Welcome to Janine’s Music Room! 
My hope is that you will find some interesting and inspiring ideas here. We’re often told that great teachers steal ideas from each other, and I think that the more we can share our best practices, the better music education will be for every child.
I earned my Bachelor of Music from Lawrence University and my Master of Music from Boston University, both with an emphasis in music education. I have been teaching in international schools for nearly 20 years now, and I continue to learn and grow just as much as the students! My first international school experience was in an IB World School, which was a real learning experience. The culture shock of diving into PYP teaching was quite a shift for me. It made me think about teaching and learning in a whole new way from everything I’d known and learned, but it made so much sense. Of course learning should reflect the interdisciplinary reality for which we are preparing our students. Science, music, math, and PSE are not separate compartments out in the real world. The focus on concepts and understanding over factual knowledge lends itself much more to student engagement and deeper learning. Evolving that into a more emergent curriculum has helped me to teach my students so much more, get them into more interesting music, and think critically about their musical encounters. Now I can’t imagine teaching through a textbook or even having my plans ready two months ahead of time.
Teaching keeps me pretty busy, both in and out of school, but I spend the rest of my time with my husband and my two little boys. I try to find some time to play my violin, and most recently, I have taken on a new challenge and started learning the harp. I hope that my ramblings here will inform, encourage, and inspire you, and I hope that you will share some of your thoughts and teaching ideas here as well. Thanks for visiting my site.
Hi Janine,
I found your Cultural Iceberg on Facebook today and it’s a wonderful depiction of the complexities of culture. Thank-you!
As a co-leader in PRIDE training, I teach adoption education. My job is to help teach prospective adoptive parents things that they need to know before adopting a child. We have a very important cultural component which helps support parents who wish to adopt a child of a racial or ethnic background that is different from their own. Your iceberg would be a perfect compliment to this unit. I am writing to you to ask if it possible for us to use your diagram in our lessons – with complete accreditation to you, of course!
Please let me know how you feel about our using your diagram as an education tool. I look forward to your response.
All the best,
A. Pollard
Hamilton, Ontario
Thanks, Anne,
I am happy to have you using my diagram as an educational tool, as long as is it stays attributed/credited to me. I hope it will be a helpful tool for people who want to better understand the complexity of cultural differences.
Kindest regards,
Janine
Hi, Janine.
I tweeted your iceberg graphic (with your website url) and my twitter feed is blowing up with retweets–it’s at 675 and counting as of a minute ago. Had I known it would get so big, I’d have put your name/url in the tweet so you could get more credit. I’ve had like one retweet ever, so this was totally unexpected–it says a lot about the power of your creation! Am now responding to retweets with a reminder to give credit to you. Hopefully you’ll get some love. If you’re uncomfortable with it going like this, say the word and I’ll take it down.
Hi Janine. I also saw your cultural iceberg on facebook. It is such an exceptionally important piece. Thank you!
I would like to share it on my website justnomore.com I see that you gave the previous poster permission to use it in her lessons. I am writing to ask your permission for website use. The site has a very clear political slant, and I want to make sure that you feel comfortable with the use of your work on the site, along with a link back to your site.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
KC
Dear KC,
I finally had a chance to check out justnomore.com, and I am happy to have you share my iceberg diagram there, as long as it is referenced/attributed to me here.
I, too, have been brought to your site by your cultural iceberg diagram on facebook today. I just read through some of your posts. I’m just commenting to say that you’re a fantastic person. I want to be a teacher too someday soon.
I have nothing more to say except that you’re inspiring and I hope you keep posting regularly.
Thanks for the kind comment, Sumera! Teaching is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. I wish you well in your quest to become a teacher, and I hope I can keep inspiring you with my posts.
Hi Janine, just wanted to add my voice to those praising your iceberg. It’s a really insightful thing and obviously has stuck a lot of people. I’d love to use it in training, if I do I’ll come back and ask you about specific use. Thanks!
Thanks, Adam!
Well done on the iceberg graphic! While I recognize the graphic itself is yours, the concept and application is close to forty years old, and there are many versions of this graphic out there. If/when I share this, do I need to credit you for just the graphics, or graphics and content? Also, who is the originator of this, and do we need to credit them as well?
Hi Jennie,
Thanks. The graphic and specific content are both mine, so if/when you share it, please credit both to me here.
I am a PhD student. I would like to quote your definition of culture.
Just I would like to get your full name for reference. Kindly reply
Hi David,
That would be fine. Please reference my full name (Janine Slaga) and the website (www.janinesmusicroom.com). I am glad to hear that my iceberg will be helpful.
Kind regards,
Janine
Hi Janine,
I have been an elementary music educator for 15 years in international schools and will now be starting in a PYP school which has performing arts rather than just music. I would love to chat with you about steps to take. Please let me know if you’d be willing to be in contact with me.
Regards,
Julie
Hi Julie,
I’d be happy to be in contact with you about working in performing arts in the PYP.
Hi Janine!
I’m sure you are sick of people asking but I want to make sure you are aware of how awesome your work is and still have control over it! I actually saw your cultural iceberg on tumblr and I want to use it in training sessions for student leadership, mentorship, and staff training all surrounding culture and communication here at Ohio Northern University. I will of COURSE attribute it to you. It’s so lovely to see other great teachers doing amazing things out there. Thank you so much for your hard work and passion!!
Thanks!
Hi, Janine!
I’d like written permission to use your Cultural Iceberg drawing in a book chapter I am writing on development work in developing countries – if that is okay? I work at the University of Guam. The publisher requires written confirmation of permission from you. Can you pls email me your email so I can send you the permission form?
thanks, jim
Thanks, Jim! I’ll be in contact.
Dear Janine,
I would appreciate approval to use your iceberg in my presentation for cultural health beliefs this month! Your iceberg is perfect for the development of what I am constructing in cultural health belief models for American Indian health. Please let me know if there is anything more I must do? I will properly reference you and credit your iceberg. Thank you!