Mark - First Year Music Teacher

Eggplnt (00:03)
Hi, y'all. My name is Christina Sisson. In the past 20 years, I have taught music at all levels to all kinds of students. I have witnessed firsthand the kinds of challenges music teachers face in the classroom every day. And it is my hope to address some of the issues you care about most. Each week, we will be talking with music teachers at all levels about what it's really like to teach today and having real conversations about equity, identity, and the systems we work in.

and the small victories that keep us going. So pull up a chair, it's time for our weekly staff meeting. Let's talk about the things that matter. I am so excited to welcome our first guest on the staff meeting. He is a new music teacher who recently graduated with his bachelor's in music education and will be stepping into his first classroom as a middle school band director in about a week. Welcome, Mark.

Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and maybe what made you decide to pursue a degree in music education?

Mark Stevens (01:05)
Yeah, well first of all, thanks for allowing me to be part of this. This is is super great. I love all things music Ed and so I just I had to jump at this opportunity. So gosh my my music Ed journey, I guess you could say really started when I was a really young kid. Maybe even before like I stepped in a music classroom for the first time. I was a huge fan of the Wiggles growing up like those guys foundational to my to my education.

But of course, know, I was part of music in elementary school like every kid is and I loved it. ⁓ It was something I always looked forward to every few days and I had really great elementary music teachers. And I remember one day I was coming back from music class and my fifth grade teacher, she said, hey, by the way, if anybody's interested in band in middle school, like I've got a couple of flyers here, you can sign up. I was like, man, I think I need to take one of those on my way out the door. I did.

And that I think that moment was a key like shift that just set the trajectory of my life

went to middle school, was in band for all three years and I learned a lot musically. I can't say that I had the best teacher and it was a little unfortunate. I think it was a really talented person who knew a lot about music that just really maybe didn't receive as much training as they should have in terms of how to talk to young kids ⁓ and how to prepare young minds for new beginnings. But needless to

I went on to high school and that's where I really like sank my teeth into everything It was in marching band loved that ⁓ and I Decided probably about I wish I could pinpoint it to a date, but it just kind of happened When I decided I wanted to be a band director And then I loved teaching and I loved music so much. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was little before I even joined band and the fact that I knew I could take that

element of what I wanted to do and merge it with band I was sold so I I went to Florida State University and did the the five-year plan as they call it because it's such a you know a big intense degree that just requires I mean it really if if you really want to give it as much time as you should it takes longer than five years five years is really Not enough time. I mean it flies by but

While I was there, I was in the marching chiefs, really got a lot of hands-on teaching experience at the collegiate level with some of the best musicians in the state of Florida, which was really, really cool. Was given so many performance opportunities within the concert bands that I was involved in, plenty of field experience for sure. I completely left out that I graduated high school and started college in the middle of a global pandemic. I think that's something that I shouldn't just gloss over. And that was a trying time for sure. But it was all the little moments in college that just kind of kept me going. I was like, just stick it out. This pandemic will be over sooner rather than later.

Of course at the time I didn't think we were ever going to get out of it, but here we are. So I went through my degree, did my student teaching internship at Freedom High School, which is in Orlando, basically in SeaWorld's backyard. So that was really cool to get out of the classroom, walk to my car and hear screams of people going down the roller coaster drops. Man, nothing like teaching in Orlando. I'm really blessed to have a really great supervising teacher for that.

And I knew that I wanted to come back home to where I went to school where I'm from, which is the northeast part of Florida. And so I was able to land a middle school job in the Pono Vita Beach, Palm Valley area. So really nice area of Florida, really beautiful. And there's some eager students waiting for me. So I'm very excited.

Eggplnt (05:36)
That's amazing. So I'm curious, you said that you kind of always knew you wanted to be a teacher and what made you as a young kid, I guess, feel like that's what you wanted to do?

Mark Stevens (05:49)
Well, for me, just, I got really lucky that I had really good teachers. Like the first seven or eight years of my life, like I had really, really good teachers, like preschool and elementary school, which are some of the most foundational years of a kid's life. ⁓ And really like those teachers can set up, hey, I'm gonna love school or I'm gonna hate school. And I had teachers that really made it fun and enjoyable. I just thought it was fun. thought it was a cool thing to just teach and tell people, this is how you do this. And just see those moments where people understand it they get it for the first time. I was a huge geek about it all. For Christmas, I got Expo markers in my stocking. It was weird, very atypical for a kid, but I loved it. And I knew that was something that I wanted to do.

Eggplnt (06:51)
Yeah, yeah, I get that. I understand totally. So where are you right now in your process of preparing to step into your first ever classroom?

Mark Stevens (07:02)
So about 12, yeah, 12 hours from now, I will be on my way to my school ⁓ and I'll start day one of pre-planning. Technically tomorrow is optional.

but when I hear the word optional, I hear required. And I'm not required to go by any means, but the nice thing is if I take this optional day, I get an extra flex day that I can use somewhere in the year, which is super cool, but not for nothing. I'll take an extra day to get some planning done because there's not enough time in the world to get ready to welcome middle schoolers into your classroom, especially as a new teacher. So I'm gonna be going in tomorrow.

