More Than A Music Teacher: David Getz and Anna Mounts
What makes you #morethanamusicteacher? In this blog series inspired by Franklin Willis’ Book, More Than A Music Teacher, we invited teachers around the world to share their stories. Today, we’ll hear from David Russell Getz and Anna Mounts. Read on as we celebrate the incredible changemakers in our profession [...]
More Than A Music Teacher: Elizabeth Shier and Crystal Briley
What makes you #morethanamusicteacher? In this blog series inspired by Franklin Willis’ Book, More Than A Music Teacher, we invited teachers around the world to share their stories. Today, we’ll hear from Elizabeth Shier and Crystal Briley. Read on as we celebrate the incredible changemakers in our profession [...]
The Value of a Values Statement for your Music Department
Like many music educators, I experienced a major shock during my first few months of teaching: Even though I knew how to play all the instruments, sing all the songs, and teach all the music… Very few of my students cared like I did about learning music. After [...]
Reflections on Cultivating a Daily Creative Practice: #asongadayinjan
Intro I’ve always been inspired by my dear friend, Sarah Gulish, to take on the “Song A Day Challenges” over the last couple of years. I only just began my songwriting journey three years ago and prior to 2023 starting, I had only written a total of forty-six [...]
My Favorite Portable Instrument for the Classroom
I spent the first four years of my teaching career with zero instruments for my high school general music class. We had nothing, and I was told there was no budget for my class. I tried to make the best of it by gathering all of the "leftovers" [...]
What Music Teachers Can Learn From Coaches (and vice versa)
I have spent my entire life in the seemingly unrelated worlds of Sports and Music. Thanks to High School Musical, the narrative that a teenager could live comfortably within the dual identities of Artist and Athlete in the mid-2000s was all but shattered. However, with the anthem of [...]
Seven Tips for Surviving December as a Music Teacher
(This post was inspired by an interview with Jessica Grant for Afternoon Ti and Musicast) If classroom teachers are overwhelmed in the month of December, there needs to be a whole other phrase coined for what music teachers feel this time of year. In addition to our regular [...]
More Than A Music Teacher
I am More Than A Music Teacher. For some time throughout my career, I felt the need to shout that phrase from the rooftops to truly advocate for all I was doing in the music classroom. During my first couple of years of teaching, my identity centered around [...]
Where are all the Instruments? Book Review
If you’ve read this blog before, you know that I’m a fan of Nate Holder’s work. In 2020, I reviewed his book, Why is my piano Black and White? Since the release of that work, he has written many other books and has even adapted Where are all [...]