March 2020 – A Mindful Approach to Music Education

After 32 years as a high school band director, I was going to retire this year. But things have changed.

Now is not the time to leave my students. I still have work to do and I need to be in my classroom with my kiddos when they return to school next year for a different kind of experience than what any of us have known.

In addition to the many ways they’ve always counted on us, our students will need us in new and different ways. It will require intentional preparation to have the mental, emotional, and physical stamina to serve them without becoming overwhelmed in the process.

This is the exact topic of my second book, which comes out in May, but I’m going to be sharing the content NOW because it’s relevant to any music teacher who wants to use this time to be prepared for what’s to come but who doesn’t know where to start.

I’ve already thought through a lot of this and have a plan – and I’m going to share it with you so you don’t have to start from scratch.

Join me tomorrow for Music Ed Mondays with Moffat to find out why I believe our roles as music educators are critical to the healing of our students and communities during and after this pandemic and resulting upheaval to everything we’ve ever known.

I will share a plan you can access for no cost that will guide you step-by-step through the process of being fully prepared to support yourself and your students through crisis and beyond.

The webinars will be on Mondays at 9:00 am pacific time and I’ll share how you can access the full course of my signature program that goes with my second book, Love the Job, Lose the Stress, for FREE!

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You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Mar 30, 2020 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Music Educator Mondays with Moffat

Webinar Registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Can’t make it? Register anyway and I’ll send you a recording!

With you on this journey.

As If Our Jobs Weren’t Already Stressful Enough … How Will You Serve Your Students In This New Normal? And How Do You Do It Without Becoming Even More Emotionally Exhausted As You Help Kids Cope with Stress, Anxiety, and Uncertainty?

Maybe you’re so overwhelmed right now that you haven’t thought very far beyond how to survive and function as the whole world is transitioning from what we’ve always done and known into a completely different reality.

I’m 54 years old – I was set to retire this year, and for the final few months of this school year, it looks like I’ll have the opportunity to completely revamp everything I’ve ever done!

I understand your stress. And I also know what you can do right now to protect yourself from going to those dark places where you feel so overwhelmed that you just want to give up.

Filtering through all the information that is coming at us and changing by the minute can put us in survival mode, which makes it impossible to access the parts of our brain where creativity and planning and functioning are regulated. It feels chaotic as everything we’ve ever done has completely been upended. And on top of making sure we and our families are okay, we are now thrust into a world where we must figure out how to teach band, choir, orchestra, and other music classes online.

Online. Seriously.

When I was at Indiana University in the early 1980s, computers weren’t really a thing for most of us. For the first seven years of my teaching career, I didn’t even have a computer at school. Everything I taught was done with me in front of my class delivering instruction and interacting with my students in real time.

Teaching face-to-face was how we learned and how we learned to teach. But in light of COVID 19, everything I’ve been doing in person with my students for the past 32 years has come to a grinding halt and, like you, I must figure out how to connect with my students and their families and somehow deliver meaningful experiences for them in spite of not being able to be physically present with them.

Even though I am a pretty chill woman who has been there and done that, I, too, am experiencing anxiety about how I can serve my students in a situation and future that are unpredictable.

I figured that I’m probably not the only one who needs to have coping mechanisms in order to not just survive but actually thrive, so I wanted to be on the forefront in talking about how music teachers can minimize the stress and maximize the opportunities that are arising.

Dr. Matthew Arau and I teamed up on Monday to share what we’ve learned in our combined nearly six decades of music education experience to help you cope with the stress that comes in the moment as you are trying to figure out how to get through each day as well as what you can do to prepare for a smooth re-entry when you and your students return to school.

Things will be very different. We can help you prepare now so your new normal will be one where you and your students can thrive. I hope you’ll check out our webinar and tons of free resources we’ve put together for you.

You are not alone in this. Reach out to people like us rather than spinning your wheels and trying to figure it out on your own.

Music educators have always changed the world through the magic of music education – and we’re gonna keep doing it no matter what obstacles arise.

Together we rise.

With you on the journey –
Lesley

FREE Resources

WEBINAR with Lesley & Matthew 1-Click Replay

PS – Join me next Monday at 9:00 am pacific time to talk about what you can start doing NOW to make returning to your classroom as smooth as possible for you and your students.

Music Educator Mondays – Let’s Prepare for the Future of Music Education Together!

I am STOKED to have Dr. Matthew Arau of #upbeatglobal joining me on a webinar for Music Educator Monday this week at 9:00 AM pacific / noon eastern time, where we will talk about the realities of what our roles as music educators are during school closures and what we should be prepared for when we return to our classrooms, whenever that may be.

Matthew and I will be sharing our thoughts about the critical role music teachers play in helping our students and communities cope during this crisis.

We’ll also be sharing tools you can use to keep your own stress levels managed so you have the stamina to do this for the long haul.

If you can’t make it to the webinar, register anyway and I’ll send you the replay.

Together we rise!

Webinar Registration

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sX3udf6DSqW3EvW7kIlz_A

How Do I Nurture My Students Through These Uncertain Times?