I've been in here and there throughout the summer to my classroom. I've been trying to take some time to relax and enjoy my last few moments before joining the nine to five crew or really the seven to two thirty crew. So I've been doing some inventory, kind of cleaning the room a little bit. I am taking over for a gentleman who

Well, he stepped in for a woman who left like November in a school year, just kind of, I don't know if I'd call it burnout, but it was like, there were some hints that this lady was burning out, but she also had some family things, I think, that kind of led to her moving to teaching music virtually, which is great. So she hasn't left the profession entirely.

but she was the middle school band director at my school when I was in middle school in the same county. So she was there a while and this new guy came in like basically second nine weeks and was there to finish that year and was there a whole nother year and then he left and didn't really tell anybody he was leaving until like the last couple of weeks of school. And he is now a college band director out in Texas. He had his doctorate.

So from what I hear, he was really great with the kids, but like it wasn't his jam. Middle school and college are two very different beasts entirely, but I'm kind of walking into.

just an unknown scenario. Like I've heard that the kids are really good players. I see the MPA results, the contest results, and they're great. But the numbers in the program have kind of dwindled. So some TLC is what I'm being told is needed. The kids just kind of, they want some consistency and they want to be nurtured. And I'm all about that. If a kid doesn't feel nurtured, then they're not gonna buy into what you're doing and what you're trying to accomplish. And at the end of the day,

I'm trying to build good people and music's just the way that I do it. So yeah, I'm just trying to, you know, I'm trying to take all the mess and sweep it under the bed and make the bedroom look really nice and clean for day one. And then we're slowly gonna have things creep out from under the bed. We're just gonna tackle things as we go. I think that's the best way to go about it.

Eggplnt (10:25)
How are you feeling about being a middle school van director? Was that your first choice of where you wanted to end up?

Mark Stevens (10:31)
So, no, I wanted to be a high school band director. mean, I... Let me rephrase that. I want to be a teacher no matter what. And you know, if high school is down the road for me, then great. I'm a huge marching band guy. I told you I did it in high school and college. Actually, I did it for a year and when I was in middle school as an eighth grader, my middle school band director was also the band director of the high school that fed into that it fed into. So yeah, so I'm a 10 year marching bander, which is pretty atypical, but it definitely cemented my love for it. but I applied for a few high school jobs and a couple of middle school jobs. Excuse me. And got some interviews and actually got offered. was technically a high school job, but it really was a six through 12 band job. And I didn't quite vibe with the, first of all, the location, geographically the school. mean, it was in the middle of nowhere. I mean, if I saw a circle K, that was a landmark.

It was, yeah, it was, I couldn't even give you directions to it. I had to take all these back roads. was like, if you pass this third tree on the left, you'll get anyways. But in addition to that, I told myself, know, I don't have a problem teaching middle schoolers and I don't have a problem teaching high schoolers. I just don't know if I want to do them both at the same time.

I liked the concept of being like my own feeder program, but I don't know I just Something about it to me just wasn't sitting well, and I just told myself. It's okay You don't have to take the job and it was a really good interview experience for me. That was the first interview I got and the first job offer. I got which was cool Interviewed at to other high schools and then a middle school job and that was the one that I ended up taking and I knew I wanted to end up in my home county. So I just kind of took it and was like, you know, it's a job that pays in US dollars and there are kids there that are eager to learn and I feed into a really stellar high school band program but I am the only official feeder program. So I've got to make sure that I send him some good kids too, but he was super kind. My theater director, he asked me, like, do you, would you like to join our staff? Like, I'd love to have you. And I was like, do you want me to be on your staff? Like, I would love to be part of this." he goes, I think it's important for you as the feeder to be involved in what's going on here. Of course, all of my kids mostly came from your middle school and they would love to see your involvement because the past two directors weren't as involved really at all, which kind of shocked me. But everybody has their own ways of going about their job.

But I think it's really cool that I get to kind of be a 6 through 12 band director, but not really I get to do the high school things but at the end of the day, it's not my program. It's somebody else's that I'm just kind of
being led into, which is really great. And we actually, just finished band camp at that high school. The kids did so great at their parent preview, but I had a couple students come up to me for context again. I feed into this high school and some of the kids in the high school band have younger siblings that are in middle school at the school where I'll be teaching.

I had a couple kids come up to me go. Are you Mr. Stevens? And I was like, yes they're like we're students at your middle school and we want to say hello and I was like, hey guys before I could even ask them like what their names are one kid step forward was like Do you like low brass instruments? I was like, yes, I love low brass instruments. I'm a clarinet player But I think low brass is really cool. I told my supervising teacher for my internship.

Then he goes man. You should have said no you should it you should have Yeah, that's what middle school is all about. You gotta mess with them. So Figured out ease my way into it, but they were they're really excited Couldn't wait to tell me what instruments they play and ⁓ Just how ready they are then their parents came up to me were like hi We're the parents of the kids that just bombarded you We're really excited to meet you and get to know you and you know anything that you need at all Just like let us know we have kids

in this high school, but we also were there for you too. And I also, my school for some further context, because I think that this is important, in, like I said, it's in the Ponte Vitre Beach, Palm Valley area, which geographically, it's very close to the ocean, and it's also... from a socioeconomic standpoint, there are not very many economically disadvantaged families in that area. So when those parents say, hey, if you need anything, they really do mean like, hey, like we're here to help in any way that we can, which I am really thankful for. That's a blessing that a lot of first year teachers don't have. They walk into a school where there's not a whole lot, literally. And that's just something I'm not going to have to worry about too much.

