I uploaded the manuscript on March 3, 2020 … just 10 days before schools shut down and education (and everything else on the planet) became a hot mess.
With the book about to hit bookstores, I’m excited to offer a FREE series where I teach all the best nuggets about what I’ve done to manage my personal health and my classroom over the course of the past year so that in spite of ALL the challenges and frustrations that have come with teaching during a pandemic, I have managed to maintain my emotional, mental, and physical health.
The stress isn’t gone, but the strategies I’ve developed, practiced, and applied to my personal and professional lives have helped me not only weather this storm, but be able to stay grounded and provide a stable place for my students to grow as artists.
I’ll offer the webinars live on beginning on Friday, February 19 at 12:00 Pacific time. If you can’t make it, no worries. Just register and I’ll send you the recording so you can watch it at your convenience.
In an environment where students and teachers normally collaborate and work toward shared goals through the work we do in our ensembles, I was struggling with how to teach those important skills in a virtual environment, and I knew that if I didn’t find a way to help students nurture those skills now, then it would make our work harder when we eventually return to the classroom.
Enter—vision boards.
One of the activities my students and I did is create vision boards that identify one goal we want to accomplish by the end of the school year. When we were making the boards, students asked me what my goal is, and I replied, “I want to have Lin-Manuel Miranda as a guest co-host for You, Me, & A Cup of Tea” (which is the new daily routine we do at the beginning of each class: I spotlight a different student each day with an interview, and they share some music with the class). We’ve been studying Hamilton, and I saw the opportunity for him to not only inspire my own students who are desperately missing making music with their friends but also to speak to music teachers and students with whom I could share this video.
My purpose in doing so was to 1) show my students the power of having a vision, taking steps to reach the goal, and reaching out for help when they need help, and 2) creating a video that can be shared with music educators and students around the world who could use some uplifting words from Lin-Manuel to remind them of the power of the arts—and not to give up when circumstances become difficult.
Fast-forward a few weeks—a short video I posted on Facebook was viewed tens of thousands of times and shared by hundreds of people. I received countless messages with email addresses and other ways to contact Lin-Manuel. I followed up with all of the leads.
But it was William who got Lin to respond.
I awoke early one morning to find a package on my front porch with a note that said, “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL DIRECTED BY Honors Wind Ensemble.” A few hours later during our online class, I was instructed to open the mystery box.
Inside the box was an envelope. When Will said, “Ms. Moffat, who’s it from?”, I looked at the return address, and my jaw fell to the floor when I saw Lin-Manuel Miranda’s name in the top left-hand corner of the envelope!
As I opened the envelope and I realized what Will had done, the tears started flowing.
In my hands was a handwritten note thanking me for my work with my students. And on my computer screen I saw the dozens of kiddos I’ve been with for years share in the joy and excitement of this moment.
Excerpt from Will’s email to me about how this happened:
“I was pretty excited too because less than 24 hours after sending an email to Lin-Manuel, I got a response back from his wife! I was amazed out of my mind that I was talking to Lin-Manuel’s wife! She said that Lin-Manuel would write you a handwritten letter, and I got so excited! I didn’t think it would arrive because of the valiant efforts you have been making to meet him. When I got the letter in the mail, I started jumping up and down! I was not only excited that I was holding something touched by THE Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I was also excited to see your reaction. I have experienced a lot of troubles throughout this pandemic that a lot of other people have as well. It made me so happy to see your reaction and feel the joy coming through the screen. It also made me happy that we can still enjoy these experiences through zoom and still make everyone happy.
I am beyond honored to have received a handwritten letter from Lin-Manuel. Sharing that joy with the kids was really a powerful bonding moment—much like when we all have a performance that required a lot of hard work to make happen, but the payoff is grand when it all comes together.”
Since we couldn’t have a winter concert this year, I created a special video for my students to summarize our Online Band experience. The letter from Lin-Manuel made the video. (Disclaimer: My first day ever rapping was 36 hours before recording this . . . just sayin’!)