We have been called to do more than teach music.

Every music teacher I know believes we have the responsibility of teaching kids the life skills they need to function in the world, like collaboration, goal setting, grit, artistry, and a million other skills. We just happen to do it through the magic of music education.

How do we nurture our students and continue this important work through the shut down of schools and everything else we all have come to depend on?

Are you prepared for the significant changes that will inevitably take place when your students return to your classroom?

When we return to our classrooms, this world will be a different place and our students will be looking to us to help them navigate it because they will be different, too. The fears, anxieties, and other emotions they experience during this epidemic will change them, and we must be ready to meet them wherever they are and help them heal.

We will need to do a lot more than just deliver content. Our students will be looking to us for leadership and as an example for how they should react to our new normal.

There are so many things to consider during this time – but it can be overwhelming to know where to begin when you start trying to figure it out.

Don’t do it alone.

Music teachers are the ultimate collaborators. Let’s use our collective power to up-level this world by leading the healing. Now more than ever, the world needs what we offer.

We must be ready!

Join me for Music Mondays with Moffat as we “band” together to help our kiddos navigate this new territory with as much grace and love as possible.

Together we rise!

Webinar Registration

HELP! What Do I Do Now?!

So many questions in light of COVID-19 and how we serve our music students during this challenging time

I teach at the first school in the US that was shut down for a confirmed case of coronavirus at the end of February, so I’ve had a little bit of time to think about this and start asking a bunch of questions.

In case you missed it, here’s a replay of the webinar from Saturday morning where I share some ideas for music teachers who find themselves with all their major concerts, festivals, trips, activities, and recruiting up-in-the-air.

If you’re wondering what you’re going to do next, join Elisa Janson Jones, Shannon Shaker and me for resources, ideas, and practical advice.

We are with you on this journey, because together we rise!

WEBINAR LINK

BANDing-Together-for-Success Supplemental Material and Links Download

Concerts, Festivals, Trips, and COVID 19 – They Didn’t Teach Us This in College! What Do I Do Now?

Just in case you weren’t busy and stressed enough at this time of year, now you have a whole new set of variables to deal with as the coronavirus spreads across the planet and everyone is figuring out this new scenario.

And you don’t get to stop and take time to figure out how to solve the problems of lost rehearsal time, missed performances, cancelled trips, and non-refundable money that the families in your community will lose if trips are cancelled because you have the undaunting task of continuing to teach the students who show up (if you’re still in school), create online content to replace what you would normally teach in person (I bet you can’t wait to try those on-line ensemble rehearsals), and keep your students safe and calm amongst all the confusion.

You have to continue offering a quality music experience for your students in spite of the circumstances, but figuring out how to do that while you’re spending six or more hours a day teaching is a bit overwhelming.

Since these circumstances are so new and unique and things are changing by the minute, it’s really hard to know what to do.

A situation like this can cause strain on individuals and on your program. It’s that time of year when our students are selecting classes for next year, and if they are feeling let down about cancelled events and we as teachers don’t handle it properly, it will impact their willingness to sign up for future trips and maybe even determine if they want to sign up for your class again next year. I’m not saying that’s the right response, but it’s one that could occur and impact your program long after the virus is gone.

Instead of lying awake at night wondering how you’re going to navigate all this, I invite you to join me on Saturday, March 14 at 9:00 am PST for a webinar where I will share ideas to help you:

* Communicate with parents and students about changes for activities and events

* Ensure you have a plan so your recruiting numbers thrive even if your recruiting activities are cancelled

* Come up with ideas for teaching music when attendance is unpredictable and you don’t even know if you’ll have a chance for kids to perform what they learn

* Make sure you have the tools you need to stay healthy in spite of being exposed to a cesspool of germs every day!

I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a lot of ideas based on what I’ve learned in over 30 years as a high school band director. I’d like to share those ideas and offer to help with some concrete suggestions that will help you do things like get your recruiting done even if your tours to middle schools are cancelled and share ideas for ways to communicate with families so you maintain their trust even if you have to deal with difficult situations that include nonrefundable trip fees.

As music teachers, we are natural leaders. We can step up and lead our students, schools, and communities through this crisis by remaining calm and being the force for sensibility and stability. Our students are looking to us for more than just musical instruction – they are counting on us to keep them safe and to tell them the truth. Let’s be the leaders they need so they don’t need to live in fear. We can be prepared to show them they can trust us to provide them with the best outcome possible.

If you can’t attend the webinar live, register anyway and I’ll send you a recording.

Together we rise!

BANDing Together for Solutions

In the wake of the coronavirus, we music teachers have unique challenges we are facing. In addition to delivering content (i.e. teaching) in new and innovative ways, we likely are facing uncertainty with our upcoming spring performances, festivals, recruiting activities, and trips.

I teach north of Seattle. My school was one of the first in the US to close for a confirmed case of the virus last Monday, so the realities of what we need to think about and plan for have been at the forefront of my mind.

The long-term ramifications on our programs both financially and with future enrollment as this hits while kids are registering for next year’s classes could be devastating – unless we are proactive in how we are handle this with them.