That's what I've been told. Of course, I'm walking into it going, we're going to fundraise everything. But I do anticipate that there will be some parents that will be happy to help volunteer wise, donation wise, whatever. So I'm very excited. But back to your question. Yes, I'm super excited about teaching middle school. That interaction with meeting those kids for the first time just showed me how like goofy but excited they can be. And I think it's a

really cool age group that I really, I really thought I would never want to teach. But I think I just taking this job just kind of forced me to like go, Hey, just try this. ⁓ and not for nothing. It's a really good opportunity to like sink your teeth in and, get really good at the whole teaching thing. ⁓ with some lower stakes, you know, I don't have to take a group to marching band competitions and MPA for marching band. And really I just have concert MPA and March and then we're trying to rebuild the jazz program so Jazz MPA is kind of... We're not sure if we're gonna do that yet, but at the very most, would have two festivals to take kids to. And that's not until February when they start. So I've got some time. And so I'm just looking forward to getting the kids doing the thing and getting the beginners on their instruments for the first time.

Eggplnt (17:38)
You mentioned that you had kind of a rough middle school experience yourself. And I'm curious, like, when you reflect on that experience, like, how is that going to affect your teaching now doing exactly that?

Mark Stevens (17:42)
Mm-hmm

Well, so without dwelling on it too much.

My sixth grade year was great. That was fantastic. I won't talk any I won't talk bad about that. That year was really foundational. It obviously I came back. So it was enjoyable enough to where I wanted to keep doing it. When I was in seventh grade my band director ⁓ for the first semester or so really was quite good. But we noticed some kind of mood shifts in our band director and this was many kids, many kids. I thought it was just me and you know we're all middle schoolers trying to figure ourselves out, know, changing hormones, changing voices, good golly. And we don't really know how to recognize emotion changes in other humans and like what those external factors that lead to that can look like. So of course, you as a kid, you always think like, if somebody's mad, it's my fault, right? You know, what am I doing to make my teacher upset?

Well, We did not realize our teacher was pregnant and she did not tell us until like right before she was going on maternity leave.

Well, that kind of got in the way of her mood. She was in a bad mood more than she was in a good mood. Like we really, we really appreciated the good days because they were few and far between. And you know, that was her first child. And so that's always something that's new to experience for any woman or any person that's giving birth.

But we definitely had some needs that weren't being met emotionally. And I just remember a few times in middle school where I didn't feel like my presence in the room was appreciated. I definitely felt like I was more of a burden and not somebody that... Like my inquiries and my curiosity for music wasn't being met with the needs, wasn't being met with the fulfillment. that I needed. And that kind of stunk, honestly. There were a couple days where I'd come home physically upset because...

I loved band so much, I had a teacher that was really getting in the way of that. and like I said, that, that teacher was actually teaching at the high school that I was zoned for the one that my middle school fed into. And it got pretty bad to where I decided to go out of zone for high school. the band program at the high school I went to was a bit better, but better funded, but better, you know, more appreciated by the community. and it set me up, definitely better for college readiness. And I got a new teacher. I did. I actually had two new teachers. had one band director my freshman year and one band director my sophomore through senior year. But it was definitely the right choice. ⁓ And I, as far as I know, the middle school band director I had doesn't teach anymore. I think she had another job or two after my school, but she's not teaching in schools. And I think that's for the better.

Not to say that she's a bad person by any stretch, but I just don't know if teaching was for her.

And I reflect back and I go what were things I needed as a kid now that I've gone through all the college classes and the psychology and you know, the child development courses and I just I needed somebody who fostered my curiosity and who Would just recognize that I cared about band a whole lot more than most other kids did And I just I needed to feel special and it's not special in a sense where like I was better than anybody but like all kids want is to feel special. You know, if you make a kid feel special and that they're loved, they'll do anything you want. And really, like, I would have done anything my middle school band director wanted.

I mean, I, she told me like sixth grade, she was a French horn player and we're picking out our instruments for sixth grade. I was God, I knew I wanted to play the saxophone. I wanted to play the saxophone. And during instrument petting zoo day, saxophone guy was MIA. He did not show up. so nobody could try the saxophone. And man, I was so bad because I was just ready to just get on that thing and like, just shred some notes out, right? Cause I was definitely going to be able to.

Right. but I tried every instrument. I tried the flute. I've been there. The flute lady was dead. So she's like, you should play the flute. I was like, not happening. Like not my, not my thing. funny enough, I went to the clarinet guy and he, ⁓ he tried the clarinet mouthpiece on, me and I could not get a darn sound out. It was so funny. And he goes, man, this is not for you. It's funny now cause I'm a clarinet player.

Right, so motivating, right, for a guy to be like, don't play the clarinet. Well, my band director was a French horn player. She goes, let me see your mouth. I was like, it's right here. Like, what? She was like, can you just like smile for me? Like, I was like, okay.