I have not given up on having Lin-Manuel as a co-host for You, Me & A Cup of Tea. I have put together a handful of questions to ask him to inspire teachers and students who are struggling with missing making music with their peers and questions for his advice to decision-makers about the importance of keeping the arts alive and well in spite of financial challenges. Our kids have never needed the arts like they do now during these challenging times.
About the author:
NAfME member Lesley Moffat has taught high school band for more than thirty years and is currently the Director of Bands at Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington. She is the author of I Love My Job But It’s Killing Me: The Teacher’s Guide to Conquering Chronic Stress and Sickness and Love the Job, Lose the Stress. Moffat has been a presenter at multiple NAfME conferences and participated in conferences and webinars for Washington, Illinois, and Pennsylvania as well as being a guest on podcasts and serving as a guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) provides a number of forums for the sharing of information and opinion, including blogs and postings on our website, articles and columns in our magazines and journals, and postings to our Amplify member portal. Unless specifically noted, the views expressed in these media do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Association, its officers, or its employees.
They have a plan – and I’m not talking about a lesson plan for delivering content. I’m talking about a plan for intentionally creating a space where their students and they feel connected, supported, and at-ease.
But what does that look like?
I invite you to grab a cup of coffee or tea (or put something stronger in your mug, no one needs to know) and join me to tacet for a few minutes and experience how you can help ease your own (and your students’) anxiety so you can spend more time making music together and less time feeling overwhelmed.
I hope this short video gives you a much-needed opportunity to pause and take a breath before heading into the rest of the school year.
We’ve got a long road ahead of us. With a little attention to intention, we can make the journey better for everyone.
With all we’ve dealt with in the past 10 months, it’s not surprising that many music teachers are at their wits end as they struggle with student engagement and worry about how they’ll keep their programs alive for next year.
We had zero training for what we’ve endured, and it’s been one heck of a ride to try and figure all of this out. And as we head into spring, we’ll be dealing with registration for next year. That can be scary enough during “normal” times. It’s down right frightening for many music educators right now who are seeing students fall away the further we get into the pandemic.
Are your students eager to show up for your classes? Are they going to continue signing up for your classes? In spite of the way you are teaching (virtual, hybrid or in-person), are they showing up and participating with enthusiasm or has all that amazing momentum you usually experience through ensembles evaporating and leaving you all frustrated and worried?
While many music teachers were masterful at finding apps and activities for students to do in their classes, building the sense of community that is normally such an inherent part of our ensemble classes during a pandemic was incredibly challenging. For many, it was an impossible task and they are now seeing what happens when our normally tight-knit classes are turned upside down.
We all know that the sense of community we create in our ensembles is the backbone of the success our students experience as musicians, but knowing how to create it while also trying to figure out how to pivot to online instruction overnight and all the other stuff we had to do was just too overwhelming for a lot of teachers. The result of that has been many music teachers and students becoming disengaged and frustrated at all they’ve lost during this time.
The stress on students and teachers has been pretty rough. And that has had a negative effect on many aspects of everyone’s music education experiences this year. When teachers are in a healthy place emotionally and physically, they are much more equipped to lead their students through this hard stuff.
Music teachers who are part of the mPowered Music Educator Academy have been practicing the secret I’ve used for years in my high school band classes – in person and virtually – and they (and their students) are reporting feeling connected and are managing many of the stressors their colleagues and friends are experiencing.
What’s the secret?
mPowered Music Educators have learned that the best way to support their students’ social and emotional needs is by supporting their own social and emotional needs so they can model the benefits of building the skills to navigate hard things. They do this by implementing my mPower Method I designed especially for music educators who want to do this important work without burning out.
What kind of example are you for your students when you are exhausted, worried, full of anxiety, and sad about everything that’s happened to your program and all the work you have to do to hold things together?
Think about it – when you learned to be a music teacher, you had to master your instrument and learn other skills so you could model for your students. Social and emotional health is the same way.
