AMusEd

Sorry for ghosting everyone for a year. We're back, but we're not. This is the last episode of the podcast. Series Finale. We decided that the podcast and our listeners meant enough to us that we needed to put out one final episode to actually wrap it up. This whole endeavor has been a wild ride and a labor of love. We felt we filled a role that was really necessary when we started but in the last 9 years there has been explosion of music ed podcasts. We're now almost 15 years into our careers and our focus is now more on our families instead of establishing ourselves as professionals. We'll still be meeting regularly to discuss our teaching and share some epic mistakes and wins but we won't be recording them. We wish you the best in your growth as a music educator and hope that you can find a community of peers like we did to help you on that journey. If you want to see our journey from the beginning, go back and laugh at those kids who thought they might know what they're doing here's a link to our pilot in all it's glory and lack of production value: https://amusedcast.libsyn.com/amused-podcast-pilot

We navigate the last few weeks of school with an increasingly urgent need for the year to be over. Recorded 5.22.2022

We chat about how things are actually returning to the way they were before, and reflect honestly on how we navigated the challenges of this past year now that we're not in the middle of it all. S8E31 Recorded 5.5.2022

Veroinca asks the question: Can you still build a shiny, award winning program while still maintaining healthy boundaries in your life?   S8E30 Recorded 4.24.2022

We talk about the logistics of showcasing the entirety of the music program, collaborating with others in your department and how to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time. S8E29 Recorded 4/18/22

It's been a while since we were all together so our focus meanders a bit, but our original conversations focuses on rewarding students who are represntative of the values of your program beyond just outstanding musicianship.   S8E28 Recorded 4.10.2022

Olin is out this week so the secondary school teachers discuss how the tail is wagging the dog when it comes to how elective enrollment is driving curriculum.

How do you thread the needle celebrating your top students without leaving your other ensembles behind? We have our friend Jeff Kumagai on who is going through the last growing pains of taking over a program and dealing with the expectations of students who align with the values of the previous director. S8E26 Recorded 3.26.22

Sus is out this week due to tech week for the musical, Olin is still in the middle of the madness. Veronica has one very long week til spring break. We check in with our goals for the end of the semester, how (if?) we are on track with them. S8E25 Recorded 3/13/2022

Welcome to the spring. Things are going fine. We're sure. 100% Everything is fine. S8E24 Recorded 3/6/2022

We continue our conversation regarding what a professional trjectory looks like for us, our previous discussion focused on what it wasn't.   S8E23 Recorded 2.27.2022

What does a music educator's "professional trajectory" look like? This year we discuss a bit of difference in perspective on this topic between teachers in the classroom, administrators and what the difference is for us as music educators.

The gang discusses their strategies for setting one's self up for success so as not to dread Sunday evening or Monday morning. S8E20 Recorded 1/30/2022

As we are normalizing our expectations of ourselves and our students we're encountering a lot of frustration and need to stop and remind ourselves of a few key concepts.   S8E21 Recorded 2.3.2022

We talk programming and how we might feel guilty for imposing our own bucket lists on our students.   Recorded 1/20/22

This time we have the right file. Oops. We're back from break to a January that looks a little different than December.   S8E18 Recorded 1/6/2022

Forgive the zoom blips this week, we had to edit off of one track, old school. This week we deal with being caught in the middle of public school discourse on respecting other cultures and holidays and the (sometimes overwhelming) hegemony of Christmas, along with the public expectation of holiday concerts. S8E17 Recorded 12/12/21

Guess who's back, back again? Concerts.   S8E16 Recorded 12/5/21

Our topic meandered a bit on this episode, but it centered around anxiety (ours and our students'), understanding it and growing with it. S8E14 Recorded 11/14/2021. 

Hi Folks, this one jumps the queue because it's topical, so you get Episode 15 this week and then 14 next week. Time travel is rad. Enjoy our annual episode on Gratitude. S8E15 Recorded 11.21.21

Or "learning to share the burden of project management" if you prefer. Sus has caught herself taking on too much in her role of co-overseeing the musical theater fundraising concert, and discussing the growing pains of working on equal footing with other directors when no one is "in charge." S8E13 Recorded 11.7.2021

John is anxious and panicking about the future (what else is new). What are you doing to ensure that your ensembles survive past the graduation of the class of 2022? S8E12 Recorded 10/28/2021

This week Olin, Sus and Veronica talk the perennial favorite topic of scheduling, looking forward and anticipating challenges that crop up as we move forward. S8E11 Recorded 10/21/21

What happens when you need to change course in the middle of your semester? We find out. When is rigidity in programming an structure an asset and when is it a liability? S8E10 Recorded 10/17/2021

So, it's not 2019, remember? Some of us *cough cough* are running up against the consequences of planning like it was. Let us know if you found the easter egg in this episode. S8E9 Recorded 10/03/2021

How do you rank what needs to get done when everything is urgent, and important, and on fire (sometimes literally on the west coast). We talk about what we prioritize and what we let fall behind when we're juggling chainsaws mid semester. S8E8 Recorded 9/23/21

In the wake of Olin's band camp (spoilers: it was great) Sus, Olin and Veronica discuss strategies to keep focused intensity in rehearsals. S8E7 Recorded 9/19/2021

The Beavs have Band Camp this week and Olin is out, so we brought on some special guests to help make sure we stayed serious and professional. Our topic this week came about organically as we discussed our growth away from comparing ourselves and our programs with the more successful and prestigious programs in our area. The discussion focuses on finding out what your students and school community value and modeling your program to meet those needs. S8E6 Recorded 9/9/2021

