Year 12: Week 28 - Remembering To Have Fun

Thank you so much for presenting that dance with your students and leading us in a dance. It was so much fun. You know, with all of the things that have happened in the past two years, it feels like we have forgotten to have fun. Things are so dark and serious, but what we do is supposed to be fun. Thanks for reminding me of that. 

I was surprised when she told me this. This was a teacher that I’ve known since I started working here. She was the kind of person I’ve always been respectful of, but we don’t know each other very well. She tried to come to find me, but I was on the phone. She figured that out immediately and waved at me. So after I was done with my phone call, I went down to her classroom to find her.  

Earlier that day, I had led my 4th and 5th graders in dancing to “What Else Can I Do?” during an assembly After we had done performing, I noticed that there were still five minutes lefts in the assembly, so I taught the entire audience of JK-3 students a simplified version of the dance to the chorus. I had thought that getting the audience to dance might work, but I really wasn’t sure. However, when I saw all the students standing and following my directions, I knew this would work. And it did, and it was one of the most fun moments I had had all year.  

In the past two years, we’ve been preoccupied with COVID-19 mitigations, exposures, schedule changes, curriculum adjustments, and a constant uncertainty of what the future will bring. People are suffering worldwide from COVID-19 and world events. The weight of this knowledge feels overwhelming at times. It seems disrespectful and absurd to try to have fun when there is so much suffering. But all that is dark in the world is even more reason to bring fun and joy into our students’ lives. We can’t give up on what makes life worth living because sometimes resistance is optimism.  

I got into teaching music originally because I wanted to share my love of music with my students. Over the years, my reasons for teaching have evolved. One constant has been my desire to share what I love with my students. And a big part of this is showing them how much joy there is in learning and sharing. It is harder to find the energy and the spirit to get up and dance and be joyful in times like these. It really is, and sometimes you can’t help but let the challenges of teaching in a pandemic bring you down.  

We’ve all lost so much in these past two years. But, we cannot lose our sense of fun and joy in the classroom. Our students need to feel supported and valued, and one of the best ways to do this is to show them how much you enjoy spending time with them. It’s what our students need, and more importantly, it’s what I need to be the teacher my students need me to be and to be the teacher that I want to be.