What does this mean?
It means that the teachers who have been intentionally addressing their own and their students’ social and emotional needs are better able to support themselves and their students (and the longevity of their programs) through the challenges we’re facing.
It is easy to spend all our time finding ways to teach content. But the bigger payoff comes in finding ways to reach our students so we can teach our students.
Building a classroom culture that supports healthy and engaged students and teachers starts with two questions:
1) What do my students need?
2) How can I use music to meet those needs?
When those two questions become the driving force in your planning and serving as a music educator, everything becomes easier for you and your students. Your responses to these questions may require you to think outside the box as you design (or redesign) how you teach.
THIS is where you start and then everything else falls into place.
I’ve been 100% virtual since March 13. In spite of that, student engagement has been 95.5% as measured by submission of assignments and daily MoffatGrams. Attendance is even higher. And that’s because the “band room” is still a place where students’ social and emotional needs are being met.
Don’t take my word for it. On December 18, I surveyed my high school band students. Here’s what they said:
83.5 % of my students rate their “online band’ experience as SATISFYING or VERY SATISFYING.
82.4% of my students say there is a 75% or greater chance they’ll sign up for band again next year.
Our band classes look a lot different than they used to. But my students are growing as musicians and connecting to one another through their music activities in spite of the challenges.
Band is still a place where they can come and be with their friends, explore their art, and express themselves freely. They just do it in different ways than we did when we had in-person ensembles.
This is why they will return to classes next year.
Are you confident your students will be back next year?
Would you like support in making sure you and your students have the mPowered Advantage as you move into 2021 but you just aren’t sure where to start?
Moffat’s Music Ed Masterclass begins on January 4! # Weekly live calls # Lessons and templates you can copy and use for SEL and music lessons for your students # Connections in a community of music educators to turn to and share ideas with # Support from me – over 30 years of experience as a high school band director, author, mom of three, and coach – as you face unprecedented challenges # Much, much more!
If you want to know more about this opportunity for exceptional music teachers, please complete the Music Ed Masterclass Application. If your responses indicate you’d be a good fit, I’ll reach out to set up a quick interview so we can chat.
Start 2021 with a decision that supports YOU in making a positive difference for your students without burning out! You are worth it.
How could I possibly publish a book about losing stress as a music teacher during a pandemic?
Is it fiction or really possible?
It’s been quite a year for music educators around the world.
While it hasn’t been like anything we ever imagined in the past, there are things we can and must do to ensure the survival of our music programs, and it all starts by serving our students and communities in this new educational environment.
Step one is figuring out what that even means.
And then you can begin taking the steps necessary to ensure the social and emotional needs of your students (and you) are being met through the magic of music education, even through the challenges we face during and after a pandemic.
That’s how we make sure music programs survive so we can continue serving students.
You’ve worked REALLY hard this year.
What would your life be like if you had support that could save you time, energy, and the devastating losses that will occur if your students don’t sign up for music classes next year because their social and emotional needs are no longer being met as we struggle through challenge after challenge?
I don’t have to tell you how important music education is for students. You already know that.
You just might not know how to hold it all together during turbulent times.
Wanna know more? Check out the short video.
I can help.
Here’s to a healthy and more peaceful 2021. Lesley
The books have arrived – Can I send you a free copy?
At my age, the only wrapping I should be doing this time of the year is wrapping gifts. But it’s 2020 – and here I am at the age of 55 making my rapping debut for my students!
We just finished a month-long study of Hamilton, so this seemed appropriate.
Most of them had their cameras on today and their faces were priceless. It was worth risking my dignity to see all the smiles and laughter.
I share this in hopes of reminding you what we CAN do to keep kids engaged and growing as artists and musicians no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.
For a FREE sneak peek at my latest book, go to mPoweredEducator.com/contact
Music teachers across the country are struggling with engagement and are worried about retention as they teach under stressful circumstances brought about by the pandemic.