We discuss the ways students accommodations have challenged our teaching and helped us grow and develop more comprehensive strategies that work better for all students.   S8E5 Recorded 9.2.2021

We're still talking about COVID. Sorry. Really doubling down on what music education looks like in Fall 2021, trying to figure out best practices when everything is left up to local municipalities and school boards to make decisions. S8E4 Recorded 8.26.2021

This week John sits down with Ron Sikes, host the Muted Network's newest member podcast, Jazz Chat. We talk mostly about the rhythm section because of Ron's background as a percussionist. S8E3 Recorded 7/22/2021

This week We talk about our goals coming out (fingers crossed) of the pandemic and some of the lessons we learned from last year. S2E8 Recorded 8/17/21  

This is a music education podcast. We swear. It's a lot of fun to be back.   S8E1 recorded August 10 2021

As we finish our school year, we do a bit of reflection and goal setting for the summer. Trying to look forward instead of backwards after one heck of a year. Congratulations if you're reading this, you made it. S7E33 Recorded 5/29/2021

This week the gang discusses not just being behind in terms of pedagogy, but also how all planning has been put off this year, and how many of the things that are finished by the end of the year aren't this year. We have to adjust to be okay with the fact that things will remain ambiguous through the summer. S7E32 Recorded 5/19/2021

This week we have our friend and mentor Dr. Ruth Brittin on from the University of the Pacific to talk about how the COVID crisis is affecting student teaching and fieldwork during the pandemic and how their programs adapted. S 7E31 Recorded May 1 2021

The gang discusses the pros and cons f trying to hold a spring concert this year.   S7E30 Recorded April 21 2021

It's Veronica's first week back on campus after over a year away. The gang is tired, the gang has the giggles, we're all nearing the home stretch of this year.

Paull Kimball comes on to talk about his journey through Kodály and his homebrew sightsinging progression that changed the way he teaches elementary music. Paul is an active musician and choir teacher in Stockton California. He was a French Horn player with the Stockton Symphony for 27 years, has conducted hundreds of performances of local musicals, and is the conductor and artistic director of the Zion Chamber Orchestra. In 2018 he and his wife were presented with the Star Award by the Stockton Arts Commission. S7 E29 Recorded 4/7/21

Family episodes with the four of us are rare theses days, so we're trying to make time once a month to check in with each other. This week we're unpacking and working through the differing circumstances of our various returns to campus. S7E27 Recorded 4/3/21 

We sit down with Russ Gavin from Stanford to talk about the Jacktrip project. This was recorded via the Jacktrip platform live and in sync. S7E26 Recorded March 24 2021

This week we have Stephanie on as a guest to talk about getting an elementary music program off the ground in her district.   S7E25Recorded 3/17/2020

Enrollment crises and pressure on kids to take more "academic" classes has us on the back foot this week and discussing how to promote the value of arts education to our admin and families.

This week we discuss putting the definition of success into our students hands for student engagement and ownership of the ensemble and material. The Pandemic is offering us an opportunity.   S7E23 Recorded March 6 2021

Sus, Olin and Veronica discuss the challenges of retention and recruitment when all the social aspects of ensembles that draw kids in seem a distant memory. S7E22 Recorded 2/25/2021

This week, we bring on Tyson Wooters, a leadership consultant to talk shop about designing a leadership course. Adapted from his bio on Leaders Creating Leaders: "Tyson has been called an entertainer, a comedian, and most importantly an educator. His life mission is to educate people through humor, shared experiences, and win-wins, about the phenomenal power of helping those around you by activating them to help each other. Although Tyson spent his first career educating in public schools, colleges, and corporate events, these days he serves educators in the classroom, in personal development, and even in retirement." Information on the March 4th #BeBandReady and #KeepPlaying Spring Campaign he mentioned can be found here S7E21 Recorded 2/18/2021

This episode we talk with Dr. Kaitlin Bove about doing the work to find and perform music by underrepresented composers while remembering that you don't have to do it all at once. Dr. Bove's bio, taken from And We Were Heard: Dr. Kaitlin Bove is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Ensembles at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington. Prior to this appointment, she served as a teaching assistant with the band program at University of Kentucky where she was awarded a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting under the tutelage of Cody Birdwell. Kaitlin earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Education from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California where she studied with Eric Hammer. Kaitlin also serves as a co-founder with the gender parity organization, Girls Who Conduct, and on the board for Lift Our Voices, a scholarship fund for students of marginalized identities in the field of music composition. Dr. Bove served as Director of Bands at Payson High School and Director of Bands and Orchestras at Mt. Nebo Junior High School in Payson, Utah. She is a member of National Band Association, College Band Directors National Association, and Women Band Directors International. S7E20 Recorded 2.11.2021

This week we have Dr. Steve Zielke on to talk choir and specifically laughter in rehearsal.   Recorded 2/4/2020 S7E19

Sus is out for the week, so John, Veronica and Olin regress to their true selves and talk shop for band in 2021 (let's be honest, it's not much different from when Sus is present, just a little less fun).   S7E18 Recorded 1.30.21

We've all experienced a lot of challenges this year, this week we sit down to figure out where we need to grow and where we're focusing our efforts at improving our teaching.   S7E17 Recorded 1/21/2021