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17-04-23 Inspiring the Teacher
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Teaching is a giving profession. Lawyers and accountants get to bill by the hour. Ha! If teachers got to bill by the hour, we'd all be billionaires. I love the post that comes around that says teachers should get paid like babysitters - and ends up showing that if we were paid like babysitters, we'd make a LOT more money than a teacher's salary.
If a bank needs pens or scotch tape, they order them from Office Depot - the bank tellers don't go to the store and buy them. However, if your music classroom needs supplies, more often than not, you purchase them. I heard Cristy Carey Miller at a workshop once ask how many teachers had come to workshop with a PO#s. A few hands went up. Then she asked how many had come with OPs. There were blank looks. She explained - Out of Pocket. All the hands went up. If teachers need something for their classes, they buy it. Finally in Canada, there's an income tax credit for purchases up to $1000. Link for Info . But many teachers spend far more than that - every year!!!
I got an email this week that read:
Our School District is really struggling with managing capacity for meeting the needs of students particularly at the elementary school level. It has been widely suggested that many schools are going to close music rooms in favour of using them as classrooms to meet the capacity required for our smaller class sizes. Right across the school district. Of course we are fighting this. This would amount to a huge minimization of the value and presentation of music. Operating on a cart is absolutely ridiculous as I pull out everything for my classes everyday!
At the same time that we are giving our time and our money, we're having to fight to keep our programs.
Discouraging? Of course. Disheartening? Absolutely.
Every year we lose wonderful music teachers who've decided that it's just gotten too hard. Burnout is real, and you're not alone if you're feeling this way. When I think back to how I got started in this profession, there are things I remember.
I was super excited to get my first job. Imagine getting paid to do something that you really love to do! Try to re-capture that feeling of excitement and gratitude you had when you were hired to be a teacher. I've always been grateful that I have a way to provide for my family that I really do enjoy.
When you've had a great performance, but more important when you know you've taught a great lesson, there is a huge feeling of satisfaction. Seeing your students grow and develop musically in spite of all the challenges in today's schools, is an absolutely amazing feeling. Savor those moments. Maybe all of us should do like Oprah, and keep a gratitude journal. And when you have one of those really awful classes, pull out your gratitude journal and remind yourself of the things you're really grateful for.
Advocate every day. I think that on the back of every concert program should be a note like this:
It would be even better, if you had your students make their own posters telling why they like music - and you use a new one with every note home, on every concert program, and post them on your classroom website. Make a bulletin board of them and make sure it's the bulletin board in the hallway so admin sees it every time they walk past. This isn't just advocacy - this is a note to you, telling you why what you do is important to the children that you teach.
You need inspiration too! And that's why workshops and inservices can be so valuable. Every summer for the past 7 years, Artie Almeida and I have done a workshop together that is one of the most exhausting, rewarding, fun, inspirational sessions that I get to all year. (And I get to attend many conference sessions!) . This years workshop is in Las Vegas. The conference fee is $150 USD - and every teacher that attends will get a year's subscription to www.musicplayonline.com - worth $150! It's like having a free workshop. Hotel rooms at Treasure Island are $69 ($89 with resort fee), and I got my flight from Calgary-Vegas for $350. We'll be at a school this year, so will Uber from hotel to workshop. Simple lunches will be brought in - last year we had Pizza and Subway. We're being joined by Thom Borden who is a wonderful presenter.
Artie and I work and plan to provide new content each year. We have one teacher who has come every year for 7 years --- and she says there's always new ideas for her. If you can get to only one workshop this year - this is by far the best one to attend!
ARTIE AND DENISE Summer Symposium
Las Vegas! July 25-26, 2017
Registration now open!
Information - USA teachers . Canadian Teachers - Info
International Kodaly Symposium - Aug. 8-13, 2013 in Camrose, Alberta!
This is going to be an amazing conference, with beautiful choir performances and many internationally renowned Kodaly speakers, including Lois Choksy, Dr. Laurel Trainer, Jill Trinka, and many more.
