The Art of Practice (blog # 2)

Gee: “Allowing players to practice- a process that is the hallmark of “reflective practice” (87).

Civitano:I can remember it was a hot humid summer day and I found myself in a muggy filled basement hovering over a piano and playing the same piece over and over again to try and get it right by the demands of my mother. As I was listening to my family outside laughing and splashing around in the pool I had to listen to my mother and could not get up from the piano until I played that piece perfectly. A couple of hours later I got my hands to flow out this piece of music and after a lot of practice.
When I was a child I was forced by mother to practice the piano everyday for 2 hours straight. As I got older she did not have to force me to practice anymore because I saw the importance of practicing. It got me to where I am today as not only a musician but a piano teacher to be able to educate others. Practice is something extremely important in whatever you do. As Gee said practice is important “in areas like law, medicine, teaching art, or any other area where there are expert practitioners” (Gee 87). To me practice is important in any kind of area there is. But to be an expert at what you are trying to succeed in you need to put in many hours of practice.
As I am preparing to become a teacher in the subject of English it is very important to me that I get that practice in becoming a teacher. That is the importance in the amount of hours I need to put into teaching before I get to have my own students. After years of practice I will be considered an expert practitioner within teaching English.

Gee: “Practice is crucial not just to the development of the child’s mind” (Gee 89).

Civitano:As I find practice to be extremely important I will instill that within the minds of my students. I will actually prove to them that having them practice within writing they will become better writers. Practice is crucial within the mind but it is also crucial within the real world. For someone to succeed at something they need to practice at it. Practice is like setting goals, setting what you want to be in the future.
When some people (to me, especially children and teenagers) hear the word “practice” they think it is something that it not interesting and something they do not want to spend time to do. I know there where times when I wished I was just able to get the subject of Math without having to practice at it. My tutor in Math did not make practicing fun and exciting. She drilled it in me that I need to practice and made it very not enjoyable. Knowing this experience I had with practicing I will try and make the routine of practicing fun for my students. I want them to set up lessons that they do not even know they are “practicing” for what I have planned for them next. This will take effort and a sense of trust and a comfortable close environment within the classroom. Creating this will have the students succeed and enjoy the art of practicing.

Williams: “Physical closeness implies a relationship” (15).

Civitano:To me this implies in what I was just trying to state when I said I think in order to have my students succeed and enjoy the art of practicing and instill education within my students is to create a close safe environment. This means a close relationship with their peers, classmates, teachers, and parents. As a teacher I will incorporate lessons into my classroom where not only do they learn from me (the teacher) but they will also learn from their classmates which means for them to have a close relationship with them. When I read what Williams had wrote this statement hit close to home for me. This statement can really pertain to anything. Physical closeness can determine whether or not that relationship is worth keeping. Physical closeness does not necessary have to deal with being with a person. It can mean having passion for something that you feel close to it (i.e. my close relationship with music and writing).