Leading Band Through Covidland

My interview today is with Mia Ibrahim, a music educator in the South Bronx in NY.  She is not only striving to do whatever it takes for her students through the pandemic, but continues her purposeful mission to advocate for marginalized students and communities.

Check out Mia’s website at https://miaibrahim.wixsite.com for more information and resources on how you can advocate for marginalized students in your school.

Today I spoke with Timothy Rausenberger, a music teacher in Union City, NJ (the most densly populated area in the US).  He shares his experience of teaching  in one of the worst Covid hotspots in Spring 2020 and his efforts to make an impact in his students lives at such a challenging time.   He also has some wonderful thoughts on staying positive through the challenges of this time, and shares some great moments with students and colleagues.

Timothy is offering interactive and informative webinars for music teachers on zoom in July 2020.  He offers ideas, solutions, and facilitiates group discussion through attendant comments and through the group chat.  If you would like more information about his webinar, please email Timothy at [email protected] to be included on the live webinar.  The webinars will be on July 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th.  Recordings of these will be available on his podcast channel and website.

Check out his podcast, Getting it Done, with over 250 episodes and so so much content.   You can also find more information about Timothy’s webinars, podcast and much more at www.gettingitdone.us.

Elisa Jansen Jones is such an uplifting, calming and motivating voice to be heard during this time.  I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did as she shares what helps her stay focused, organized and grounded through the ups and downs of our current circumstances.  She also hits topics of daily intentionality and finding your core purpose and mission as a teacher.

To hear more from Elisa, please check out any of these great resources!

Website:  Elisajansen.com

Podcast:  The Music Ed Mentor podcast

Books:   The Music Educator’s Guide to Thrive; The Music Booster Manual; Best Practices for Music Educators; The Band Directors Guide to Student Retention

Today I speak with Kristen Hames, band director at Hill Country Middles School in Austin, Texas.  She shares her thoughts on teaching band in the fall, while being in one of the hotspots of the country for Covid.  While dealing with cancelled trips and disapointments associated with the pandemic, she is striving to keep her focus on health, staying connected and striving to for balance.

Today I interview Fredd Sanchez, mariachi band director, performer and business owner in San Diego.  .  Living in a border town, he shares some of his challenges.   Some of his students stayed with family in Mexico and had to leave their instruments back home, while the border closed.  Others struggled with connectivity issues or had no computers at all.  He talks about the importance at this time of knowing our students circumstances and being compassionate.

He also shares his passion of  teaching mariachi and encourages any directors that may be afraid to dabble in the mariachi world to seek out help and just dive in.

Today I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Scott Edgar about the importance of SEL (social emotional learning) in our music classrooms.   We discuss what music teachers can do to prepare for the fall  as well as ideas to help our students through SEL as they cope with returning to school.  We also discuss Scott’s book, Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music.

* Dr. Edgar’s book: https://www.giamusic.com/store/search?elSearchTerm=scott+edgar

* Facebook page: @musicsocialemotionallearning

* For more information webinars:

* Advocating for Music Education Utilizing SEL: https://vimeo.com/426070325

* SEL During COVID: https://vimeo.com/401331149

* SEL Overview: https://nafme.org/advocacy/quarterly-advocacy-webinars/social-emotional-learning/

Dr. Scott N. Edgar is Associate Professor of Music, Music Education Chair, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College. Prior to his work in higher education he taught K-12 instrumental music in Ohio and Michigan. Dr. Edgar is the author of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music and is an internationally sought-after clinician on the topic. In addition to clinics, he also teaches graduate courses on Musical Social Emotional Learning at VanderCook College of Music.

Please share, subscribe and comment on Itunes.  Also, if you have any questions you’d like have me ask a guest, or if you have a recommendation for someone to interview, please reach out to me on Facebook @leadingbandthroughcovidland.  Until then, lets keep growing our way out of this!

Today I share an awesome conversation with Ira Jenkins at Alpharetta High School in Atlanta.  I think you’ll enjoy the strength and calm, collected logic that Ira shares.  We talk about his experience of remote teaching as well as his thoughts on having more empathy for our students.  Along with talking about the challenges during this time, we also talk about the importance of being flexible through the unkown and the importance of keeping in touch with other band directors focusing forward in a positive way.

I’d love to hear from you!  Please leave a comment on i tunes, share or subscribe.  You can also like my facebook page and/or message me on facebook at @leadingbandthroughcovidland.  If you know of someone who would be a might be a great guest, please let me know!

In episode 4, I speak with Tyler Ehrlich, a band teacher in Roswell Georgia.   We talk about his remote learning experience and how he is navigating through a job change mid pandemic, as he changes schools in the fall.   We also discuss the magic of in person teaching, strategies that he has used to stay healthy and sane during this time, and how we define success in our programs, especially as we are forced to simplify through the pandemic.  I felt truly inspired by Tyler’s insight and optimism to make the best use out of this time.

My guest today is Dr. Karen Gregg, band director at Lyons Middle/Senior High School in Lyons, Colorado.   She shares about her band program and what it has been like going through remote learning.  She also shares what it was like to go through the Lyons Flood, how it affected her school and band program, and thoughts on how that does/doesn’t correlate to our current situation.   She ends so eloquently by sharing her thoughts on the “why” of teaching.

:26 - Karen's intro and explanation of teaching obligations.

2:18 - What online learning has been like for Karen.

5:12 - Tools that Karen has/hasn't used during remote learning.

6:46 - Taking her band through the Lyons flood of '13 and insights of the experience.

15:58 - Thoughts on the fall, as we continue teaching through Covid.

17:43 - Thoughts for fellow band directors who may be struggling as well as thoughts on our main purpose as educators/sending good people out into the world.

21:30 - Letters from older students to younger students and the beneficial affect on kids and directors.

 

Today’s guest is Jonathan Grantham, band director at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California.