Staff Meeting

In my life as a “retired” music teacher, I’ve been blessed to continue to use my life’s skills in a dizzying variety of venues. I would be quite happy doing any one of these on a my-terms-my-schedule basis, both with and without pay as the situation calls for it. But to get to do all of them is yet a greater blessing. My list includes: 

• Singing with kids at schools.

• Teaching music classes as a resident guest music teacher at schools.

• Mentoring music teachers at schools.

• Continuing to give workshops and courses with teachers.

• Playing piano for and singing with seniors at Elder’s Homes.

• Writing, reading, practicing piano, walking, biking, visiting friends and family, traveling.

• All of the above.

 

Now I’d like to add one more: 

• Doing music with teachers at staff meetings.

 

I’ve done this now and then, here and there, but recently, I did one in Singapore and then yesterday at a Catholic School in Jackson, Tennessee. I love it! And apparently, they do too, as they all were having such fun— laughing, giggling, thoroughly enjoying each other while learning new things about each other— and being challenged and working through it! There were six Catholic Sisters in full habit in the group and watching them play the clapping play Miss Mary Mack  so joyfully is an image I will long keep with me. 

 

At the same time that all was pure fun, embedded in the two activities were deep insights about the nature of effective teaching, inspired pedagogy, differentiated instruction, wrapping activities around the child’s nature rather than insisting they rise to the adult’s fantasy of learning, honoring and valuing children, feeling the power of vulnerability, experiencing a model of the necessary balance between repetition and variation, shifting from the comfortable answer to the next intriguing question, giving an outlet for emotional and artistic expression, connecting kids with each other, the greater community and their own inner power— shall I go on? In short, a memorable staff meeting that was not a relief from the serious business, but was the serious business itself, more deeply memorable and authentic and useful than the usual Power Point presentation or glitzy video or talk running through the cliched latest and greatest in education. So indeed, I could see traveling from school to school offering such staff meetings if all the other activities above ever dried out. 

 

I often say that I didn’t retire from my school because I was tired of teaching kids, but because I was tired of going to staff meetings! But I wouldn’t have been if they had all been like this! Anyone want to invite me?