She's like, we've got a slight overbite, but we can work around that. She goes, your lip shape is actually really good for like being a French horn player. I think you should play the French horn. And I was like, that's it. I'm playing the French horn because she told me I look like a French horn player. Of course I'm gonna play the French horn.

You if I walk up to little Johnny and I go dude Your arms are built to hold the tuba, you know Johnny's gonna walk home and he's gonna go tell his parents and his friends like guys I'm built to play the tuba. I'm gonna be a tuba player You know, it's just those little moments that they make kids feel special and they make them feel desired ⁓ And so I went home was like mom I'm gonna play the French horn and she was like

Eggplnt (23:53)
I love that. I love that.

Mark Stevens (24:04)
No, you're not. I was like, what do you mean? She's like, well, I'm not paying thousands of dollars for a French horn that you might not play ever again after this year. And I was like, okay. She's like, plus ta-da, we have a clarinet. And I was like, ⁓ I'm not playing the clarinet. This guy said I was really bad at it and I shouldn't do it. It's like, at least let me try the saxophone. She's like, no, no, no, we have a clarinet.

And you know, it's really ironic that now I have a several thousand dollar clarinet sitting here in my room when the initial reason was we're not paying thousands of dollars for a band instrument and lo and behold. And I love the clarinet. It's a really cool instrument. Honestly, I feel like that's one of the instruments that most people going into teaching middle school are terrified to teach the most. And it's clarinet because so many darn pieces. And thankfully, I know all about that thing and all of the best.

good or bad that comes with it. So I definitely feel in my wheelhouse that that's something I can handle. But circling back, ⁓ I'm thankful for having the middle school experience that I had because it taught me...

I shouldn't treat a kid and how I how I how I should treat a kid and what I wanted and what I should give to kids and really like There's no reason to like push a kid aside and just like not care about them I mean if that's really the case teaching might not be the thing for you and that's okay But for me like I just I just want kids to enjoy music and have an appreciation for it And have some fun with them while I do it, know, there's

There's kids out there whose whose their teachers are really the closest thing they have to family and I recognize that I grew up with those kids You know my elementary school I went to there were 15 families that were they were homeless and so like school was literally home for them ⁓ So I don't I don't take that for granted And I just I want to make the most out of those three years that those kids are in that room ⁓ And you know at the end of the day I even if they forget who I am I just if they go man I had such a great time in band that

That's all I care about. That's all I care about.

Eggplnt (26:22)
So what's kind of weighing on you? Do you have any concerns going into this? I I know on my first year I was shaking in my shoes when that bell rang on the first day. How do you think you're gonna be feeling when that moment comes?

Mark Stevens (26:38)
Well, okay. So long-term, thing that's weighing on me the most is like taking those kids to MPA or contest for the first time. And let me be the first to say to all the listeners out there, it's not about the rating. It's just not. It really isn't. You could have literally the greatest kids in the world. And if you go on stage and you get straight twos, okay, great. You brought your kids to contest and they've got some feedback and they had a performance opportunity and they

did the thing and you did the thing oh well now for me my school hasn't gotten anything lower than a superior at concert NPA in like 12 or 13 years so there's a little bit of pressure there but like nobody at my school really knows about how that works so that's kind of nice

Short term what's weighing on me?

It's just, it's getting those kids from day one. It's just having them buy into you. I don't want them to think I'm this like, I mean, I do kind of want them to think I'm a nerd because like I am hello, but I don't want them to think like I'm somebody who doesn't know what they're doing. Like I want them to see me and be like, he's cool. He's goofy. But like when it's time to work, it's time to work. ⁓ and bands should be fun after all, right? Otherwise, why are you doing it?

⁓ So I think day one for me like I don't think we're gonna get the instruments out on the first day Hope nobody that I you know learn from in college. Here's that but I don't think that we need to do that the first day I think we're gonna we're gonna learn everybody's names cuz God knows mr. Stevens is really awful at remembering names. So it's something that I'm gonna need the most help with And we're just gonna you know

Say, hey, this is band. This is what the year is going to look like. I'm sure in beginning band, we're going to be like, all right, let's look at what some notes look like. Let's just, let's learn something before you leave this room today. ⁓ Day one is just like, get through it, survive.

Let the kids see you, meet you, know who you are, know them, see who they are. Those first couple minutes, those first interactions are crucial because you either have them or you don't. And it's really hard to get the kids if you don't get them from the get go. And so...

I'm definitely one of those it's like I greet the kids at the door. I did that in my internship and the kids loved it ⁓ I was also really blessed to be at a school where the kids were just stellar ⁓ So we'll see if this is something the kids are used to because I'll know from day one Standing at that door if they walk around and they go he's at the door then I know okay Nobody's done this before ⁓

Or we'll see, maybe it'll be exciting. Kids will turn and they'll see me. Maybe it's intimidating to walk into the band room for the first time and be like, where's the teacher? I don't know. But long-term, it's like the musical goals. Short-term, it's just like, I just want the kids to like me. I just want them to have fun and feel comfortable with who they have as their band director.