I’ve talked to thousands of music educators, and their fears about students enrolling for their classes next year and their program longevity have them anxious as they worry that their life’s work as a music educator is in jeopardy.
Add to that the challenges they’re having engaging students in a virtual, hybrid, or in-person-but-wearing-masks-and-social-distancing scenario and it’s no wonder there is wide-spread panic among so many music teachers.
The past ten months have turned many thriving music programs upside down. In schools where kids were able to experience active music programs, students and teachers are now facing the harsh reality of not being able to make music together and it’s devastating to students, teachers, and the music programs.
The biggest frustrations I’m hearing from music teachers include:
A lot of students are not engaging in activities
Students who usually thrive in ensembles seem lost in our new environment
Students are expressing sadness at not having “normal” ensembles and are dropping out
Delivering important content and using all the latest apps aren’t enough to keep students actively engaged in making music and collaborating with their peers
The honeymoon period is over and kids (and teachers) are burning out
The love of teaching music that propels music teachers during challenging times isn’t present in this pandemic teaching environment and many are depressed and at their wit’s end
If we don’t meet our students’ social and emotional needs, they will find other electives where those needs can be met
What if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way?
What if you could change things?
How would your life be different right now if you could:
Get over 90% of your students engaged on a daily basis
Spend less time planning lessons but have more engaging activities that draw your students in
Have students who actively participate in a variety of activities that support them as musicians in addition to supporting a collaborative environment no matter what kind of teaching situation you face
Meet yours and your students’ social and emotional needs so your classroom returns to being a place of refuge, community, and creativity – and the stress levels for you and your students are reduced while engagement and a sense of belonging are increased
Feel energized and excited again as a music teacher instead of feeling like your world is falling apart
Well I have some very GOOD NEWS for you!
Since the moment our schools were closed on March 13, I’ve been obsessed with helping music students and teachers thrive during and after the pandemic and now I’m opening up my private coaching group for a few more music teachers who recognize the opportunity we have in this moment to either reimagine music education or face some major losses.
My newest book, Love the Job, Lose the Stress: Successful Social and Emotional Learning in the Modern Music Classroom, is all about the steps I’ve taken with my own students and the strategies I use with my clients that have helped us to thrive in spite of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Even though their situations vary widely, their feedback about what they’ve learned through our work together is consistent. Here are a few comments from some of the directors I work with.
“I feel so supported, and inspired, and Lesley makes me feel confident that I can tackle this “new normal” with a good plan, and some stillness! I look forward to the class every week, and am excited when rolling out these new lessons, and seeing my students progress each week! She’s able to respectfully coach and talk more specifically about what my students need in my teaching situation, and she does this for each student in her class.”
Lindsey – Band Teacher and Client
“What I’ve learned has been invaluable and has made me a calmer teacher who has been more present with my students, and has made me actually enjoy teaching during a global pandemic. I look forward to learning more from her in the future.”
L.O. – Music Teacher in Music Ed Masterclass
“Teaching during a pandemic has been crazy–I think everyone can agree with that. However, I haven’t felt the same kind of stress that I had in the spring and I attribute that largely to what I have learned from Lesley. Taking the time to address students’ social emotional needs first, and then proceeding with content has allowed us to grow together, and to have successful experiences in the classroom regardless of the pandemic.”
Evonne G – Middle School Music Teacher and Client since June, 2020
Here’s the good news for YOU … I am opening up a few spots in my Music Ed Masterclass starting in January!
I’m taking all the best nuggets I’ve shared with my clients in our weekly classes and creating a course where you will:
Have access to SEL lessons I’ve designed specifically with the intent of keeping students actively engaged in the music-making process during virtual, hybrid, or in-person teaching
Meet weekly with the Music Ed Masterclass where you will learn additional tips, share ideas, and get hands-on experience with implementing successful SEL activities in your classroom
Get personalized coaching with me to talk about you, your students, and your program so we can come up with ways to meet their needs so your program survives
A group of highly motivated music educators from all over who will become your support system and accountability buddies – an absolute MUST if you are to survive this with your program and sanity in-tact!
