Our very existence is threatened annually, and we cry out at the inequity of the threat, and yet many continue to only value the talented ones. You may be thinking, “This isn’t true though!” but I urge you to sit down with a big group of music educators and listen. Listen carefully, because once your eyes and ears are open to the exclusionary trends within this field, you will notice more and more that what we often do is segregate our own students into the talented and supported versus the “untalented” and underrepresented, whether we do it intentionally or not, it is there.
Category: music teacher education
And the Cellists Came to Blows Over a Grand Pause…
Well… They didn’t actually come to blows over the grand pause… But they were close. There were words, that is for sure! Fighting words! And here’s the… Read more “And the Cellists Came to Blows Over a Grand Pause…”
Turning Down my Dream Job: A Dissertation Death Story (Sort of)
Either way, after mulling it over and over and over and over, I ended up turning the job down in favor of my current position. I spent so much of the summer fearing what might come…. And when I said, “You did an incredible job today!” They said “We can still do better.”
Teaching Love, One Note at a Time
Today, in my classes, we will be playing music and sending love, as we always do. But today, we will be directing our love to the families and victims in Orlando. I urge you today to do what you can in your own lives to send love, to show your support to those who need it, and to fill the world with music, love, and pride.
The Power of Even a Drop of Critical Pedagogy
Ever since learning about Critical Pedagogy, I have done everything I could do put it into practice. Let me tell you… The results have been out of this world…
Assessment: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly PART II
The third school that really struck me was the most frustrating. It was a group of students from a poor school. So many of their issues had to do with crummy instruments, an unfortunate lacking of a bass player, and just poor circumstances. This was really ugly and frustrating. And so… I decided to write about it…
My Best Year Yet (fingers crossed)!
They listened to me! All of these years, they have been listening and are communicating a story without my help. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing I have experienced as an educator.
