Worms, Unli. Music...

Principal: Who among you have worms?

I was looking at the grade two pupils when the principal asked this question. As expected, the pupils enthusiastically raised their hands and shouted, “opo!” The Rotarians, who were conducting a de-worming program this morning, laughed. I too was not able to control my laughter. When the question sunk in and the pupils realized what was being asked, they all covered their mouths and giggled. 

I was assigned to set-up and operate the audio. I was on the stage with a bird’s eye view of the gym. I was looking at the pupils; I can’t help but laugh at their antics. When the teacher was facing them, they were well behaved like little angels. But the moment the teachers turned their backs, the scene changed. I could see a boy punching a classmate on the head, another was pulling a classmate’s hair, and another was kicking another…it was mayhem. But when the teacher turned to face them, as if magic, suddenly there was peace and order again.

It seemed, young as they were, they have mastered the art of...hmmm..They were like little ninjas.

 I was teaching when I heard someone, a girl, shouted, “What are you? Unli, unli, unli?”

Must be generation gap, or maybe I’m just too out because I couldn’t understand what unli meant. It was a few seconds later that I realized what unli meant. I laughed when I figured it out. Of course, my pupils thought I was crazy laughing by myself. “Unli, unli. Unli ka…”

 There's a new word for me.

Next week will be a pretty busy week preparing tests for the quarter. Time flies so fast and it seemed it was just few days ago when classes started; the first quarter is almost done. Without noticing it, I have been teaching music for almost two months now. I enjoy teaching music because I am using multimedia technology.

I want to share the trends in using technology in teaching music but I don’t want to misinterpreted as a hmmm…overzealous blah,blah,blah…But if every teacher in the district would learn how to use the music notation capabilities of Finale, the teaching modules in Maestro and the Kamien Music appreciation software, they would improve their pupils learning curve. I have shared the Kamien CD during the district seminar when I discussed form and timbre but I don’t know if the teachers are using them.

I am using finale in teaching melody and notation and it is an effective multi-media tool because the pupils can see the notes being played. I don’t have to sing that much and slap that much to show pitch and timing and it’s also a new learning experience for the pupils.

Ciao…