I’m looking for a few music teachers to join the Music Ed Masterclass beginning in January.
If you are looking for support in meeting the social and emotional needs of your students so they’ll continue to engage and enroll in your classes, complete this quick application to see if we’d be a good fit to work together.
This class is geared toward music teachers who know the power of music education and who are looking for innovative and proven ways to engage and retain students through challenging situations so the long-term survival of their programs as well as the immediate needs of their students can be met – all without burning out the already overworked music educator!
BONUS for registering by December 31 = 50% off your first month tuition!
Hurry – limited spots are available. If your responses indicate we could be a good fit to work together, I will reach out and set up a call with you.
How different will the rest of your school year be if you’ve got a support system in place to help you serve your students and keep your program alive during and after the pandemic? The peace of mind alone is priceless.
I know there’s not a lot of Music Conducting going on right now, but I’m stoked to find out my book is a #1 New Release in the Music Conducting category this week.
Our jobs as music educators involve MUCH more than conducting ensembles. In today’s music classroom, we must find innovative ways of addressing our students’ social and emotional needs so they stay connected with us, with one another, and with the content we are teaching them.
But that can feel like an impossible task during a pandemic when NOTHING is normal or easy.
As many music teachers are finding out, trying to teach ensembles during a pandemic leads to frustration on everyone’s part. I’m hearing from teachers all over the world who normally have incredible engagement from their students but are discovering that having kids practice scales and songs on their own or work on music theory or other activities just isn’t drawing students in and they are struggling to hold their programs together.
The stress that comes with wondering if your students will register for ensemble classes next year is keeping many music teachers awake at night as they watch the enthusiasm and energy that normally is present with their students and them dwindling with each passing day.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to simultaneously edit this book and shift from in-person band directing to online music education all at the same time! It gave me LOTS of opportunities to practice identifying and meeting my students’ social and emotional needs in an uncertain environment and design my curriculum (and this book) to meet the SEL needs of students – regardless of our current situations.
I’ve learned a TON through the process of writing and editing this book and refining what I am doing with my students. I’d love to share my tips with you so you don’t have to start from scratch.
When we do return to in-person teaching and can safely make music together once again, it will be more important than ever that we’ve already taught the skills that are so inherently addressed in our ensemble settings so students have an environment conducive to their growth as artists that is supportive and nurturing.
Teaching “online band” isn’t something I ever envisioned, but here we are.
I dedicate this book to all the music teachers out there who are creating and teaching and loving and inspiring students to express themselves through their arts in spite of the circumstances in which you find yourselves.
The work you do matters.
May you experience more joy and less stress for you and your students through your music journey this year and for years to come.
This situation is hard, but it is temporary. Music may be the only thing some of your students find solace in right now.
FREE gift for Music Educators
As a special gift to music educators who are working tirelessly to teach in ways we never could have imagined, I offer a FREE sneak peek to my new book. May you find an idea or two that helps you navigate the strangest time in education ever.
How do you even know where to start when it comes to building connections in this strange environment?
And how do you do it without it consuming all your time and energy?
After two months of virtual band this year, and a 95.5% assignment submission rate with my 175 high school band kiddos (who must submit an assignment every day) and even higher attendance rates, I’ve got a few ideas about how to get kids excited and actively engaged in their music classes that I’d love to share with you.
If you are tired of spending your nights and weekends planning and trying to figure out how to get your students emotionally and socially connected in your class, check out my short video and rest easier knowing you don’t have to create your own ideas from scratch!
With you on this journey.
Online Band … Building relationships in a digital classroom
But it’s 2020 – and here I am at the age of 55 making my rapping debut for my students! 
It was worth risking my dignity to see all the smiles and laughter. 
Watch at your own risk. 🙂 