Whether it’s the prospect of losing tens of thousands of dollars that have been invested in upcoming festivals and trips or spending hundreds of hours preparing for concerts and other performances that may or may not happen, it’s all up in the air right now.

Right now is the time we should be approaching the peak opportunities of our year, enjoying the activities we’ve planned where we take our music on the road, play for school concerts, graduations, trips, and other events.

Instead, we are in limbo.

We don’t know if events are going to be cancelled or if our schools will even allow us to take the trips. And we won’t know until we see how things develop over the next few weeks.

But we must be prepared, both musically and financially, in the event that we’ll still be able to do these activities.

You may be wondering – How am I supposed to teach my students when they can’t or don’t come to school. Am I equipped to teach ensembles remotely or do I have another plan? What about logistics for preparing our ensembles if school’s closed for a few weeks but we end up being able to go on a trip in a month or two?

There’s a lot of money at stake.

If you’re in a situation like I am, you’ve signed contracts with vendors that are not refundable and your community has rallied behind your kids and program to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that may never get to be used as intended.

How will you handle this and how will you navigate the legal and personal challenges this will bring?

There’s a lot of momentum and energy at stake as you’ve been building up to these culminating experiences.

And what will happen as your students select courses for next year? Some of them may feel like the rug’s being pulled out from under them and be hesitant to sign up for your class (or at least future trips) again next year.

There’s a lot of fear around all the unknowns, for kids, for teachers, for parents, for administrators, for our communities, and beyond.

What are we supposed to do when the momentum that we’ve been building suddenly comes crashing to a confusing halt? Students and their families will be looking to us for answers. We may not have them all, but we need to be prepared to ask the questions and have the difficult conversations.

If you are planning a trip for future years, what are you learning from this situation that changes how you proceed? How does this situation inform you when it comes to trip insurance, contingency plans, and other preparatory activities? Will your community have enough faith to sign up for future trips if they end up losing a lot of money due to unavoidable cancellations this year?

What are you doing to ensure your students don’t make any rash decisions about enrolling next year based on what will likely be a couple of emotional months, no matter how things pan out? And why is it important that you have a vision for how you are going to lead the conversations and handle the questions from kids and parents? Are you aware of what you can and can’t decide vs what you need to run by an administrator?

If you don’t even know where to start or what questions to ask, you’re not alone. This is new territory for all of us.

I was supposed to adjudicate a festival next SATURDAY but due to cancellations, I’ll no longer be doing that, so I am going to host a FREE WEBINAR for music teachers who want a little help navigating the complexities of the fallout on our music programs as a result of the impact from coronavirus. I don’t have all the answers, but since I’ve been teaching and traveling with group for over 30 years, I do have a very good idea of where to start asking questions.

I hope you’ll join me in two ways:

1) Fill out this short survey to let me know how the coronavirus is impacting you and your program.

BANDing Together SURVEY

2) REGISTER for the webinar and join me LIVE on Saturday, March 14 at 9:00 am PST.

Registration for Next Year’s Classes Can Be Challenging: Here’s a Possible Solution

It’s that time of year again when kids sign up for elective classes for next year, and it can be hard to navigate all of the things you need to do to communicate with the middle school teachers, students, parents, administrators, counselors, and others who are involved in the scheduling process.

If you forget a step, if students or parents aren’t clear about what to do, or if you don’t have a plan at all, then kids who should be in your program will fall through the cracks and you won’t get to have them in your band. That defeats the purpose of building a music program!

Students have lots of choices when it comes to the classes they are going to take. They will have opportunities to hear about your program from their current teachers, friends, family members, you, and in lots of other ways. Your program has a reputation that can go a long way in influencing their decision as to whether or not to sign up for band.

But ultimately kids need to know what you offer, how they can sign up, what the appropriate class is for them to sign up for, and how they can be a part of your program. The easier you can make it for them to understand what you have to offer and what they need to do to register for the correct ensemble, the more likely you are to have a robust program with the numbers you desire.

Clear communication is key to helping everyone navigate this process seamlessly and with the best results. After all, isn’t everyone going to be happiest when students are in the level-appropriate classes with good instrumentation? So why not build that in starting NOW so that when school starts in the fall, you have all your kiddos in the right place and you can hit the ground running!?

In my 32 years as a high school band director, I’ve learned a few things about what does and doesn’t work in terms of recruiting. This year I’ve put together a 10-minute video that will be shared with incoming students. The video, along with a short letter to parents, gives everyone the information they need to make the best decision about which class is right for them as the next step in their musical journey.

You don’t need to reinvent anything. If what you’ve been doing isn’t getting you the results you want, give this a try. Feel free to steal any of the ideas and try them with your students and see what happens.

I’ve been fortunate to have lots of great mentors who shared their tools with me in the past, so it’s my turn to pay-it-forward with this resource.

If you’d like me to email you a copy of the letter I send to parents of incoming ninth graders, shoot me an email with “Recruiting Letter” in the subject line and I’ll send you my document which you can edit and reuse yourself.

Let me know how it goes!

Lesley

RECRUITING VIDEO