Praxis 3 evaluation and I passed! When David P. posted that he passed his a few days ago I starting getting really nervous about seeing my score. The email attachment containing the breakdown of my score was 7 pages long, full of misquotes that my 'brilliant' assessor wrote down for the State Department to read...but I don't care! I passed and I can now say that I have my teaching license :)
Just thought you'd like to know.
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| Teaching FrustrationHere is an issue to chew on...(In case you didn't know, I am a teacher for the Bradford School District here in Arkansas...) During my 12 weeks of teaching I have observed and interacted with a generation of children who have almost no concept of discipline. At the beginning of the year I attributed it to the band directors who had preceeded me and had not done their job of maintaining order. Right around the end of the first 9 weeks I had changed my mind into thinking that it was the fault of all the other teachers in the school. And now I have realized that both explanations were completely false. I have a deep appreciation for the previous 2 band directors who did a fantastic job starting their beginner groups on the right track. I respect those before them for teaching my high schoolers the basic fundamentals that gave them a solid start in music-making. To the students credit, having 6 band directors in 7 years stinks. But, does this justify their horrendous behavior at times? NO WAY JOSE! As far as the other teachers at my school, they are working their little tushies off just like me! Even those who have taught there for 15+ years tell me that this is "the worst bunch of kids I've ever taught." I carpool with 3 other teachers that I would consider fantastic and we are constantly telling stories about students who consistently stand in our way of teaching the subjects we love. When someone gets sent to the office, the principal acts strongly to discipline them, then, the student is good for about a day or two, and then they are right back to their terrible self again! Today I came to a terrible realization. I have considered the fact that most of our students have terrible home lives for quite some time, so that was not the "new news." My realization was that Bradford is a terrible community that will always have an extremely frustrating school situation as long as the community stays on the track it is on. I cannot understand why all the students know where the meth labs are, and where the drugs are sold, and yet the police do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I cannot understand why students, teachers, and faculty know about child abuse and yet NOTHING HAPPENS. I will never understand why students who fight, vandalize school property, and/or curse teachers out are allowed to come back to school so soon. What is happening to our world? I know this was depressing to read...try teaching there every day. (encouraging comments welcome) | | |
| christmas music with middle and high school bands=  middle school principal having absolutely no ability to communicate with teachers=  | | |
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