A Music Teachers' Guide to Fostering Mutual Respect

Raise your hand if you have ever been told, in words or in actions, that you are somehow less than a "real teacher" by administrators, colleagues, or both! I think most of us have at some point felt disrespected for being "just a music teacher". I know this feeling all too well, and I think it is one of the biggest sources of stress in our line of...

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Music Teacher Job Search: advice from administrators

Going through the job search process can be intimidating. No matter how confident you are in your qualifications for a position, the real mystery is in how to communicate that effectively to the people that can get you that job: administrators and others on the hiring committee who may or may not know much of anything about music teaching and most...

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First Day of Music Lesson Ideas

The beginning of the school year is full of excitement and hope. But it can also be overwhelming and stressful! As elementary music teachers there is so much we need to introduce in such a short period of time on that first day with each of our classes. And of course we don't want to bore the students by preaching at them the whole time with rules...

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Ace the Interview: questions to ask

It's job interview season and with that comes all the stress of maneuvering your way through job applications and interviews. In every interview in which I have ever participated (on either side of the table), the candidate was given the opportunity to ask the interviewers any questions they may have. After going through the grueling process of selling...

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Helping Kids (and grownups too) In Transition

Transitions are hard for everyone. Whether it's a move across the country, a new job, or even just a move to the next grade level each school year, transitions always bring some level of excitement, stress, fear, sadness, and anticipation. For children transitions can be even more challenging because they can't look far enough ahead to prepare themselves...

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