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Thoughts from a PYP music teacher

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Thoughts

16 Things I Wish I’d Known as a First-Year Teacher

It’s no secret that there’s a lot you don’t learn in your methods classes. Even student teaching doesn’t quite prepare you. Lucky for you, you’re reading this! In addition to the subject knowledge you have, and the pedagogical theory you’ve

Janine 2. July 202329. June 2023 Teacher Tips, Thoughts No Comments Read more

The danger with TeachersPayTeachers 

Teachers are often told the value of borrowing (or “stealing”) lessons and ideas from other teachers. With the growing popularity of Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and teacher affinity groups on Facebook, it is easier than ever to share and find

Janine 24. April 202329. June 2023 Teacher Tips, Thoughts No Comments Read more

Reminders for Exhausted Teachers

Teaching is exhausting: physically, mentally, AND emotionally. And that’s in a normal year! When I’m feeling heavy or stressed emotionally, I sometimes receive unsolicited advice to just “leave work at the office” and “shut off when you go home at

Janine 2. October 20202. October 2020 Thoughts No Comments Read more

The most important back-to-school reflection

No doubt you finished the last school year completely exhausted. Now you are preparing for a new year (or already in it). You’re thinking about your curriculum, your classroom setup, classroom management procedures, and myriad other things that need your

Janine 15. August 202015. August 2020 Thoughts No Comments Read more

Focus on the positive: 18 great things about online learning

I miss my students. I also have concerns about being back at school with hundreds of students in a pandemic. It’s easy to get pulled down right now, so today I am focusing on the positive. If you are disappointed

Janine 25. July 20203. September 2020 Teacher Tips, Thoughts No Comments Read more

Music in the Time of Covid-19

If you are on any kind of social media, I’m guessing that you’ve seen dozens of posts about whether or not schools should open. As schools and the rest of society reopen, schools have become the center of a lot

Janine 15. July 20206. August 2020 Thoughts No Comments Read more

Children Need to Play

I’m sure that I’m mostly preaching to the choir here, but more and more research is coming out with a clear message about childhood: Children learn through play. This is how human beings are programmed to learn. And yet, more

Janine 15. February 20179. April 2018 Thoughts No Comments Read more

Change: How do I get there?

I’m trying something very new and experimental in my classes this year. It’s wonderful, discouraging, overwhelming, eye-opening, frustrating and amazing all at once. As teachers, we want the best for our children. We are visionaries, and we want to be

Janine 1. December 201616. March 2018 Thoughts No Comments Read more

Composition and Notation, Part II: Moving to Traditional Notation

If you haven’t read Part I, have a look there first. At some point, the graphic notation will start to prove difficult. Students who are making more conscious, precise decisions about dynamics, pitch, and rhythm will need an equally precise

Janine 2. September 20166. August 2016 Thoughts No Comments Read more

Composition and Notation, Part I: Don’t Sweat the Small Staff

I used to get very frustrated trying to teach notation or getting students to accurately notate their compositions on the staff. But I’ve changed, and so can you!* Don’t get bogged down with notating compositions. It kills the creative flow.

Janine 25. August 20166. August 2016 Thoughts No Comments Read more
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