At the ages 0-8 we see the world as if it’s through a video camera recording everything in our brains and making meaning of it. Meaning is particularly important here because developmentally, everything at that age is experienced in relation to self. In other words, your brain is always subconsciously asking, “What does this mean about me?” As we grow up, the lens in which we see the world is heavily tinted with what we’ve experienced during our earliest years which in turn influences our thoughts and actions. So yes, I have to admit, until I was an adult, I thought that kids who brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school for lunch had parents that didn’t love them. I laughed out loud at this realization when the thought occurred to me when I was, in fact, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my own two children for school without notes because it was easy, and PBJ’s are delicious (and yes, I love my children very much).

But this is all good news! Your brain is AMAZING! Our “meaning-maker” helps us develop a sense of self! And, among many other incredible things, our brains are so efficient that it constantly takes large amounts of information and simplifies it, creating mental shortcuts. Imagine if we had to process all of the stimuli we experience all of the time—it’s exhausting just thinking about it. Your brain is FANTASTIC at its job, but it really doesn’t care if these shortcuts aren’t actually serving you. In simplifying information, there are sometimes flaws: dots are connected and stories are weaved that don’t necessarily reflect reality… yikes! In the words of neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor speaking about her own awakening to the inner workings of her own brain in her book, My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, “​​…there was both freedom and challenge for me in recognizing that our perception of the external world, and our relationship to it, is a product of our neurological circuitry. For all those years of my life, I really had been a figment of my own imagination!” 

So why does this matter for teachers and how can we work with the amazing biology of our brain? Well, at the risk of sounding cliche, you don’t see the world as it is; you see it as YOU are… which is your implicit bias. The trick is to determine the difference between what’s true for you and what is actually universal Truth. Most of the time what’s “true” for you is really just a reflection of you and your past lived experiences. Imagine implicit bias as a pair of invisible glasses; it’s your perspective. The Truth is that there are always more than two sides to every story—I’d argue there are as many sides to the story as there are people who have experienced the story! As a teacher this is super important to understand because of the great responsibility you have when you stand in the front of the room of young, impressionable students. Your bias will get in the way simply because you are you and you are not them. You must be aware and accept that you have implicit bias in the first place, and then understand how to respond when something challenges that bias (which will also definitely happen). Here are some ways to do that:

Mindfulness & Self-Awareness

Mindfulness is how we pay attention to some things and not to others. It’s about tuning into yourself and checking in with what you are experiencing in the moment as it is happening. When an implicit bias is challenged, there might be a physiological stress response that affects your nervous system. For example, you might sweat, your heart rate might increase, or you may even feel lightheaded. Breathing is one of the best ways to practice mindfulness and return your nervous system back into a state of calm. A box breath is a great tool to lock into a place of ease: breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and then hold for 4. It’s helpful to repeat that pattern three times so your nervous system can relax. When you are mindful, you become present and can be self-aware of what you are thinking, feeling, and what your body is responding to. Then, you can move on to getting curious about what you are noticing.

Noticing & Curiosity

If a student or colleague confronts you about a potential bias, you can either react or respond. Reaction usually involves your ego and a connection to what this interaction means about YOU (remember that sneaky meaning-maker?). You might be thinking, “If I’m wrong about this, then what does this mean about me?” But what would happen if you set your ego aside and actually listened? What if you took off your invisible implicit bias glasses for just a minute to hear another perspective. Then, being mindful and self-aware, become an objective observer of yourself. Instead of judgement, just notice. Ask yourself: How do I feel? What thoughts are causing me to feel this way? Is this thought that I am thinking true for me, or is it a universal Truth? Judgement and curiosity cannot exist in the same space so start to replace those judgy feelings with a sense of exploration and start to ask those questions. Only then can you be open to changing the prescription on those implicit bias lenses.

Grace & Kindness 

Here’s the thing… you’re not perfect. But don’t worry, because nobody is. When you meet the world with an open mind and open heart, your ego takes a back seat and you get to learn. We are all always learning, and that’s pretty cool! When you take a misstep, put your foot in your mouth, or blunder in front of your class, meet yourself (and others) with kindness. When we know better, we do better, so let’s extend grace to yourself and others with an intention of learning… and perhaps a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The post Deconstructing Hidden Beliefs and Implicit Bias appeared first on SmartMusic.

