One of the things that I struggle with when teaching the littlest musicians is their short attention spans. I know that they will be most successful if I change activities frequently, but when I’m planning for seven grade levels (K-6) it’s hard for me to remember all...
When we think of leadership in schools, we most often look towards principals, instructional coaches, or to other leadership roles outside the classroom, such as teacher mentors. When it comes to our work inside our music classrooms, we commonly refer to it as...
It’s 9:00 in the morning, and twenty seven sixth graders just piled into your room. They are animated and social, and learning a new song may not be high on their personal list of priorities. Forty five minutes later, their teacher comes by to pick them up at the same...
Strategies for Reaching Kids Who Don’t Care Having spent the bulk of my music education career working in schools known for students with challenging behaviors, I can attest to the truth in the old maxim, “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”...
Middle school general music is a unique challenge with its own special quirks, much like the preteens we teach! I’ve found one of the most important aspects of successful middle school music teaching is encouraging and developing student voice. Of course I’m sure most...
As many music teachers- white music teachers in particular- do some serious learning, unlearning, and soul-searching this summer to work against systems of oppression and racism in our society, schools, and classrooms, one of the most important steps we can take is to...
