I Am Still Me - Why I Changed My Name
I never really had a nickname growing up. It's hard to shorten "Lauren" - and I'd know. I tried but nothing really stuck. I have my students write about their names when introducing Writer's Notebooks and I'm constantly surprised with the number of students who don't know what their names mean or why their parents' chose that name for them.
Here's my origin story - My mom was going to name me Margaret. Now, that's a name I could have shortened. I'd planned on calling myself Meg (not Marge, or Margie, or Peggy). One day, as my mother was riding the bus she noticed someone reading a Margaret Laurence book and thought to herself, "Hmmm. Lauren. That's the name for this beautiful, intelligent unborn child." I may have improvised her inner voice just a bit but that's the gist of it.
Back when I began this blog seven years ago, I had just started at a new school. Finally, I had a full-time permanent position after 5 years as a half-time teacher supplementing the other part of the day with long-term occasional jobs. In those 5 years I had taught Grade 2/3, Grade 6 (with Instrumental Music), Kindergarten and some Arts Prep Coverage. This new position was at an inner city school teaching Grade 4-8 Music. That's where my old name, Music in the City, came from.
Being at this school stretched me in so many ways. I was taken out of my middle-class, suburban bubble and really saw the difference music could make in the lives of my students. Grade 7s and 8s became students who got my sense of humour and were so interesting to chat with rather than the feared pre-adolescent kids who were taller than me. I looooved teaching there and I still miss the students, the staff and my very large music budget.
Fast forward to two years ago. It was March break and I decided that now was the time to clean out my crawl space. I wasn't going to be back in a regular classroom - music was my life and I was good with that. So, that's when I decided to start throwing out and giving away resources from my previous positions that I would no longer need.
Life is what happens when you are busy making plans, right? In April of that same year, a friend texted me saying that there might be a potential position opening up at her husband's school - a Grade 6 class with Instrumental Music. I had already decided I was never leaving. I wasn't going back into a regular class so I said I'd think about it. And I did. I immediately started going on Pinterest and checking out Grade 6 classroom ideas (as one does).
I applied and got the job and spent the summer cleaning out the old Music Room, setting up my Grade 6 class and taking Math Part 1 online. And that's when it hit me. I loved Math. I loved the idea of helping my students change their mindset towards this subject that so many kids (and adults) were afraid of. My own fear of transformational geometry was put aside as I let go of my need to control the lesson and let my students construct their own knowledge and struggle through tough concepts together. It was a beautiful year.
Basically, I now have two great loves - Math and Music - and I can't just write about one of them. I need to share ideas and resources for both. I just can't hold back. My instagram handle has changed to @frommathtomusic and my Teachers Pay Teachers store is now From Math to Music. You can email me at frommathtomusic@gmail.com and as always, I would love to connect.
Here's my origin story - My mom was going to name me Margaret. Now, that's a name I could have shortened. I'd planned on calling myself Meg (not Marge, or Margie, or Peggy). One day, as my mother was riding the bus she noticed someone reading a Margaret Laurence book and thought to herself, "Hmmm. Lauren. That's the name for this beautiful, intelligent unborn child." I may have improvised her inner voice just a bit but that's the gist of it.
Back when I began this blog seven years ago, I had just started at a new school. Finally, I had a full-time permanent position after 5 years as a half-time teacher supplementing the other part of the day with long-term occasional jobs. In those 5 years I had taught Grade 2/3, Grade 6 (with Instrumental Music), Kindergarten and some Arts Prep Coverage. This new position was at an inner city school teaching Grade 4-8 Music. That's where my old name, Music in the City, came from.
Being at this school stretched me in so many ways. I was taken out of my middle-class, suburban bubble and really saw the difference music could make in the lives of my students. Grade 7s and 8s became students who got my sense of humour and were so interesting to chat with rather than the feared pre-adolescent kids who were taller than me. I looooved teaching there and I still miss the students, the staff and my very large music budget.
Fast forward to two years ago. It was March break and I decided that now was the time to clean out my crawl space. I wasn't going to be back in a regular classroom - music was my life and I was good with that. So, that's when I decided to start throwing out and giving away resources from my previous positions that I would no longer need.
Life is what happens when you are busy making plans, right? In April of that same year, a friend texted me saying that there might be a potential position opening up at her husband's school - a Grade 6 class with Instrumental Music. I had already decided I was never leaving. I wasn't going back into a regular class so I said I'd think about it. And I did. I immediately started going on Pinterest and checking out Grade 6 classroom ideas (as one does).
I applied and got the job and spent the summer cleaning out the old Music Room, setting up my Grade 6 class and taking Math Part 1 online. And that's when it hit me. I loved Math. I loved the idea of helping my students change their mindset towards this subject that so many kids (and adults) were afraid of. My own fear of transformational geometry was put aside as I let go of my need to control the lesson and let my students construct their own knowledge and struggle through tough concepts together. It was a beautiful year.
Basically, I now have two great loves - Math and Music - and I can't just write about one of them. I need to share ideas and resources for both. I just can't hold back. My instagram handle has changed to @frommathtomusic and my Teachers Pay Teachers store is now From Math to Music. You can email me at frommathtomusic@gmail.com and as always, I would love to connect.
From Math to Music and everything in between I look forward to setting out on this new learning journey with you.
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