This is grim. So what can you do? How can we ride this wave of change while advocating for our music programs? Here are four tangible ideas that can help with your advocacy efforts:

Acknowledge the Identity Crisis

We are having an identity crisis, both personally and professionally. So many of us have a strong connection between our role as a music teacher and our personal identity. When the world changed in March 2020 and we realized that music ensembles as we knew them would change, it was a difficult pill to swallow. I kept thinking, “if I’m not a choir director anymore, then who am I?” Did this ring true for you, too? The grief that followed was heavy, but important to feel. We all lost something, and I encourage you to feel the feels and mourn the loss of what we once had. This is the only way to move forward to start to think creatively about what needs to come next.

Secondly, our profession is going through an identity crisis. What used to be the center of our programs (band, chorus and orchestra) is now vastly different. The safety parameters make it impossible to have ensembles like they used to be. While it might be more comfortable to hold on to tradition, in order to save our programs we need to lean into this new reality and pivot. Remember, we teach music, not band, chorus and orchestra. Many of us teach music through band, chorus and orchestra, but now we need to adjust our paradigm. How can we teach the standards by other means? How can we use our current situations to reach our students in a way that still has meaning and value? This is not to say that we should completely abandon tradition altogether. For some programs, these ensembles are still working in large open spaces (like gymnasiums and auditoriums). However, use this transition time as an opportunity for innovation, to expand your offerings, and potentially reach more students – even within the traditional ensembles. Advocate for your programs by adapting to the circumstances.

Focus on What You Can Control

It feels comfortable when we have a sense of control over our environment. However, now more than ever it seems as if nothing is in anyone’s control. There is an incredible amount of instability and when we try to take on every challenge at the same time, the burden is just too much. Take a breath, step back, and find the things that are in your control. To be honest, the list will be short: your thoughts, and your actions That’s it!

You cannot control administrative decisions, state mandates, or student participation. However, you can control what you do with those situations. Our best advocacy efforts come from a sound understanding of our influence. First, initiate a meeting with the teachers in your music department and focus on a common goal. What are you, as a united front, offering the students of your community? What is your mission and vision for your program? Once you have answers to these questions, start to think of ways you can communicate this message clearly and consistently. If getting the group to agree on this is challenging, it is possible to individualize your efforts. Either way, every day is an opportunity to advocate, so showcase the positive things that are happening in your classes. Be loud with your efforts – use online platforms, and email board members and administrators about highlights of student learning. Advocate by making your program visible with a laser focus on your mission.

Look Closely at Programming

A private voice student of recently mine told me that he was not participating in choir this year because there were no concerts. He then went on to say “so if there are no concerts, what’s the point?” This was hard to hear, and he is not alone in thinking this way. Attrition is becoming a large problem in our ensembles. Unfortunately the sentiment of my student is shared with many of our students, administrators, and community members. We do so much more than just perform at concerts. We need to send a different message. Performance is part of the music education experience, but cannot be the final destination. It is a piece of a much larger pie. We need to shift our attention to all of the other things that can happen in music class and shout it from the rooftops.

Look at your programming and find pathways that lead to more participation in music-making that lie outside the band, chorus, orchestra paradigm. What opportunities are you offering right now? How can you expand your music courses or curriculum to reach more students? Perhaps virtually, you are actually able to reach more students. Maybe now is a chance to try something that you felt you never had the time to do before. Can your offerings be more student-centered? Ask your students how music fits into their lives at home, and start planning lessons that are relevant to the music they are already listening to. This will take time, and a lot of planning, however it is essential to lean into these changes and pivot. This change in your approach can ultimately save your program.

Remain Hopeful

Although this might be your most challenging year yet, I encourage you to remain hopeful. Take things one day at a time. Maybe it’s one class at a time – just get through one class and celebrate that! It can be overwhelming when we can’t see the forest through the trees.

