193- Building a Sense of Belonging in the Music Room with Dr. Missy Strong

This episode is all about helping students find a sense of belonging in the music room. Once teachers develop an empathy based approach with your students, you'll notice it leads to connection, which therefore leads to belonging. Students need to be able to come into the music room knowing they belong there. The music room is a safe space where students should be able to take a risk and make a mistake. Real empathy builds belonging and fosters a sense of belonging. Throughout our entire conversation, Dr. Missy Strong talked with me about empathy, how her approach to teaching music has changed, and the ways she helps her students be their most musical selves by feeling like they belong.  Missy Strong has taught general, choral, and instrumental music at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels for 26 years. She holds a Master of Music Education degree from Rowan University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education with a specialty in Early Childhood Development from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Missy currently teaches elementary general and choral music. She has served as the Senior Research Assistant for Music Together and was the director of children's music education at Philadelphia's historic Tenth Presbyterian Church for over a decade. Missy is a FAME Endorsed Teacher Trainer in both First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege. She is a Founding Member of FAME and the former President of the organization. A frequent music education consultant and clinician, Missy presents conference sessions, professional development workshops, webinars, and courses at the collegiate, international, regional, state, and local levels. She is a published author and editor with articles in both state and national music education journals and books from GIA Publications and Oxford University Press. Missy and her composer/pianist husband Jeremy live in Southern New Jersey with their four kids, Ethan, Owen, Lorelei, and Jackson. Connect with Missy here: In her Facebook group On Instagram @musicedwithmissy On Twitter @DocStrong26 At her TpT store  Find out more about the HARMONY membership here. Get your copy of Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.