Improvisation

I love music and I love teaching. What is it about these two processes that clicks for me? First off, let me clarify: I am not a music teacher. I teach college accounting. Upon reflection, I suppose I like playing the notes and not playing the notes. I like to go with the plan and go off of the plan. In teaching, the lesson plan guides the way. Call it a lesson plan or whatever kind of plan, I plan and think through the course and the semster and the chapter and the topic and put toether a plan. Most of the time, I work from my plan, sometimes adding a little here, sometimes taking a little there. Sometimes, I work completely off of my plan. I improvise in the classroom. Those are some my best classroom experiences with students. Improvisational teaching for me would not be possible without the plan. It would not be veering off track if we weren't on track most of the time. It is being completely in the moment and following where the conversation is going, where the questions are going, where the moment is taking us. It is always a little bit scary. In music, there is playing the notes written on the page, and then there is improvisation. I like them both and use them both in my teaching. I tend to stick to the plan, but when I do improvise in the classroom, it is a wonderful thing.