Eggplnt (30:03)
I sound like that. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of one those things where you don't know what you don't know yet. You know, I think after that first day, you might have a whole new list of worries.

Mark Stevens (30:09)
yeah.

Well, like

I was telling you, I mean, I've been hearing some gossip about this bloodborne pathogen video. And like I got an email from my admin saying, here's these videos you have to watch about these bleed kits. And I'm like, what the heck is a bleed kit? And they're like, you can't let the kids see this. And I go, what is in this bleed kit to where the kids can't see it?

And so like, if the kid's bleeding that bad, God, I hope we've called somebody because I listen. There's a lot of things I do that I don't get paid enough to do, but one thing is for certain, I am no doctor. Never will be. I am not. I don't have the stomach to handle that. I never been a fan of horror movies. I bleed kit. The thought of it just makes me.

Anyways, but it's something I have to do. So it's...

Eggplnt (31:12)
Hopefully that

will stay in the box in the corner of the office.

Mark Stevens (31:15)
It stays. I hope I forget where, well, I hope I don't forget where it is, but I hope it, I hope I just stumble upon it be like, yeah, there's where the bleed kit is. I don't know. Like what's so bad about that anyways.

Eggplnt (31:30)
And then I guess before we let you go for now, now we're gonna be coming back in about a week to check in with you after your first day. But for now, I guess my last question is, what are you most excited about in stepping into your first classroom?

Mark Stevens (31:35)
Mm, Well, I kind of go back to that interaction I had at the at the parent preview at the marching band the high school that I feed into that I worked out ⁓ for band camp I go back to the interaction I had with the kids and the parents And I asked the kids, you know, was like, isn't this so cool? Like talking about the marching band and what they just did and they're like, my gosh, like it's awesome I was like, well, you know like You you get to be part of that pretty soon. You're all eighth graders like it's only like a year away really and we're gonna go and we're gonna play

one of the football games with them like you're gonna get a shirt that says like I'm a future shark on it you know and and you're gonna sit with those kids in the stands and you're gonna play their music and you're gonna watch them perform and you're gonna feel just like you're part of it and the kids were like lighting up like they loved it and so for me like I think okay so those parents have kids in middle school and they have kids in high school like what's that gonna be like when like my eighth graders from this year are at band camp the next year and doing marching band. And like I'll only be like one year into my career, but I'll still get to reap some benefits from that. You know, like it's seeing the kids grow up kind of thing. Then it's going to be when my first class of beginners go all the way through and they leave and they go to high school. I'll probably be a wreck on the last day of school for that. And then it's God, when those kids graduate high school to, you know, I'm just looking forward to the career of memories that I'm gonna make. You're never gonna forget those first group of kids. I'm never gonna forget those kids from the high school I interned at. ⁓ In fact, I just went and visited them and watched their preview and I walked in the door, I kid you not, and I heard somebody yell, it's Mr. Stevens. And there's, mind you, there's 250 kids in this band room and they all stopped, looked and just. uproar of cheers happened and I was like I was like man I would have dressed up a little bit more I was in like a bummy t-shirt and some shorts I was like man I feel so loved like it's

Eggplnt (33:54)
That's amazing.

Mark Stevens (34:04)
It's it's those little things were just like, you know, no one's a stranger to how much teachers don't get paid. But like it's those moments where it's like, ⁓ this, is the payoff. This is the pay. I'm not saying don't pay your teachers more, pay the teachers more. But like, this is, this is definitely what kind of like fills in that extra gap. it fills my cup to see the kids like enjoying what they're doing and also be like, ⁓ Hey, like I'm just that little forgotten like guy in the corner. It's like, Hey,

How are you? I'm looking forward to seeing that just occur over and over again. My gosh, when the first kid comes to me and goes, Mr. Stevens, I'm going off to college. I'm gonna say, all right, little Jimmy, what are you going to college for? And when he says music ed, I'm gonna say run. I'm just kidding.

I'm gonna be I'm gonna be elated and really I am gonna celebrate that because that kid's gonna have a hard four to five years ahead of him and then an even harder career after that I'm saying that like I know I mean I only know what college is like because I just finished it but ⁓

Eggplnt (35:00)
Don't do that.

Mark Stevens (35:18)
You know, I remember going back to my elementary school when I was getting ready to go to college and I walked up to my elementary music teacher who was a Florida State grad. And.

I walked up to her and I was like, hey, Miss Disney. And she was like, what's up? I was like, wow, I just want to come say hey. Like I'm moving to college in a couple of weeks. Like, you know, I just wanted to come say thank you. goes, what are you going to school for? And I was like, I'm going for music ed. And like, as soon as I finished speaking, just like tears started flowing. She, and she walked up to and goes, I knew you were going to be a music teacher from the moment I started teaching you. just knew it was going to be. And then I fast forward a little bit.

I'm in the marching chiefs and I'm marching in a parade to the Cheez-It bowl in Orlando and I hear Mark Stevens get yelled from the side and I turn and I look and it's my elementary music teacher standing right there and I completely broke ranks, ran out of that parade because I had to and I gave her like a five minute long hug.

And one of the grads was like, why did what, what you have to, and I was like, that was my elementary music teacher. And they were like, nevermind. You had to do that.

