band
I’ve been going very slow to be able to move forward – focused on small class community, broader learning goals, and student choice and leadership/involve- ment in every part of the process and not the product or assignments, etc., although we are working towards a time to perform virtually. This is hard. Patience and truly enjoying the process at whatever pace it needs to go for learning is usually not our strength as most of us were taught how to make the most of every minute of our short class time. When we do this we are truly TEACHERS and not DIRECTORS. Ooo, I’m seeing some sunlight, teaching for student independence! Student choice and individuality plus a sense of connec- tion with ensemble balance seems to be the trick? I don’t have this figured out at all but I just find the less “band teacher” I am, the more the kids buy in, and that’s what we’re trying to be anyway, teachers of music and community.
Allow yourself to think differently and continue to see the light that is long last- ing and true past this storm. What will
teach and encourage students to enjoy and contribute to music and the arts their entire lives in every profession and walk of life? What will bring each and every student and family closer to music and band in school and provide a welcoming learning place for all? Is it trophies, performance pressure, traditional band music, tests and assessments, and competition or reasons to be in and identify with music that out- last anything material? I am strongly on the page of the latter. Think to yourself, someone who has made their life’s work music education, what do you remember most from your experience in music edu- cation? The tests, the tense rehearsals, the fleeting trophy/keepsake moments or was it something deeper? For me, I remember the relationships, the connections, what the music sounded like and how I was supported to be creative and myself, which was different than most other educational experiences in my life.
Focus on what sunlight moments you and your students have had over the past months and continue those when life does
WMEA Equity Position Statement Approved by the WMEA Executive Board on 10/10/2020
Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) supports music education by representing the shared interests and needs of Wisconsin music educators and fostering their professional growth in a global society. As part of that effort, WMEA, through its leaders and teachers, is responsible for creating and sustaining programs and spaces that acknowledge and address inequities, bias, and racism in education.
There is a movement across our country to amplify and address our country’s deep racial history and trauma experi- enced by Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC). This past year, we formed a joint WSMA/WMEA com- mittee to review and revise policies/practices concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion. We must also engage and empower our BIPOC students, families, and educators.
WMEA leaders are inviting music educators to commit to learning more about racial injustice, standing in solidar- ity, and encouraging actions that support justice within our profession and our country. WMEA commits to pursue advocacy initiatives and professional development opportunities that address these issues, including the Wisconsin State Music Conference, Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) Project, WMEA Music Standards Workshops, and iListenWI Lessons.
Together we commit to initiatives that seek to increase our collective reach into underserved music education com- munities in our state, earnestly seeking to know, understand, and address the needs of these communities. Building for the future, we commit to develop initiatives for prospective music educators that will diversify and enrich the teaching profession.
WMEA leadership invites members to join us in listening, learning, and carrying out the work ahead. Wisconsin School Musician 23
get back to normal. We don’t have to go back to the way things were, in fact that is not moving forward. Our students look to us to be the sunlight and lead the way. We have done that. How have you been a beacon of light in their darkness? How will you continue to move forward?
Just as all storms… we miss band and our previous lives and I’m positive not a single one of us hasn’t had periods of self doubt and sadness and difficulty in re-creating what we spent so many years creating, learning and crafting. Storms have the beautiful outcome of changing our landscapes for the better, although different and difficult to weather through.
Step back, breathe, look around… we are not band directors, we are teachers of music and all that is music and creativity. And that is enough, and ok.
Carrie Backman teaches instrumental music at Edgewood High School and Edgewood College in Madison. Email:
carrie.backman@
edgewoodhs.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63
