It’s time for March Madness in French class! Every year in March, we shake up the routine by introducing two songs a day for a few weeks. The 16 songs are organized in a March Madness style competition to be voted the favorite song of our French 1, 2 and 3 students. Check out the bracket on the wall outside of Room 28 in the academic building, and if you are interested, follow the progress of the competition. You might discover a new French-language artist that you enjoy.

I’ve been wading around in my goals doc lately, getting it ready for review, adding my links, seeking out feedback to see if it makes sense to anyone but myself. It has some gaps, some redundancies. I need to tighten it up but it is often at the bottom of my list of things to do.

As I prepare for the Manie Musicale, I see that it fits into my goals in several places. Our department goal this year is DEI. Music is a great way to bring a variety of voices to the classroom, and to engage with a multitude of perspectives. This year’s singers have all sorts of backgrounds and come from many different French-speaking places around the world. Their songs will give my students a glimpse into cultures and experiences beyond their own.

SEL is my crew, and my year-long goal is to explore ways to connect with the students who tend to remain unseen in the classroom. The shy ones, those not prone to joining a class discussion. Maybe they don’t have a friend in the room who makes them feel brave, or perhaps they are afraid of making a mistake so they don’t speak up. I hope to use the music to connect with some of these students – if there is something they particularly like, I hope it will foster a conversation. If there is something they don’t like, this can be a good jumping off point for a connection as well. I hope that the music will draw them into the class community and help them to feel seen.

And as for innovative teaching, my personal professional goal: each song contains not only the biography, culture and background of the singer, there is also the poetry of the lyrics and the message that comes through in the song. There are unlimited opportunities for class discussions, providing compelling input that leads to language acquisition.

If you are interested in any of this, join us! Here is a link to the bracket that includes links to the playlist and the music videos. Listen to the songs and fill out the bracket by Tuesday morning (March 1st). Bring it to me in Room 28 or put it in my mailbox. Vote along with us by filling out the Google surveys linked to the numbers on the bracket. Follow the progress on the bulletin board outside room 28, or on the bracket linked above. If you win, fabulous prizes await! (At least that’s what I tell my students.) Bonne manie musicale de mars! And good luck with those goals docs too.