I like, yeah, I was like, that's, and that's the only time she saw me doing my thing at college. And now she's retired and she actually just messaged me a few, ⁓ few weeks ago. was like, ⁓ congrats on the job. Like, I'm so excited for you to get started teaching. And I'm, I'm so glad that you'll be back home doing it too. ⁓ and she was like, let me know if you need anything ever. Like I'm still around. ⁓ so just as little things, I think for a lot of people, why they go into music ed, it's because of the people.

Like yeah, we love music but like if I loved music that much like like if I if I loved music truly and it wasn't about the teachers and I probably would have either like Written music for the rest of my life or performed it and that's no shade to the people that do that They are way more talented than I will ever be and those are the people who keep the culture progressing in our world

But for me, like I think about my elementary music teachers. I think about that middle school band director who could have been better. I think about my high school band directors. I think about my college professors and I go, man, these people had such an impact on me. Like I'll be blessed and truly lucky if I can do that for one kid. And you know, if only one kid is touched by what I do, then job well done, job well done.

Eggplnt (37:54)
Yeah, that's incredible. Well, I guess for now, Mark, we're going to let you go. to say goodbye. And we're going to wish you well in your last week of training. And in just a couple seconds, we're going to be right back here again hearing about the end of your first day. And I very much look forward to it. So until then, my friend.

Mark Stevens (38:10)
I'm really glad I...

I'm really glad

I got my hair cut today because it looks terrible by the way and I had a busy day but listen I'm glad I got it cut short because when you see me in a week you're not gonna be able to tell from my hair at least how crazy the day was because if it's shorter it won't be able to move a whole lot see if it was longer it would literally look like I just finished my first day but I mean you should all start placing bets on how many cups of coffee I had ⁓

And man, it's gonna be a day. But it'll be from my office.

Eggplnt (38:47)
We may both be looking kind
of haggard, you know, because that's going to be the end of my first day too, so.

Mark Stevens (38:51)
Right. trauma bonding. I love it.

Eggplnt (38:54)
Yes, yes, yes. So we're going to be right back here in a little while, and I'm just going to leave it there. We'll come right back.

Eggplnt (39:05)
So we're back here with Mark and he has just completed his second day of teaching middle school band. Mark, you got to tell us how has it been going?

Mark Stevens (39:17)
it's been great. Man. It's crazy walking in on that first day and having kids walk in your classroom and they're sitting in there and you just see their faces and they're looking at you and you're like, man, yeah, I'm the person in charge, right? ⁓ I need to know what the next steps are. Like nothing prepares you for that. The internship doesn't, the field experience that you complete in college doesn't. And that's no fault of like anybody that's just when You don't know what it's like to be the only person till you're the only person and it's It's a lot, especially when you're in charge of setting all the rules all the expectations all the procedures which That's been a big thing for me is kind of rewriting some rewriting some procedures on stuff so like I made a decision, you know pretty early on like

First day I'm gonna show them like this is how we do things. So like they came in and my smart board, which I was telling you earlier, like I'm very technologically not savvy. It took me 30 minutes to make a welcome screen. It was very basic. Probably very easy for most people to not me, but you know what? We did it. And it said, welcome. Please come in quietly and have a seat. Backpack school under chairs. And that's all it said. And it had a little like school logo on it.

And you know what? I came in after greeting everybody at the door, which is a huge value of mine. It's a value that my principal has too. ⁓ After doing that, I walked into my room, first period. Granted, I've got little sixth graders, so they're really impressionable, my first period. And ⁓ they were all sitting there quietly, and their backpacks were under their chairs. And I was like, all right, great. And I remember walking in.

And this was like five minutes before like the bell rang. So we do homeroom at my school and my homeroom is my first period. So these kids got in my room like 7:15 and school doesn't start till, like class doesn't start till 7:30. And they're all just sitting there quietly. I walked in and I just kind of did this weird thing. My supervising teacher would just kind of stare at everybody. And these kids were staring at me like, is this guy okay? my God. Mom, come back. I'm not ready for this. And I looked and I went, I'm so excited. And one of these kids looked at me and I looked at them and was like, aren't you excited? And they're just like, they started giggling. All the kids started giggling. I was like, guys, it's the first day of middle school.

and they ate it up. And I mean, they're the most precious little kids ever. mean, they're sixth graders, but really they just look like fifth graders that don't know where they are. And that's because they're fifth graders that don't know where they are. They're like, my God, they're holding these schedules, walking around, running into walls, and they're trying to find their way around this giant school. And I just think it's the most adorable thing ever.

