And the beginning of the end draws near

So the summer is winding up for me. How strange - seems like I haven't taught at school in a million years. By the time I start preplanning in August, I will have two consecutive weeks of all day band camps (marching, ya know). Earlier, I taught two consecutive weeks plus a day of jazz camps. So all told: one month of teaching this summer. No private lessons or anything and very few gigs, but overall all some relaxation was had. What do I have planned for the next year, then? Job #1 is to set the general music curriculum and all the accompanying assessments / projects for the year. The class won't ever be a performing class (unless guitars and keyboards magically drop from the ceiling), so there is no reason for me to spend time during the school day coming up with meaningless tasks to occupy the students. Simply put, I want to make 7th grade a straight-up jazz appreciation and 8th grade a straight-up western art music appreciation class. Symbols, works, composers, and styles can be mixed in with select videos to highlight particular aspects that are being discussed, but the amount of "hands-on" music making I've attempted in the past will be severely curtailed. I'll be able to give much better information and assessment without having to deal with the "buy-in" that can ruin projects and group assignments. This won't result in the class being the most popular offering in our extremely limited elective offerings at my school, but I know that I'll be exposing the students to more valuable content than they'll get otherwise. I'll let you know what I come up with. Good news: I'll be working with high school jazz students again! A position at the local college came open that features weekly rehearsals with the top high school jazz musicians in the area. I've worried about my declining interest in ever trying high school band directing again and the lack of opportunities to affect jazz instruction in the state, so this opportunity might be exactly what I need to recharge my teaching juices. The middle school jazz program is doing great and I have a ball with the kids, but I also know that my ability to really prepare a top-flight group is super limited due to the school schedule. I definitely will continue to develop my middle school groups, but knowing that the high school group will have "legs" (i.e. long term development potential) will be a real shot in the teaching arm. Performance-wise, I hope that the jazz related performing I've been doing since last January will continue to happen. I was pretty disappointed with a midsummer jam session performance that indicated I wasn't putting in the proper time to my practice, so I'm going to redouble my efforts in that area. My playing on the whole is fine; I just have to keep the soloing side up to snuff with more than occasional practice. Will I ever get really comfortable playing solely by ear without charts/chords? My friend in ATL has been working hard in that direction and is encouraging me to do the same. Maybe starting up the local group that went defunct a year ago and also getting a dixieland style group running will help keep me motivated. Ok, I'm gonna get my stuff going today...just as soon as I finish this cigar and take a nap ;)