#musedchat Archive
Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
Monday September 26, 2016
Welcome to . Our topic tonight: advocating for yourself and your program. Be sure to introduce yourself!
Hey everyone - ready to learn as I try to keep up with both & . Currently, 5th-8th orch teacher in CO!
Good to see you again, hope you had a good Monday
Okay, is now. Not 8. Miki, K-5 general/instrumental. Ignoring my barking puppy.
Hey everyone! Jason, HS choral & theatre from MA.
Awww! How old? What breed? We've got a 7 month old lab retriever terrifying the cats over here.
Good evening to you Jason, hope you're doing well tonight
Hey Antoine Buttigieg here from Woodbridge Ontario Canada HS instrumental music teacher MB and drumline director
We have a pitbull terrier mix. He's 5 months and 30 lbs but he comes full force. Hurts like 30000 lbs
How are you tonight, Antoine?
Good evening, everyone! I am currently a grad student in music education, previously a band/orchestra teacher in Colorado.
Good evening Sam Fritz Greenwood IN 6-8 band
It's been awhile! Good to see you around again
How are you tonight, Sam?
Q1: Part of advocating for yourself is having a good relationship with admins. How do you create that strong bond in your bldg?
A1: Minding my own business, cooperating with classroom Ts, bring in ideas that go outside the realm of 'traditional' music ed.
A1: Share the cool stuff happening in your program. Care about other parts of the school besides music.
A1b: One of my favorite things is to invite admin in to play/guest conduct w/us!
A1 supporting other Dept. ie athletics. Having other Dept help out with our functions etc. Culinary class baking for concerts
A1: I have multiple buildings, and I make sure the kids have fun in my class and enjoy seeing me around. Admins notice
A1: Communication is key, especially educational reasoning behind decisions artistic & logistic. Kindness goes a long way, too!
A1 tweeting social media. Getting your name out in the community ie parades, caroling etc
Working w/ other teachers is great, because they'll sing your praises too.
A1c: Also, so simple, but smile. Say hello. Be pleasant to be around. Esp. important when traveling & not in the building much!
That sounds fun! Plus, you get to see some Ss outside of music during those functions.
A1: Being a part of the school community, espec. across curriculum. Getting out of the music room!
A1 bringing different teachers on trips where you are performing to have them see first hand what you do
A1: Agree with everyone so far. I'll add: Making admin aware when parents/community appreciate you goes a long way, too.
Good communication about logistics is so helpful and needed! Schedule, dates, field trips, budgets, etc...
Yes, this is huge. Put some good vibes in the bank.
A1: Volunteer to lead some small PD things. Show you're interested in being a building leader.
I do PD for and working on right now!
Nice! I'm talking about at tomorrow's staff meeting, trying to drum up interest
I think I just saw post some signs at her schools :-) She teaches Innovations
My Ss post practice videos from home and others like it or say something positive
Chatted w/my principal about last week!
A1: once was told to think of program like a business and Ss are not only employees but clients.
Q2: When you/your program/classroom needs something, how comfortable are you asking for it? Do you have to justify it?
A1: volunteer for leadership roles and present real solutions when asked for input
A2: I’m new so I’m still feeling this one out, but my request for new choral folders went through, so huzzah!
A2: I feel justification is a necessary part of the process, especially for big ticket items.
A2: I dislike asking. I make sure I ask PTA for purchases under $200. Rest is Donors Choose, but that was a nightmare for me
A2:We receive a small budget and I ask for curriculum. I get cheap games off TpT and live on colored cardstock.
A2: Asking? Sure. Supportive admin & PTA. But doesn't mean I always get it. Hit or miss.
A2 I usually don't have an issue asking for it. I justify why I need it. Never ask for anything extravagant only what I need
A2: Was definitely nervous to ask as a brand new teacher. Now as long as I can justify it, I know the ask can't hurt
A2: Working on my admin license now, gives interesting insight into budgets & needs vs wants.
A2: 2nd Year teacher. Still terrified to ask for money.
Hi All! Amy from MI. MS Band. Coming in late after a marching rehearsal to prep our 8th Graders to play at Homecoming on Fri.
I bet your 8th graders will have a blast!
They did tonight. All smiles after rehearsal!
Great for building the program, too
All they can say is "no." Whether it's a flat no or an I need more info one though is the key.
Q3 on hold for a second...dog just peed on the floor
What kind of dog do you have, Joe?
Ah the life of puppy parenting. :)
...the $$$ isn't there, even when it is a justifiable & reasonable need. https://t.co/J48aGo1Ve3
A2: Working on my admin license now, gives interesting insight into budgets & needs vs wants.
7 mo. old lab retriever mix. He's still having accidents.
That definitely provides a new lens to view our profession through. Was often very eye opening when I did the program.
knew a T that asked for some Orff instruments when there was quite a bit of $$$ in PTA. Told to go to DonorsChoose.
When was that? What program did you go through? I'm really enjoying it & learning a lot!
Finished my Master's in Ed Leadership about a year and a half ago through .
A2 I believe if you show your work and that it's for the kids admin will help out as much as possible. Unless there's really no $
Lots of parellels between admin and being in charge of a performance ensemble but on a much larger scale.
Q3: How involved are the parents in your program? Do you coordinate any advocacy efforts with them?
Helps to show that you have looked into lots of other funding sources first. Shows you're willing to put the work in.
A3: Parents are involved but no booster group at the MS level. Need to ask PTSA for additional funds when needed.
A3 that's one thing I need to work on. Not sure if I want to open that door. Could get messy
A3a: Something I haven't wanted to take on. Parents are very supportive, but no official, organized group.
A3: Definitely a long-term goal in my new district. Started with a meeting this year but hoping to add outreach soon!
A3b: I also do a Friday Five, calling/emailing families of 5 kids who have been awesome that week. Helps build support.
A3: I see most parents once a year at our winter program. A lot see their kids' Class Dojo and Seesaw portfolios though and chat.
Love this idea! Totally stealing!
Do you keep track over the long term somehow to help spread the love? :)
A3: I'm weird. I don't like calling parents on the phone. That's probably why I like so much.
Yep. Spreadsheet. All of my Ss are on there, I just mark down the date I contacted parents.
With so many parents working during the day, an email might be more likely to get through anyway.
Quite a few work multiple jobs and speak a different language so I have a messaging app w/quiet hours that translates.
A3.1: Previous school did positive post cards to bld relationships. Families liked having memento of a positive moment/week/etc.
That's what my school used to do. Handwriting takes longer, though ;-).
True. But for those Ss that might not get things like that often, I imagine that quite a few were kept for a long time.
One of our academic teams did this last year, kids loved it.
This is the 2nd time I've mentioned this practice in the last wk or so...maybe a sign to look into implementing again...
A3: Through my school website & blog, as well as through the "I made 🎼for someone I ❤️" sticker program
It's definitely time-consuming. But you'll give those kids a wonderful memory of their time with you.
Thanks for chatting tonight, everybody! Transcripts should be up shortly.
Have a nice night everyone!
