I’ve never been strongly attached to the traditional orchestral seating arrangement, and in my 10+ years of teaching orchestra I’ve gone through just about every possible seating arrangement with my students. Each arrangement brings its own set of pros and
Usually when I write a blog post, I feel like I have something helpful to say. While I never have all the answers, I have learned something that works for me that might be helpful to someone else. That’s not
It’s June 3, 2021 and today was my high school’s graduation. It was an actual, live, in-person graduation. All 570 graduating seniors donned their caps and gowns and walked across the stage as their names were read. Parents, family members,
You’ve probably heard the phrase “work-life balance” at some point. It’s one of those catch phrases that people love to throw around. You may have heard it directed at you specifically as a teacher, or thought about how to achieve
Teaching elective classes is tough sometimes. There is almost constant pressure to get as many students as possible to take your classes, and yet none of those students actually need to take your classes. In music especially, we feel like
Not long ago I was talking to a colleague about his concert the night before. He mentioned how frustrating it was for him that his students would play so well one day and so terribly the next. He knew they
“Now go home and practice that.” Music teachers tell students to practice. It’s what we do. As a music student, I was expected to practice for a certain amount of time. As a music teacher, I expect my own students
A veteran teacher once told me that the secret to a long and happy teaching career is to have a major change every seven years. That advice came to me just after I decided to leave the school I had
Like most teachers, my first year of teaching quickly made me realize that there was a lot that college didn’t prepare me for. I ran into challenges that I never could have anticipated and discovered that there was a lot
For the last several months, I keep hearing people talk about 2020 as if it were the worst year in human history. Already people are looking longingly towards 2021 – or even 2022 – with the idea that anything would