Gender Justice and Feminism Conference

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Gender Justice and Feminism Conference

This past week I was able to attend the Annual Conference on Gender Justice and Feminism at my university, the University of Northern Colorado. This was my first time attending and the eighth time this conference has been offered. The conference "offers an opportunity for all UNC students, faculty, and staff to engage contemporary and historical women's and gender issues, explore intersectionality within feminism, and identify avenues toward reflection, awareness and empowerment." I am so excited to be at a university that offers such a conference, FOR FREE, and be able to learn from scholars in these fields. Here are some of my thoughts from the day. 

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ASTA 2016 (Belated...)

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ASTA 2016 (Belated...)

When I first drafted this (in March) I was on the plane on my way home from the ASTA National Conference in Tampa, FL, and I had so many thoughts and feelings! I did a decent job of sharing snippets on Twitter and Facebook through the first day and a half of the conference, but then I got so caught up in awesomeness that I didn’t even open Facebook or Twitter for the remainder of conference. Shocking, I know! So this is my attempt to condense the snippets and share why this conference is such an amazing experience for me every year. 

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My Best Teaching

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My Best Teaching

I just finished teaching my "Basic Music for Classroom Teachers" class. The students in this class are all elementary education majors and are required to take this class so that they can effectively incorporate music into their future classrooms. I'm so glad elementary education curriculum acknowledges that music is important for young minds! But that's not what struck me today. As I am again in the world of job applications and video taping lessons and reflecting on *everything,* I am struck by the fact that my best teaching is usually when I say nothing at all. Too bad that doesn't provide good "sample teaching videos!" :-) My best teaching is when I get out of the way. My best teaching is when I give my students a task and say "ready, go." It's when they have to explore and discover and figure things out for themselves. 

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Curriculum, technology, and repertoire - Oh My!

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Curriculum, technology, and repertoire - Oh My!

Last week I was able to attend the Colloquium for Teachers of Instrumental Music Methods (IMTE) in Mohican State Park in Ohio. This was my second time attending this colloquium and it's truly one of my favorite "conferences." It's a great group of people who are ready and willing to share and debate ideas and work together to grow and advance our field. And it all takes place in a gorgeous state park, while wearing jeans and t-shirts, and the work is broken up with chunks of free time. It's fantastic! Not to mention that my family came along on this adventure, as you can see in the attached picture, which made it even better. So I thought I would share a few comments/topics that sparked my interest this year. These have continued to rattle around in my brain and probably will for quite some time. 

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