Day Seventy-nine: Now listen

First day back from Christmas break. What have I learned? Plan on getting sick as soon as your vacation starts. One of those laws of the universe. I think as teachers we go go go as long as we have to and as soon as we breathe our bodies force us to slow down.

Lots of changes today. The morning started with lots of students getting schedule changes due to the last graduation, credits earned, driver's ed, etc.

One big change was a student that used to be in my 3rd period. He would always ask if he could go to PE, and I was struggling with negotiating with him to do some work before he took off. He has learning disabilities, and I was told right before the break that he can't read. It explains a lot of his behavior and the acting out in order to hide his struggle. Now he is in my 6th period class...and today he got to be the one that shined. I'm introducing a unit on music and sound editing. We played a game where I would play the original version of a song. From that they could guess the title and artist, and get extra points if they knew where that song was used (sampled) in another later song. Then we'd listen to the remake (for lack of a better term). He was able to recognize the originals and then could connect to the remake without me playing it, and faster than most of the other students. It seems like what he lacks in reading skill he has made up for with remembering what he listens to. The key? If he's listening. I can't remember the majority of the things that I hear. I think if I, and maybe his other teachers, can find a way of shaping what he is listening to, there is no limit to what this kid can do.

Here is a list of some of the songs that I had the students listen to today. The first video in each pair is the original. See if you can recognize any:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y9DYGiDL1o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PuNnQlvD1U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDZy6-fMCw4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ZNH6QUACg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSgB61CUcq8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSFyrrhKj1Q&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rTlVjjYxA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8PLgovGfEY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_U6mWu1XQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkGLMhcxcPc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEh5pWjcWCg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Vx_NNAu84

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxZG0w8YS7A&ob=av2n

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IaTaC1mrOg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJv5qLsLYoo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnZ3d9fX8gQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2XhhuM9GZo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSRF3slguhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5X5zh00rdg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5dR2fZuWM8&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGqdw3i5xAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_-CmwHWPo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rlNpWYQunY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrd14PxaUco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1Ca8izXto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zGB3bpZATs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qywUPkxlYpU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3egWCu7sw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEnJDaqT3-0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0-ZU8njdo

As a side note, I found out today that I was Teacher of the Month for December. I'm incredibly grateful for such a supportive administration and for the amazing teachers and staff I work with.