The Music Teacher Island

Somebody mentioned the “music teacher island” recently, so this stuck in my mind as I write this. Since I wrote my first post, I have been trying to figure out the focus of this blog. I plan to use the blog to write about lessons and any topics that other music educators may be interested in.

Although I have some great colleagues in the music department of my district, we are all at different schools and do not meet together as often as we’d like. Over the years, I have attended Orff workshops, NJMEA conferences, looked on the Music K-8 mailing list, and searched online. In the past few years and more recently, I have discovered many more online resources than ever. Many of my internet searches have led me to Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, Youtube, and different social media sites. There are so many great resources out there!

My first teaching job was at a Montessori school, teaching pre-school and kindergarten music classes. I designed my own curriculum based on what I learned in my undergraduate years as a music education major. The lessons were put together using college resources, old music books my mother had (since she’s a music teacher as well), mixed in with a few of my own ideas thrown in.

I eventually landed the position where I am now. Because this was a brand new school when I started here, I have shaped the music program and watched it evolve over the last fifteen years. Many traditions have been started. Some were at my principal’s request, and other ideas were initiated by me. I will share these traditions in future posts.

In addition to covering all of the musical concepts and achieving all of the state standards, my long-term and more important goal is to teach the students to have a love and appreciation for music. I want the students to understand that music is not just limited to what they hear in school, but something that is out there in the real world.

I hope that this blog helps me reflect on my lessons, connect with others that are blogging as well, and take part in many great discussions about music education.