wisconsin music educators association president
ment for future classes, needing to create large ensemble plans while also providing highly individualized materials (think solo and ensemble music). Many of us find the job fills not only our days but often nights and weekends.
Foundations Start With a Plan
Planning ahead is a key element in suc- cessful classrooms. It isn’t always clear where to start though. One technique used is a common starting question: what do you want the students in your classroom to experience? This could be as straight- forward as what they should experience in tomorrow’s class. It is even more effective when considering entire upcoming units or the full school year. Clearly identifying key goals around what students should experi- ence leads to the next step in foundation planning – that invisible work.
Take one goal you’ve identified and start thinking about all the steps that need to be accomplished between now and the first day students begin working on it. What ma- terials will be needed, will there be budget funds available, do you need to order things in advance, does an administrator need to approve it? List every step you can think of, then put them in an order that makes sense to you. Now you have the start of a plan.
With that written down, you can consider when you want to accomplish the various steps and who might be able to assist, if that’s appropriate. There’s no rule saying you have to do everything on your own. The consultants for this article included getting help from students with concert set-up or from parents with fundraising or from col- leagues with expertise.
Keeping Balance
Having a healthy work-life balance is a constant push-pull in a music educator’s career. Planning your foundation work ahead allows you a lot more control over which tasks can be done as time allows ver- sus those that end up being “last minute.”
Be thoughtful in your planning to identify success markers along the way. If it is “all or nothing,” frustration will be the major marker. Growth is what we’re after with our students. Growth in their abilities, growth in their self-confidence, growth in their courage. Look for those as part of the payback for your invisible work.
Ultimately, viewing your invisible work, the foundation work, as providing the base for your students to have incredible experi- ences in your classroom will help you be thoughtful, calm, prepared and ready to
take on each day with joy. Knowing you have planned and prepared means you’ve done wise work outside of class – not reacting to icebergs but putting together the foundation for success. Seeing that invisible work as a cornerstone of students having wonderful music experiences can be very satisfying.
I close with sincere appreciation to a group of colleagues who were willing to offer many of the ideas in this article. They were generous in sharing several of the challenges and solutions above. This group includes: Maya Woods (Minoqua and Woodruff School Districts), Alyssa Thuli (Mount Horeb Area School District), Beth (and Jason) Riesterer (Brodhead School District) and Louis Menchaca (Monona Grove School District). Why that group? They were among the survivors of doing their student teaching alongside me!
To a great foundation in your classroom!
Peace, Will
Will Janssen is a retired instrumental music educator who taught most recently in the Mount Horeb School District for 36 years.
Email:
wmeapresident@wmeamusic.org
Recognition for Teachers With 25 Years of Service
• Were you a first-year teacher in 2000 or prior to 2000? • Have you taught for 25 years (or more)? • Have you been an NAfME member for at least 10 of those years?
If the answer is yes to all of these questions and we haven’t previously honored you, then now is the time. WMEA is planning to recognize teachers with 25 or more years of service in Wisconsin State Music Conference materials and the September issue of Wisconsin School Musician.
Simply complete the 25 Years of Service form at
https://wmeamusic.org/awards/25-years-of-service. Submissions must be received by June 1, 2025.
Wisconsin School Musician 7
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