Take a second and recall the reason you started teaching in the first place. What inspired you to teach music? Why do you teach? The truth is, no matter what you are teaching, you still are that same music teacher. It might feel like your first year teaching again, but you bring all of your joy, passion, and wisdom that you had before March 2020 when everything changed. Reconnect with your “why”. That is who you are as a teacher. That is how you find your inspiration to advocate for your students so they can have the music program they deserve.

This post was originally published on alfred.com

The post Advocacy During Uncertainty: 4 Things to Consider appeared first on SmartMusic.

Assumptions

We often take for granted that everyone understands the benefits of a high quality music education when in reality, they don’t. There are many assumptions that we make, which is sometimes why it might seem as if we are speaking a different language that teachers or administrators just can’t understand. Chip Heath and Dan Heath call this the “Curse of Knowledge” in their book Made to Stick. The idea is that once we know something, we often times forget what it’s like to not know it. As a result, we make assumptions based on the false notion that everyone shares our knowledge. These assumptions can be fatal in a conversation about advocacy. The way to overcome this “curse” is to create a shared understanding using common language and acknowledging potential blind spots.

Blind Spots

Blind spots exist because people are generally unaware of what they cannot see. Everybody has blind spots. The key is to identify the gaps in understanding. When a situation arises, the decision-makers at school are usually not maliciously cutting a program. Instead, it’s more often because they don’t fully recognize the value of what they are potentially taking away. It is very difficult to know what you don’t know. Believe me, I know! Sometimes people are misinformed, or perhaps looking at data (or a lack of data) that only supports their point of view. It is likely that they aren’t even sure what questions to ask for further understanding.

Believe it or not, we as music teachers have blind spots too! It’s important to remember that our immediate perceptions usually don’t provide a complete picture. Administrators have a lot to think about and while our music programs are our first priority, they probably aren’t theirs. When we acknowledge potential blind spots, including our own, it will generally lead to a more productive conversation.

Practice the Language

Speaking the language of advocacy takes practice. But lucky for us, we are musicians and practice is something we understand very well. Find a trusted friend or colleague and go through your talking points out loud. It could be even more valuable if this person is not a music teacher so she can help you identify areas that need more clarification or bring up questions that may not be obvious to you. This might sound silly, but in a high stakes conversation you need to be able to speak with confidence. It can be helpful to look for ideas from recent articles right here on the Alfred blog or the webpage from your state organization. Nafme.org also has a tremendous amount of resources about advocacy. While you don’t have to memorize a speech, you should at least have a few ideas that you are very comfortable talking about.

It is also useful to know the statistics and raw numbers of your program. If you say, “Our music program has a high participation rate,” this is a very subjective statement. It might be true, but again, remembering that the person with whom you are speaking potentially has blind spots in their understanding, it would be more helpful to say something more specific. For example, “44% of the junior high school participated in the concert last spring, and we are anticipating an increase as we go into next year.” Become familiar with the number of participants in your classes and ensembles and have a good idea as to where you want to grow.

Bridging the Gap

Advocacy does not just happen at a school board meeting on the night of an important financial decision. Advocacy should take place all of the time. An important part of our job as music teachers is to communicate to our administrators, community members, colleagues, parents, and students about the benefits of music education. The good news is we have a platform for advocacy every time we have a concert. We literally have a captive audience waiting to hear our message about the importance of music education. Make it count.

Here are some strategies to use at a concert:

• Explain how music rehearsals foster lifelong skills.
• Include an infographic in your program about the benefits of participation in music using specific facts and statistics.
• Have a student share a story with the audience about his experience in a music class or ensemble and how it has affected his life.
• Thank your audience for supporting their children’s music education. Explain how this support is an investment in their children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.
• Create accessible opportunities for parents and community members to help with the concert.
• Include an element of audience participation during a song.
• Share future opportunities that the students have within your music department.
• Put an ad in the paper about your upcoming performances and invite the community to attend.

To be clear, advocating at a concert is only one way to spread the word about the importance of music education. Great advocacy happens all of the time, even in your everyday interactions with students, parents, and administrators. Find opportunities to educate your community whenever you can, and as often as you can. A clear, consistent, repeated message will create the common ground that can help eliminate the blind spots and assumptions that can get in the way. Educate to empower people to become advocates themselves, so if (or when) there are district financial concerns, no one would consider cutting your music program.

