Now What?

It's the question we're all asking ourselves: what comes next? As we start closing out this period of crisis management, as government agencies and organizations start releasing guidelines and recommendations, with budgets on the chopping block and all our plans covered in red x's and question marks, how do we even begin to wrap our heads around what...

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Distance Music Lesson Ideas: Composition

Composition is one of those areas that actually lends itself to distance learning in many ways. Students can explore individually and take as much time as they want to work on their compositions, they can express themselves more freely if they're hesitant to share with classmates, and if they have technology access, they have so many more tools at...

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Ideas for Closing the Distance School Year

With the school year now officially ending without re-opening our buildings, it's time to think about how to provide some sense of celebration and closure without being able to gather in person. From school-wide events to special student send-offs and distance assignments for the end of the year, here are my ideas to try to end the year the best way...

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Your Missing Students Aren't Behavior Problems

I have been trying to put my finger on what it is that bothers me about the way teachers are talking about all the students who aren't logging in or completing their distance learning assignments, and I think I've finally formed some concrete thoughts. This whole school closure situation is stressful for everyone. If you've been worried about low participation...

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April Favorites 2020

I didn't write a "favorites" post for March. I just wasn't ready to think about silver linings and finding the good yet. Life is still really hard in many ways, but now that I'm over a month into school closures I'm in a place where I can appreciate some of the highlights from life in quarantine. As is my practice with these monthly posts I'm pulling...

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