What do you wish you’d known before you became a music teacher?
You probably have more than one answer. You might think of those topics you still consider a challenge, obstacles you’ve worked hard to overcome, or issues that you know that other teachers are still struggling with. Whatever comes to mind is an important piece of knowledge, and one that would be great to share with other educators – and especially new ones.
I asked 100 music teachers this question. For the first episode of the Music Ed Mentor Podcast, I’m sharing the results. You may be surprised at how many responses came up time and time again.
Check out the episode below where I share what these fellow educators wished they had known before they started – as well as tips on how to leverage their responses to enhance your teaching experience today.
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In This Episode, You’ll Learn How To:
- Improve your work-life balance
- Protect your ears (and your peace of mind)
- Find time for physical fitness, and
- Maintain a flexible attitude about your career
You’ll also learn a little about who I am and what the Music Ed Mentor Podcast is all about. I’m interested in helping educators be their best professional selves, and that means exploring – and solving – the challenges that real teachers face in their classroom. Starting with a question and some real-life anecdotes will be our jumping off point this week, but in the future, I’ll be interviewing some amazing teachers who will share their insights with you directly.
Free Handout
Get a list of top tips from this episode in a free, downloadable handout.
Three Key Takeaways
“It’s not the number of jobs, but our expectations for those jobs.”
Don’t depend on getting your dream job. Instead, shift your expectations and make yourself the dream hire for any job. Staying adaptable and excited about teaching is a skill you can practice.
“Being able to use your lesson plan as a guide rather than as an itinerary is another skill.”
I’m not just talking about disruptive students and negative behaviors! Sometimes students get excited about learning and as teachers, we can honor that by digging in on a particular subject. More importantly, making the lesson plan a guide means we can be more attentive to student needs.
“Schedule silence into your day. Practice moments of thoughtful silence with yourself, and even with your class.”
Do this at the beginning of each class. At the beginning of the year, I start each class with a few seconds of silence. If there’s any noise in that silence I restart the clock. It’s a great way to get the students to focus and gain self-control.
Additional Resources
Here are the websites and resources mentioned in this episode:
- The SmartMusic blog
- The Professional Music Educator blog
- “Living Forward” by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy
- “5-Factor Fitness” by Harley Pasternak and Ethan Boldt
- Music Educators Off the Podium Facebook group