New at www.musicplayonline.com . Beat/Rhythm Activities for Gr. K-1-2! Coming soon, beat/rhythm for Gr. 3.
Did you know we have an EXTRA Listening section? Go to Listening on the left menu. Select the Extra tab. There are instrument demo movies, So-me Storybook movies (all 12 stories!) and for band teacher, movies explaining how to care for your instrument.
How to assemble the clarinet
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 An introduction to the flute
On the right: So-me story book
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Denise Gagne
denise@musicplay.ca
(blog) www.denisegagne.com
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Canadian Office
#2-4664 Riverside Drive
Red Deer, Alberta T4N 6Y5
US Office
PO Box 309
Danville, WA, 99121
Phone/Fax 1-888-562-4647
(real people answer our phones!)
Email: tvinfo@telus.net
Website:
www.musicplay.ca
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| | Do you need a very cute song for kindergarten graduation?
Single Song Kits include piano/vocal score, vocal reproducible and mp3s of performance and accompaniment. The Single song kit for We Did It! also includes a class book to use for early literacy.
Link to Canadian site
Link for USA teachers
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Artie & Denise 8th Annual
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| | July 25-26, 2017 Chicago
Join Artie Almeida, Thom Borden, and Denise Gagne for a 2 day elementary music conference that will give you ideas and inspiration for teaching your elementary music classes.
Join Artie and Denise for the 8th annual summer symposium! Two days of fabulous workshops and a day of sightseeing. Canada - Click to Register Online . USA Teachers - Link
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More is being added each week to our online resource. This week, look for new beat and rhythm activities for ALL the reading songs in Grade 2. Teach ties and half notes with these wonderful interactive lessons.
http://musicplayonline.com/
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Apps and Digital Resources
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| | We've created SIX great apps for iPad or Google devices. If you have a class set of iPads, volume purchasing is available for these apps. LINK INFO
Note Name Smash! New note naming app! Only .99 USD
In this app, you choose the notes to practice. Each note correctly named breaks a hole in the wall. Name them all and the wall breaks!
Link to Note Name Smash in iTunes
Rain Rain Story - is a sound story book that uses the Rain Rain Go Away song, and a poem for students to accompany. This app includes ear training activities and instrument exploration.
Rain Rain Story - iTunes Rain Rain Story - Google
Note Name Match Game - 10 levels of Memory to match notes with their letter names. Great for recorder students, piano lessons, beginning band.
Note Name Match Game - iTunes
Note Name Memory Game - Google
Vocal Warm-ups for Singers or Choir
 This app is based on the warmups book, "Strictly Warmups" by Kerry Heisler. The warm-ups in this collection are organized into five sets. Each set includes a physical warm-up, breath awareness, then five minutes of a variety of mid-range warm-ups.
Vocal Warmups for Singers or Choir - iTunes
Vocal Warmups for Singers or Choir - Google
 Learn and Play Recorder has everything that you need for your beginning recorder classes.
Learn and Play Recorder - iTunes Learn and Play Recorder - Google
 Learn and Play Recorder 2 is now available for iTunes and Android devices!
This app gives your recorder players 24 songs for two part soprano with optional alto. Naming notes is reviewed, now with interactive practice! Counting music is reviewed, with an interactive name the note value activity. The full score with both regular alto and transposed alto for teachers to project is included.
Learn and Play Recorder 2 - iTunes Learn and Play Recorder 2 - Google
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ARTIE AND DENISE Summer Symposium Las Vegas! July 25-26, 2017
Registration now open! Information - USA teachers . Canadian Teachers - Info
International Kodaly Symposium - Aug. 8-13, 2013 in Camrose, Alberta!
This is going to be an amazing conference, with beautiful choir performances and many internationally renowned Kodaly speakers, including Lois Choksy, Dr. Laurel Trainer, Jill Trinka, and many more.
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