As class teacher I got to interact with my class students much more than the subject teachers. This is especially during class assembly.
You get to dig out the hidden talents, watch them argue, fight with them, scream at them for being ever so playful, hold your head in pain as you watch them mess up lines and miss cues. It is all part and parcel of this beautiful journey that ends on a Monday morning with the teacher having palpitations and wondering why we have to go through this tension year after year. I mean wasn't the Board exams enough?
Will the audience get the message? Will they sing on note? Will the props for the skit be kept in order? Will they forget dance steps? Will I be the one held responsible for the world's worst assembly ever??
These are the thoughts that ran through my head at 7.55am.
At 9am, "Its done, its done!" is what I want to scream. All's well that ends well, right? Well that's to the external eye.
The journey of the class assembly is waaay more.
It starts with the class teacher telling her class, during the ten minute class teacher time (yes we have class teacher time), that they have a month or two for the class assembly. Immediately discussions start in small discrete packets around the classroom.
If she has a slightly over enthusiastic class then it is possible that they will come back to her the very same day and ask for 15 minutes to discuss topics during her class.
Well the smart class teacher doesn't give 15 minutes because she knows that 15 will become a full 50 minutes. Goodbye chemistry class.
If you wonder why the class teacher is hyperventilating over a lost class, well that's because its just the beginning of many such classes that disappear. Soon the class is begging for the physics class and maths class to practice for the assembly. This, of course, drives the other subject teachers insane as they have portions to finish too. "Plus the class assembly is a month away, why do they need practice time right now?"
There is always something to do. Lines to go over, scenes to redo and some cases, the whole topic is dropped and a new one chosen after many more arguments.
One would think there was just starting trouble, but oh no, to get the true class assembly effect there have to be problems that crop up in between. Someone feels like she/he is doing all the work, another he/she doesn't want a particular he/she to be a part of the singing group, yet another doesn't want to waste their time with trivial things like class assembly. Kids these days and their issues, sheesh!!
There are moments when I have had this itch in my palm to just give them all 'one tight slap' (to quote my best friend's words)
The first few classes used for discussion are a sheer waste of time but they have to happen. The class HAS to procrastinate about choosing a topic, atleast one-third of them sit with a "we really don't care about this discussion" attitude, and the rest break into smaller groups. Like one student very aptly told me once " Ma'am, I have 15 people in my class but 18 groups. What can I do?".
After about 4 wasted hours (that's 4 * 50 minutes people. Have you any idea how much could be done in that time?), the class teacher decides to take the matters into her own hands. Enough of treating these kids like young adults and waiting for them to be mature and take a decision, it is time to the real adult steps in and interferes. (it is what all adults do).
She decides the topic, hands out duties, all while making the students feel absolutely insignificant but yet telling them that this was their assembly (P.S she will be saying that a lot more over the course of the journey)
The next step would be to start the actual practice sessions. It first starts off with Praise and Worship songs. That is always the easiest to get done until all the classes want to sing the same songs! The practice timings have to be coordinated with the Music Department and classes get rearranged accordingly.
Then the skit and dance. This is definitely the toughest to coordinate. People don't want certain parts or they want to only do a certain song. If there is a choreographer in the class, then great, some work is taken care of. Then again, if the class teacher is an interfering control freak like me, well she haa to change around some steps and make it look put together in her way.
Fixing timings to get the auditorium for a full run through is about the point where the class teacher starts to fall apart. "Nothing is ready!", she whines. The praise and worship is half done, the skit isn't complete, the dance steps are being constantly changed and the special song, is it still happening? If a Saturday morning run through doesn't happen, then that is surely as sign that something is going to mess up the Monday morning assembly.
The Saturday morning run through is the most essential part. It is when the teacher is at her wits end to get everything together in time for the assembly that is to happen in less than 48 hours. Backdrops are being made, costumes being finalized, steps being practiced. Every class teacher dreams of that perfect run through with no stops or hitches, just one run through to make them breathe easy over the remainder of the weekend. Then again, life ain't perfect, is it now? Of course everyone would turn up late for practice and the mikes wouldn't be set up yet, the music hasn't been cut, and the main MC has a family function and can't make it. It is at this point that the class teacher is ready to meltdown, or in my case melts down in front of the whole class. Nothing works better than a bit of emotional blackmail.
Suddenly everyone is just running around getting things done and the whole run through goes like clockwork.
Before she knows it, it is Monday morning and everyone has reached, except for that one kid who has probably never heard of the term "come early" in his lifetime.
Behind stage there isn't a minute when the teacher isn't praying that everything should go well. Her heart beat is in tachycardia until the National Anthem is sung.
The final step in this journey would be the post assembly treat for the class that consists of junk food for sure. Doughnuts, cakes, chips whatever it takes to hide any scars that may have occurred during the process and to mend any bridges that were burnt along the way. After all the class teacher's job isn't done yet. This is just the beginning...
krupa
Disclaimer: Exaggeration may have happened at some points.
Epilogue:
After all that has been said, I think credit must be given where it is due. Personally I had a brilliant class, and despite all the ups and downs, they did a lot of work as well. It was very much their assembly as it was mine. I did get frustrated many times, but more due my incompetence and inability to milk them of all their talents. I think they were the best class a person could have had, then again, that's just me.