Article originally published on alfred.com

The post Understanding the Language of Music Education Advocacy appeared first on SmartMusic.

This simple box breathing exercise is a fantastic tool to connect with your breath. Now that you are breathing, let’s take a moment to pause from the stress that is seemingly surrounding us. 

As music teachers, we constantly wear many hats and juggle many balls. This time of year in particular, we are usually planning conferences, concerts, Music In Our Schools Month activities, musicals, field trips, not to mention our daily lesson plans. It’s a lot—even on a good day. And now that life has thrown us a huge curveball, we need to take a moment to stop our fast-paced lives so we can respond to what’s happening. 

You First

How can we be the teachers our students need us to be, when we too are trying to navigate this new reality? First things first: take care of yourself. This is not selfish; it’s a necessity. It is why we are told on an airplane that in the event of an emergency, we need to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first. You literally cannot give something you don’t have. So, if you are not calm, don’t have a level head, or don’t have any energy left, you cannot give your students what they need. 

What does that mean? Well, again, take a moment and notice your breath. Are you breathing? Every breath you take gives you a chance to connect with your body and become present in the moment. Your breath has the power to regain your focus so you can continue to do the tasks you need to do.

Create a new Routine

If you are going to be home for a few weeks, it can be helpful to make a daily schedule. This will give you the ability to compartmentalize your responsibilities with school, and your role at home. Set aside specific times to do school work so you don’t feel like you are working all of the time. Block out a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon so in between, you can put the work away. While a schedule seems rigid, it actually provides a good structure that can allow you to go through your day with purpose. This will be extremely important because it is easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done. 

Lean into your new routine. While this change is only temporary, why not see it as an opportunity to slow down? Maybe now you finally have a few extra minutes to stretch in the morning, or to really enjoy that cup of coffee that you now have time to drink at a leisurely pace. Read some books, exercise, knit, write, compose, paint…whatever! Do the thing you always wished you had more time to do. 

If you’re like me and have young children of your own, their school work needs to be part of this new schedule as well. Today before 11:00 we exercised with gonoodle.com, made cookies, read stories, took a walk, colored, and had quiet time so I could write this blog! Maintaining a schedule will give you the flexibility to take care of your responsibilities at home and at work (whether you have kids or not).

Reminder: *BREATHE* 

Are you breathing?

Grant Yourself Grace

While you are busy learning how to be an online music teacher, you must be mindful of your student’s needs. They are also navigating through their own experiences with these new circumstances. While yes, you need to provide quality lessons as best you can, take off your superhero status for a minute. You cannot change the situation. You can only do the best you can with what you have. They are also learning how to be an online student.

Still breathing? 

Keep it simple and start with what you know. If you are feeling lost in the digital world, there are now many music teachers who can help you. The new Facebook group Music Educators Creating Online Learning is a great start. Also, Alfred Music’s sister company, Smartmusic, has made their subscriptions free for those students and teachers from schools that have closed. 

If you are not able to provide work online due to inequity of internet access, give them an assignment based on something that you really want your kids to know. Maybe it’s note names and rhythmic values. Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s a project on their favorite song or band. Maybe it’s creating a playlist that represents different emotions with an explanation. Perhaps they can compare and contrast songs from a list you create. Maybe they create the list.

Let go of creating the perfect plans. We are in uncharted territory here and you need to remind yourself of that perspective… I know I do! It’s going to be messy, but we are all in this together.

Make Music  

Last Thursday, at the end of the day, the teachers in my school were told that things were going to change in the upcoming weeks. Schools were already closing and looming over our heads was the stress of creating online plans while coping with thoughts of what this pandemic would mean for us in our personal lives. After a lot of venting, we all decided to grab an instrument (or a microphone) and just play. It was so joyful and truly transported us away from our worries, if only for a few minutes. I encourage you to do the same. As music teachers, we certainly understand the magic of music. I implore you to make music a part of your daily routine to stay connected and elevate humanity in the most beautiful way. 

And above all else, BREATHE. 

The post Keep Calm and Breathe On appeared first on SmartMusic.