A new note

The band student teacher Ms. Wong explains her experiences here in Cannon Falls.

Lauren Ritz, Torch staff writer|May 3, 2019

Angela+Wong%2C+from+St.+Olaf%2C+is+working+with+the+music+department+this+spring

Laura Johnson

Angela Wong, from St. Olaf, is working with the music department this spring

Walking into class isn’t exactly the most interesting thing. At this point in the school year everyone knows what to expect. Go into the classroom, learn some stuff, and leave. On April 1, students walked into the band classroom to find a new teacher.

Angela Wong, a student at St. Olaf college, is currently spending time as a student teacher in the Cannon Falls band department. She is currently a senior in college as a music education major and so she is required to complete 12 weeks of student teaching. Ms. Wong will spend 6 weeks in Cannon Falls teaching high school band and she has spent the other 6 weeks of her training teaching music at the elementary level.

Since 4th grade, Ms. Wong has been playing the flute as her primary instrument and also enjoys playing the oboe. “I have grown very fond of the oboe and sometimes wish I played that instead.” The oboe is her favorite instrument to teach despite the fact that she has been playing flute for 13 years.

Many students can probably realize that teaching kids may not always be the easiest thing. Learning a new instrument requires patience and coordination, skills not everyone has. This can make it challenging for the teacher as well. Ms. Wong says that she employs a strategy called scaffolding when teaching students difficult pieces of music. “When sightreading a new piece, I might have a student just clap or sizzle the rhythm, then sizzle it while doing the fingerings, then try to play through the piece to ensure their success,”she explains.

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I like the small school setting of Cannon Falls because it allows for a greater sense of community in which people actually know each other on a personal level

— Ms. Wong

Ms. Wong says that she enjoys the smaller school setting here at Cannon Falls. “My high school graduating class was around 730 people, so I’m not used to a small school. However, I like the small school setting of Cannon Falls because it allows for a greater sense of community in which people actually know each other on a personal level.”

Once she graduates college, Ms. Wong hopes to move back to the suburbs of Chicago and teach either elementary general music or middle school band. She hopes to have a balanced personal life and work life.  “I want a job that will allow me to have a nice separation of work and personal life so that I could pursue other ventures outside of my career, such as joining a youth orchestra or finally taking a ceramics class.”