The Growth Marble

 I was very fortunate during my teaching career to have many wonderful teacher partners. My first year in 4th grade I learned many things from my partner, Shannon. One of those was the growth marble. 

I'm pretty sure this was her own invention. What a growth marble is, is a recognition of anytime someone makes a leap - learns something new, makes a connection, comes to a realization. The student or the adult could recognize and name the event. And, in her class when someone, student or adult, earned a marble, she had them put a real marble in a real jar. 

Away from the classroom, we can still earn growth marbles. "That's a growth marble for me," Shannon has said numerous times. So this is my recent growth marble.

I play (French) horn in a number of community music groups. One of them is a horn choir -- just French horns. We have players of many levels of abilities. And, to quote Monty Python, we are an autonomous collective, with members stepping up to take on responsibilities such as music library, securing rehearsal space, and conducting. 

I had never volunteered to conduct a piece with the group. I have two music degrees and had taken a required conducting class in college, but conducting -- getting up in front of the group and leading them -- terrified me. But I could see that first, the group was in need of more conductors, because everyone wants to play, and second, it would be a personal challenge. A growth marble, in fact. So I mentioned to one of my friends in the group that I was thinking about it and the next thing I knew, I was signed up to conduct a piece at a summer concert on the lake. (Crystal Lake for anyone who lives in the Chicago area.) 

It was a very straightforward piece - no changes of tempo (speed) or meter (how many beats in a measure, which means the conductor needs to pay attention and change the beat pattern or the whole group gets thrown off). A good piece for a novice! I looked the music over and after the first rehearsal asked for feedback from my friend (she has significant conducting experience and expertise), which was very helpful. It continued to be a nerve-wracking experience, however. But on a damp and overcast Sunday afternoon by the lake, I conducted the final piece of our concert. We started and ended together and if things in the middle were sometimes a little shaky, we hung in there. I earned my growth marble!

Will I do it again? Yes. Will I get better? I hope so!