Distance Running: Classroom Implications
by Hayley Flynn (senior)
This year’s ECU Varsity Women’s Cross Country team has been said to be the best the university has seen in the last ten years. As I begin my final year of eligibility on the team I have begun to evaluate my role as a distance runner and team captain and what my experiences imply for my role as a future educator- as a motivator and goal setter.
Many people cringe at the thought of running several miles at a time without stopping. It is a test of endurance and will power. Just as distance running requires a relentless spirit, students in the classroom necessitate the same unyielding spirit from their teachers. Students need to know that their teachers have the desire and drive to see them succeed. By seeing this determination through encouragement and in our daily teaching, our students will mimic this desire to achieve which results in self-motivation and self-improvement.
Throughout my career as a collegiate athlete, I have realized that crossing the finish line does not mark a stopping point. Although one race may be completed, there is always another competition a week away. Just as distance runners must always focus on the next competition, we as teachers must always focus on our next goals for our students. By continually setting new goals and always keeping ourselves and our students ‘training for the next competition’, our students will be able to continuously experience success and will be motivated to keep ‘running to the next finish line’.
Distance running is a sport of endurance and will, a sport where there is never a true finish line. There is always a way to improve. In the classroom, we must continuously have the mindset of a runner in which our students know that we want them to succeed and keep succeeding.
Teaching Fellows and Club Sports
by Stephen Battise (junior)
My name is Stephen Battise and I am a junior in the Teaching Fellows program at ECU. I also play for the ECU Club Ultimate Frisbee team, the Irates. Being involved in the Teaching Fellows is a commitment that requires some of my time at ECU, but I still have plenty of time that I do not spend studying or in class. Ultimate Frisbee is time consuming, taking 9-12 hours a week, but I enjoy playing. We also have tournaments every once in a while which can take up a whole weekend.
It is easy to balance my time between school work, teaching fellows, and Ultimate. You don’t realize how much time you truly have until you don’t have practice for a week, which I realize every semester before exams. The Teaching Fellows program enables us to participate in other school activities, not just Teaching Fellows, which is truly a blessing.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Glimpse at the ECU School of Music
One of the strongest programs at ECU is our music program, so it's only fitting that several of our Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars are music education majors. They are among the busiest group of people within the TF program, representing us in many exciting activities. Here's a look at two of the activities Fellows participated in through the School of Music this semester.
Octubafest
by Anthony Hingley (sophomore)
October 10th-12th was an interesting couple of days for the members of the Tuba and Euphonium studio in the School of Music. This year our professor, Tom McCaslin, started up an annual series of recitals which is called Octubafest. Each member of the studio had to either prepare a solo piece to perform, or perform as part of a tuba-euphonium quartet. Out of the 16 members of the studio, 5 of us are Teaching Fellows. We had to put in extra practice time to work our pieces up to par, and before we knew it, that week was upon us.
The recital on the 10th was a full hour of music all played by our professor, Mr. McCaslin, who is new to ECU this year and is one of the best tuba players I have ever heard, in recordings or otherwise. After his recital was done, I was so psyched about my performance which would be on the 12th, and also to hear what everyone else had prepared.
All in all, everyone did very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first Octubafest. Next year it should be just as fun, if not more, now that I know what to expect.
Drum Corps International: A Glimpse At A Life Changing Experience
by Nieves Villasenor (freshman)
As a music education major, we learn to appreciate all kinds of musical concepts. We learn to sing, play band and string instruments, and to appreciate the vast realm of music. Whether it be on a field or a concert hall, the appreciation of music is everywhere.
What many people are not aware of, besides people who are familiar with music, is that it can be comparable with the American sport of football and baseball. Being at East Carolina, we are all familiar with college football, and how many of them began as high school stars and how some aspire to become professional players. In music, marching music in particular, it can be said the same way. Where there is high school band, you go to college band, then to what is known as marching music's major league, Drum Corps International (DCI).
DCI is a youth activity that goes on during the summer for students from ages 14-21. In the activity, students learn about the positive results of preparation, commitment, and success as they work hundreds of hours preparing a show for thousands. They travel across the country performing for groups and improving their abilities all while entertaining a crowd.
The reason I blog about this?
DCI has long been a hobby of mine. It is part of the many reasons of why I want to be a music educator. I am doing my applied studies on Saxophone but I play trumpet in the Marching Pirates so that I can hone my skills to be a part of this group. I have seen first hand how the experience of being with a corps has positively influenced the creation of great music educators. In the Marching Pirates, Brandon Hults, a graduate assistant with the band, showed me first hand through his practices with the band just how much the experienced has seemed to make him a better leader.
I hope to audition for a spot on the Carolina Crown or Crossmen hornline this fall. With a good attitude and lots of practice, maybe it'll become a reality.
Octubafest
by Anthony Hingley (sophomore)
October 10th-12th was an interesting couple of days for the members of the Tuba and Euphonium studio in the School of Music. This year our professor, Tom McCaslin, started up an annual series of recitals which is called Octubafest. Each member of the studio had to either prepare a solo piece to perform, or perform as part of a tuba-euphonium quartet. Out of the 16 members of the studio, 5 of us are Teaching Fellows. We had to put in extra practice time to work our pieces up to par, and before we knew it, that week was upon us.
The recital on the 10th was a full hour of music all played by our professor, Mr. McCaslin, who is new to ECU this year and is one of the best tuba players I have ever heard, in recordings or otherwise. After his recital was done, I was so psyched about my performance which would be on the 12th, and also to hear what everyone else had prepared.
All in all, everyone did very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first Octubafest. Next year it should be just as fun, if not more, now that I know what to expect.
Drum Corps International: A Glimpse At A Life Changing Experience
by Nieves Villasenor (freshman)
As a music education major, we learn to appreciate all kinds of musical concepts. We learn to sing, play band and string instruments, and to appreciate the vast realm of music. Whether it be on a field or a concert hall, the appreciation of music is everywhere.
What many people are not aware of, besides people who are familiar with music, is that it can be comparable with the American sport of football and baseball. Being at East Carolina, we are all familiar with college football, and how many of them began as high school stars and how some aspire to become professional players. In music, marching music in particular, it can be said the same way. Where there is high school band, you go to college band, then to what is known as marching music's major league, Drum Corps International (DCI).
DCI is a youth activity that goes on during the summer for students from ages 14-21. In the activity, students learn about the positive results of preparation, commitment, and success as they work hundreds of hours preparing a show for thousands. They travel across the country performing for groups and improving their abilities all while entertaining a crowd.
The reason I blog about this?
DCI has long been a hobby of mine. It is part of the many reasons of why I want to be a music educator. I am doing my applied studies on Saxophone but I play trumpet in the Marching Pirates so that I can hone my skills to be a part of this group. I have seen first hand how the experience of being with a corps has positively influenced the creation of great music educators. In the Marching Pirates, Brandon Hults, a graduate assistant with the band, showed me first hand through his practices with the band just how much the experienced has seemed to make him a better leader.
I hope to audition for a spot on the Carolina Crown or Crossmen hornline this fall. With a good attitude and lots of practice, maybe it'll become a reality.
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