Music Education Professional Learning & Consulting
Listen to this blog post by clicking on the player below! For many music educators around the U.S., February is a time to pull out lessons on Black musicians and composers, jazz & blues, spirituals, and hip hop. And while I love all of those things, today I want to challenge you to challenge your … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! It was my first year teaching at a bilingual charter school in Washington, DC where the vast majority of my students were from Spanish speaking backgrounds, primarily from South America. Not being a strong Spanish speaker myself (I had taken a study abroad trip after … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! An often missed opportunity when planning and creating the foundation for your music program is setting the vision. Of course, we must consider our curriculum when we think about our vision for our music programs: the repertoire we’ll teach, what musicians we’ll explore, what skills … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! Culturally responsive practice is the most impactful lever we can pull towards equity in music education. But what exactly does it mean for there to be “equity in music education”? What does it mean to utilize a lens for “diversity, equity, and inclusion”? The “Alphabet … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! Music programs can be the heart and soul of our schools. A great music program fosters a sense of belonging & community, gives learners a way to express themselves, and helps to boost learner well-being just to name a few benefits. While the numerous benefits … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! I often open my speaking engagements and professional development workshops with a few questions to the group to check to see who’s in the room. One of the questions I ask is: “How many of you know that what we do in our music programs … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ve probably heard me say that “simply diversifying your repertoire is NOT culturally responsive.” Besides the fact that you can’t just “be culturally responsive” because it’s not a thing we “do,” one issue with focusing on simply … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! For both kids and teachers, coming back to school after any extended break can stir up a variety of emotions. For many kids (and teachers!), returning to the routines of school after being away can be especially jarring. It’s important to keep this in mind … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! Music educators committed to working for equity have a similar vision: Music for Everyone. On the surface, “music for everyone” sounds like a beautiful ideal for our music education spaces, however the question then becomes “how do we actually ensure that music CAN be for … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! As music educators committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, it’s important to point out that there will be pushback. We must expect it and we must be ready for it. As with any kind of change, there will be discomfort, and in fact when there … Read more
Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! In Dr. Rudine Sims-Bishop’s 1990 article “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors,” she presents a useful metaphor for the importance of diverse children’s books when she says that “books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange… … Read more