In case I forgot to tell you guys, (you know who all are), Thank you for all that you did.
You get to dig out the hidden talents, watch them argue, fight with them, scream at them for being ever so playful, hold your head in pain as you watch them mess up lines and miss cues. It is all part and parcel of this beautiful journey that ends on a Monday morning with the teacher having palpitations and wondering why we have to go through this tension year after year. I mean wasn't the Board exams enough?
Will the audience get the message? Will they sing on note? Will the props for the skit be kept in order? Will they forget dance steps? Will I be the one held responsible for the world's worst assembly ever??
These are the thoughts that ran through my head at 7.55am.
At 9am,
The journey of the class assembly is waaay more.
It starts with the class teacher telling her class, during the ten minute class teacher time (yes we have class teacher time), that they have a month or two for the class assembly. Immediately discussions start in small discrete packets around the classroom.
If she has a slightly over enthusiastic class then it is possible that they will come back to her the very same day and ask for 15 minutes to discuss topics during her class.
Well the smart class teacher doesn't give 15 minutes because she knows that 15 will become a full 50 minutes. Goodbye chemistry class.
If you wonder why the class teacher is hyperventilating over a lost class, well that's because its just the beginning of many such classes that disappear. Soon the class is begging for the physics class and maths class to practice for the assembly. This, of course, drives the other subject teachers insane as they have portions to finish too. "Plus the class assembly is a month away, why do they need practice time right now?"
There is always something to do. Lines to go over, scenes to redo and some cases, the whole topic is dropped and a new one chosen after many more arguments.
One would think there was just starting trouble, but oh no, to get the true class assembly effect there have to be problems that crop up in between. Someone feels like she/he is doing all the work, another he/she doesn't want a particular he/she to be a part of the singing group, yet another doesn't want to waste their time with trivial things like class assembly. Kids these days and their issues, sheesh!!
There are moments when I have had this itch in my palm to just give them all 'one tight slap' (to quote my best friend's words)
The first few classes used for discussion are a sheer waste of time but they have to happen. The class HAS to procrastinate about choosing a topic, atleast one-third of them sit with a "we really don't care about this discussion" attitude, and the rest break into smaller groups. Like one student very aptly told me once " Ma'am, I have 15 people in my class but 18 groups. What can I do?".
After about 4 wasted hours (that's 4 * 50 minutes people. Have you any idea how much could be done in that time?), the class teacher decides to take the matters into her own hands. Enough of treating these kids like young adults and waiting for them to be mature and take a decision, it is time to the real adult steps in and interferes. (it is what all adults do).
She decides the topic, hands out duties, all while making the students feel absolutely insignificant but yet telling them that this was their assembly (P.S she will be saying that a lot more over the course of the journey)
The next step would be to start the actual practice sessions. It first starts off with Praise and Worship songs. That is always the easiest to get done until all the classes want to sing the same songs! The practice timings have to be coordinated with the Music Department and classes get rearranged accordingly.
Then the skit and dance. This is definitely the toughest to coordinate. People don't want certain parts or they want to only do a certain song. If there is a choreographer in the class, then great, some work is taken care of. Then again, if the class teacher is an interfering control freak like me, well she haa to change around some steps and make it look put together in her way.
Fixing timings to get the auditorium for a full run through is about the point where the class teacher starts to fall apart. "Nothing is ready!", she whines. The praise and worship is half done, the skit isn't complete, the dance steps are being constantly changed and the special song, is it still happening? If a Saturday morning run through doesn't happen, then that is surely as sign that something is going to mess up the Monday morning assembly.
The Saturday morning run through is the most essential part. It is when the teacher is at her wits end to get everything together in time for the assembly that is to happen in less than 48 hours. Backdrops are being made, costumes being finalized, steps being practiced. Every class teacher dreams of that perfect run through with no stops or hitches, just one run through to make them breathe easy over the remainder of the weekend. Then again, life ain't perfect, is it now? Of course everyone would turn up late for practice and the mikes wouldn't be set up yet, the music hasn't been cut, and the main MC has a family function and can't make it. It is at this point that the class teacher is ready to meltdown, or in my case melts down in front of the whole class. Nothing works better than a bit of emotional blackmail.
Suddenly everyone is just running around getting things done and the whole run through goes like clockwork.
Before she knows it, it is Monday morning and everyone has reached, except for that one kid who has probably never heard of the term "come early" in his lifetime.
Behind stage there isn't a minute when the teacher isn't praying that everything should go well. Her heart beat is in tachycardia until the National Anthem is sung.
The final step in this journey would be the post assembly treat for the class that consists of junk food for sure. Doughnuts, cakes, chips whatever it takes to hide any scars that may have occurred during the process and to mend any bridges that were burnt along the way. After all the class teacher's job isn't done yet. This is just the beginning...
krupa
Disclaimer: Exaggeration may have happened at some points.
Epilogue:
After all that has been said, I think credit must be given where it is due. Personally I had a brilliant class, and despite all the ups and downs, they did a lot of work as well. It was very much their assembly as it was mine. I did get frustrated many times, but more due my incompetence and inability to milk them of all their talents. I think they were the best class a person could have had, then again, that's just me.
In case I forgot to tell you guys, (you know who all are), Thank you for all that you did.
2 comments:
Nice one Krupa. I liked the content. :)
Chris
Thanks Chris
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