The Elementary Music Teacher Podcast: Music Education

Diversity in music education is so important.  Making your classroom equitable starts with you first... understanding who you are, what your knowledge is, and where the holes are. In this conversation with Nate Holder, we discuss: why it's important to learn and to keep relearning the importance of helping students to see themselves in your music classroom including music from your students culture in your classroom and much more Nate Holder BA (Hons), MMus is a musician, author, speaker and music education consultant based in London. He is an advocate for decolonising music education and has been speaking, writing and consulting on the subject internationally for the past few years. Nate brings his passion and skill in public speaking into leading CPD training and workshops for schools, hubs and universities; helping address bias, underrepresentation in music classrooms, departments, hubs and boards internationally. He is currently serving as Professor and International Chair of Music Education at the Royal Northern College of Music. You can connect with Nate here: www.nateholdermusic.com www.thewhybooks.co.uk Instagram - @n8holder Twitter - @n8holder Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Have you wanted to bring centers into your elementary music classroom but you're just not sure how?  In this episode, we'll go over simple ways you can begin doing centers with your students. These include: Boomwhacker melodies Student devices Listening activities Using keyboards Recorder or mallet instruments Music games and activities Read the blog post that goes along with this episode right here.  Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

What if I told you that you can step into being a leader in your school building and amongst your peers as the music teacher?  You have the advantage of teaching every child or each grade level, know how to adapt lessons on the fly, and can deconstruct a standard to reach the different ages of learners.  Not only that, you're great at getting the unengaged learners excited about learning and your lessons are hands on and not boring. So, you have a lot to bring to the table my friend.  It's time you step into being a leader and bring your confidence and strengths to the table.  In this episode, I'm so excited to chat all about this with Jamal Maxsam. Jamal Maxsam is an Igniter of Champion leaders. He started in business, then realized he could do more to help others reach their fullest potential. Then Jamal made the shift and became a teacher, then served as a school Principal turning around struggling schools and accelerating performing schools. Now he helps teachers go to the Principal's office and Edupreneurs birth their dream, shifting it from a good idea to a business. You can connect with Jamal here: website: jamalmaxsam.org social media: Clubhouse, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn: Jamal Maxsam Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

In this podcast episode, I'll talk about what to know about students entering the music room.  Honestly, when you set yourself AND your students up for success before they even step foot into your classroom, your class time will run smoother than ever. Throughout the episode, I discuss: The importance of meeting your students at the door Doing body percussion activities as they walk in Greeting your students with a smile on your face Silently doing echo rhythms or movement for students to follow Simple singing warmups Practice, practice, practice procedures and stay consistent Read this blog post that goes right along with today's podcast episode.  Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

While working with students with exceptional needs, you'll encounter students who deal with behavioral challenges.  It's so tough as the music teacher knowing how to best work with these students and to stay patient in the process. In this episode, Dr. Erin Parkes discusses how to take an empathy based approach to the behavioral challenges you may encounter. But, not only that, she and I have a conversation around sensory processing disorder, students on the autism spectrum, and so much more. One of the biggest pieces of advice she gives is that it will take a lot of trial and error when figuring out how to best meet the needs of certain students.  But, trust that your boundaries are your boundaries and it's your classroom.  Dr. Erin Parkes is the founder and executive director of Lotus Centre for Special Music Education, a charitable organization based in Ottawa, Canada with a mission to provide access to music education for the special needs community. As part of her commitment to teacher education, Erin leads the first and only post-secondary program in special music education at the University of Ottawa, and has recently started the Lotus Centre Institute for Professional Development. Erin has been teaching students with exceptionalities for 25 years and welcomes students of all ages and abilities in her studio. You can connect with Dr. Parkes on her websites here: www.lotuscentre.net www.institute.lotuscentre.net And... you can connect with Dr. Parkes on social media here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotuscentreforspecialmusiceducation YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5B_QWcde9iHIDWDf8T6gNA Twitter: https://twitter.com/LotusCentreMus1 Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Maybe you've wanted to start a side hustle or sell some products or services, but you're not quite sure how.  I remember starting out and having all of the questions and no idea how to figure out the answers. In this episode, I'll break down the first steps to consider while pursuing your edupreneur dreams.   Some of these tips may be strategies you've never heard before, and my goal is for you to take what you learn and to brainstorm ideas so you can make forward momentum.  Fill out the business coaching Google form on this link.  Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Connect with me and send me a direct message on Instagram here. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

What is a student-centered classroom?  How exactly does it empower your music students?  In today's episode, Theresa and I talk about these exact topics and help provide you with strategies to move forward with implementing ideas into your classroom.  Theresa is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and Innovator, frequently working with teachers to help integrate technology into their music classes. Theresa is a recognized presenter and clinician for local, regional, and national conferences and is the co-author of the book Pass the Baton: Empowering All Music Students.  You can find Theresa's work online at www.musicaltheresa.comTheresa Hoover is a music educator, speaker, and writer. She is an advocate for student voice in the music room and works to empower students throughout their musical experiences and help teachers transform their classrooms to become student-centered learning environments. You can connect with Theresa here: www.musicaltheresa.com On Twitter @MusicalTheresa Instagram @MusicalTheresa Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Personal development for teachers is an important topic, to help you in both your teacher life and for your students.  A lot of times the focus is on professional development only, and personal development for teachers is forgotten about.   It's important that you know how much you matter as a person, and not just a teacher.  Then, show that person to your students and form those connection points that will open the doors to empathy.  We'll talk about all of this and so much more in this episode.  Robert Anderson is the President of Win by Design consulting.  He has served as a consultant to corporations, universities, individuals, and teams.  He is also the author of the recently released  "The 12 Things They Wanted To Teach You High School...But Couldn't " A Personal Development book written to create educational leaders is quickly becoming an Amazon Best Books of 2021. He is focused on raising awareness of the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our educational institutions and executive spaces. Robert has 15 years of classroom teaching experience, has been married for 14 years, has 4 beautiful kids, and is a lacrosse dad, and health fanatic. You can connect with Robert here: On Facebook here At his website winbydesign.co On Instagram @rajrofficial On Twitter @anderson9363 Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Whether you already taught in person last school year or you'll be headed back into your building this school year, there's a lot of fear, uncertainty, and unknowns facing not only you, but your students too. In this episode, I'll address some thing to think through as you head into the new school year. We'll discuss: How music class may feel new to your students Why things may feel awkward for a bit Knowing that fear is still there Remembering that kiddos aren't used to being at school Getting excited to create music in person with your students again Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

There are so many mindset beliefs music teachers deal with on a daily basis.  In this episode, I'm going to tackle the 3 I hear mentioned the most.  Today, we're going to talk about the thoughts: "I'm not good enough..." "I feel like giving up..." "My students are behind..." The doors to HARMONY are officially open, but hurry because doors close tomorrow, June 29th!  You can find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership here.