So the first impressions were great. Kids were chatty, and they're going to be chatty on the first day. They haven't seen their friends in three months, and it's really great to see them interacting with each other. I was instituting my attention grabbers, which for me, that's just raising my hand. When I raise my hand, everybody else raises their hand. The talking stops, the eyes go to me, and I tell the kids straight up, like, hey, do you like it when teachers yell?

and they're like, no. I'm like, this is so I don't have to yell. It's to save my voice and it's for you to not get yelled at. So it's a win-win. And they're all like, ⁓ And what was really great was all of my students in seventh period, I also have in fourth period. Because my seventh period is my jazz band, my fourth period is my advanced band. And all those advanced band kids knew what this was. So I walked into jazz, it was day one. And I treated it like it was week three and they already knew what was up. I walked in the door, I held my hand up and they all went and I was like, yes, we got him. Like you have to get him from day one. And so anybody's like going into year one of teaching or is about to have their first day or is like, what do I do day one? Listen, if you don't pick up the instruments day one, that's great. We didn't pick up the instruments on day one and that's mostly because most of my instruments are getting repaired right now.
But If you don't grab them from day one and set your expectations, like, it'll make it lot harder for you, you know, as the year goes on. And every teacher at that school is saying, be mean the first few weeks, and mean is a harsh term. They're like, be stricter, okay? And then when you can pull it back a little bit, they'll like that, they'll appreciate that, they'll feel that you trust them and they'll trust you. But if you don't give them enough restrictions from the beginning, then they're gonna take advantage of you. And it's so true, it's so true. ⁓ I've had a lot of core teachers come up to me and say, my kids are so excited about your guitar class, or they're so excited about your band class, man, these kids can't stop talking about it. And that makes me so happy. And I had a couple kids who came up to me they're like, you know, you're a really great band director. I'm like, dude, you've had me for 20 minutes, literally.

Like, thank you so much, like that's so kind of you. But I think what they've been craving is somebody to give them that routine, that consistency. And they haven't had that ⁓ at this school for about a couple years, really. ⁓ I can't remember if I talked about this last time, but I am director number three for my eighth graders. So my eighth graders, when they came into sixth grade two years ago, they had one band director until about November.

and then that band director just like left immediately. Burnt out, moved to teaching virtual school, new director came in towards the end of that semester but really like did things in January and then that director stayed through that year, came back the next year but then didn't come back this year. So they had a band director for half of a year, then another one for a year and a half and now they have me. And they really just haven't had a lot of routine and it's great. They love it. They love that everything has a place. Everything has a, we have a way that we do things. And you just try to treat everything like a teachable moment. So like if a kid asks me, can I go to the bathroom? It's like, all right, everybody, let's talk about the bathroom rules. It's just hitting all these things. I don't know. It's just been really.

Really nice. Tomorrow is my first early release day, which is going be great. But we also have assemblies starting tomorrow, so that's going to throw a mix into things. And this week's just a really chill, like, get back to school week. And so I've printed off a lot of word searches. Man, I've cut down a forest with how many word searches I've printed out. And I feel awful about it, but you know, I want to keep the kids engaged in something, and I want to keep it music related. You know, there's those teachers that will like...

you know, throw a movie on for kids and that's great and all, but like if I can get them doing something that's like an equivalent in terms of workload, but that still keeps their mind focused on like what we do, that's great. Like all the guitar kids tomorrow, today we talked about the different parts of a guitar. We labeled a sheet together as a class. Here's the different parts of the guitar. And man, you wouldn't believe how many kids thought that the nut of the guitar was so funny. Like you guys know what this is called? They're like, what? And I was like, it's the nut, nail it.

the nut? And I was like, yes. And then when I talked about the saddle of the guitar, which looks a lot like the nut, they were like, is that the peanut? And I was just like, my god. Like, it's just silly middle school humor. Anyways, so we labeled those parts of the guitar. But tomorrow, when we're doing assembly stuff, they are going, the ones that are still in my room, are going to do a word search that covers the parts of the guitar.

Yeah, all in all, the first two days have been great, and I'm just... I'm ready for the next challenge.

Eggplnt (48:17)
How does it feel to be Mr. Stevens?

Mark Stevens (48:19)
it's weird. It's so weird, So again, I talked about greeting my kids at the door. My door kind of is offset from the main hall, so you have to turn a corner and walk a little bit to get to my door. So if I stand at my door, I'd really only see the kids that turn the corner, which is five feet away from me. So I try to step out to that main hall. ⁓ man, when the kids, excuse me, we're coming for advance band, there's a few kids that are

heads of the Mr. Stevens fan club apparently. And they're coming down the hallway, they go, Mr. Stevens! And they're like deep bellowing, chanting my name. And some of the PE coaches, because I'm next to the gym, they're looking down like what in God's name is going on in that band room right now. And you know, I call it cultish, call it a dictatorship. I don't really care about it, because I would rather them say my name and say good things after it than...

Say my name and knock good things after it. And that's the crazy part is these kids just thought I was cool from day one. I don't know what it was, but they were sold. Maybe it's because they finally had a band director they were taller than. Whatever. That's great. I'm happy to be that guy. But those kids, their energy is spreading to the other ones too. And it's really great because those advanced kids, they...

They enjoy me, they enjoy having that consistency, especially those eighth graders like I talked about, but they don't mind me pushing them to the next level. I can say things to them like they haven't had a teacher really talk to them about posture and I can tell because I have to fix that like every five seconds. And then I said something that was to the extent of, what is my supervisor teacher? What would he say? said, oh.

Your posture is your visual representation of your effort. Man, when I heard that on my internship, I was like, dude, that's some deep stuff right there. That'll make anybody check themselves. I don't care if they're sixth grader or if they're a senior in college. They're gonna hear that and they're gonna sit up a little taller. And I said that, I was like, do know your posture is your visual representation of your effort? And I asked it just like a question and they just all kind of.

man, the effect that that has. Another thing was like, are you ready for the next part of this lesson? And they'll go, yeah, can you show me that you're ready? And boom, they know what that means. They know what that means. Some of them are so silly, I'll say that, and they'll put their hand in the air. Like, this thing has become infectious too. ⁓ Which, by the way, if you're watching this and you see that, like, steal it. I stole it. That's what my supervising teacher does. That's what other teachers that I know do, and it's great.

My instructional coach actually came in to one of my classes on the first day. Bless his heart. You want to talk about somebody that's scared of the band room. It's that guy. He walks in. Am I going to get seen? I'm like, hey, what's up? said, class, this is introducing to the class. He's here to say hey. And he was like, yeah, I'm just here checking on everybody. And I had a couple of kids giggling. I was like.

I put this up and all the kids put their hand up and he just looked at me he was like, whoa. He saw me in the hallway today and he's like, dude, this attention driver, he goes, like that works so well. You're like, I don't know why you filled out on that survey that you're worried about classroom management. He's like, you got it. I was like, well, hold on. This is day one. This is a good thing, but like also, you know, just be ready when I have, when I need that help.

But he's like, no, that's great thing that you started that from day one. And you had everybody doing that too. I was like, oh, don't move on until everybody does this. but it's weird to hear my last name. A couple kids figured out what my first name was. And I had a couple kids I caught saying like, oh yeah, they're like, Mr. Mark Stevens. And I was just like, did I just hear my first name? And there I was like, no.

And I was like, okay, that's probably my ears, know, old man ears. And they're just, I'm so lucky. I have such good kids that love being in the music classroom. I, man, there's probably a first year teacher out there who is hating listening to me talk about this because I know that this is not it for everybody. So like, I hope that I'm at least offering something to people, you know.

Like if it's this, if it's the, you know, just making those connections with the kids, like kids are kids. They're rich, they're poor, wherever they come from. Kids are kids. They want to be loved. They want to be, they want to feel like they're special and they want you to care about them no matter who they are. And all you got to do is show them that. And I was telling my jazz band kids today that they...

They had a little activity they had from another class where it was interview a partner and they're like, we want to interview you, you Mr. Stevens. I was like, okay, like what's something that you want people to know about you? I was like, okay. It's like, I never get mad. They're like, what? I don't. like, I might look mad. I was like, and I make faces a lot. was like, just know that if I look mad, I'm not mad. was like, it just means that if you're doing something and I give you that look, it's not that I'm mad. It's that I'm a little disappointed and you want to know why? And they're like.

Why? It's like, because if I'm looking at you like that, it means I know that you can definitely do that better or that you could have made a better choice. It's like, any time that I'm disappointed, it's not because I don't like you. It's never because I don't like you. It's always because I care about you and I want to see you do better because I love and care about you. And they're always kind of like this. I was like, yes. Of course, I mean all that. I'm not lying to them when I tell them this, but like...

Eggplnt (54:25)
That's amazing.

Mark Stevens (54:29)
feel like sometimes teachers are afraid to say like, I care about you. It's like you don't have to wait till the third quarter to say that. say it now.

Eggplnt (54:41)
I love that. That's awesome. So I guess before we say goodbye for now, I'm curious kind of what you're most excited about and maybe what you at this point now having taught a couple days, what is it now you're most concerned about? So you're high and you're low.

Mark Stevens (55:02)
So I think they're both kind of the same thing, honestly. So the concern for me is that the establishment of the routine and of the procedures and the way we do things is going to take a really long time. And it is. It just is. And that's where the consistency comes in. And the only thing for me is it's very easy for me to get exhausted.

doing the same thing over and over again. know, definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. And so for me, it's looking for new ways to keep the same routine going. So that way it stays fresh for the kids and it stays fresh for me. But what I'm really excited about is when I've done that, what the results are going to look like. So like right now, if I walk into the room and I put my hand up, it takes probably a solid 20 seconds.

for everybody to really lock in and see that. You know, the first two seconds, half the kids' hands are up, okay? Solid majority. But then the rest of them kind of trickle in. I want to walk in and within three seconds, everybody's hands are in the air. But that takes time. I want to be able to just kind of look at somebody, if they're doing something that they shouldn't be, and for them to just understand like, hey, I'm not mad. We just need to evaluate, is this what we're supposed to be doing? Is this what's being most productive?

And the kids will understand like, for me as a teacher, I'm so hard on them about like, we have this amount of time to do this, not because it's that amount of time for me to do these things, it's for that amount of time for us to get this done. This is a effort, this is a collaboration, this is teamwork. And so the sooner they realize that, then they're gonna buy into it and then those things will start to become more natural happen more efficiently and it'll just, it'll run really smooth.

Eggplnt (57:03)
Yeah, well we are all so thankful Mark that you came to kick off this podcast and I am so excited to be checking in with you throughout this school year to see how things are progressing and wish you all the best with your students this year and I can't wait to hear how it goes. Thank you so much Mark

Mark Stevens (57:23)
Thank you. Thank you.