by Diane Gehling, CMEA Central Coast Section President
W
ow! What an end to the 2019-2020 school year! Who would have thought something like COVID-19 would happen in our lifetime? Teachers were instructed to start preparing lesson plans that would work through Google Classroom and Distant Learning. For music teachers this meant that in addition to trying
Summer Check-In
by Holly MacDonell, CMEA North Coast Section President
It is important to keep this in mind as we figure out the future. There is not a lot to say that hasn’t been said. It’s obvious, we miss our students and all the activities in which we would have participated. And we will be so very glad to get back to faceto-face teaching and learning. Here in the North Coast Section, we have a small yet supportive group of music educators that didn’t hesitate to help each other when this storm arrived. In addition to NAfME and CMEA webinars, the North Coast Section held meetings two or three times a week for informal sharing, and a little bit of more formal professional development. The future is uncertain, but also ripe with opportunity. Let’s not pass it up.
Summer Issue 2020
11
North Coast Section
W
hat a year!! We were thrown headfirst into a storm none of us saw coming. We took on instant, unavoidable challenges. We sought out any help we could find, and luckily, the helpers sought us out, too. We met under the umbrella of necessity, and we grew exponentially in the span of three months. The saying “the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity” is the only way to describe what we have all been experiencing. This is an incredible time to be in the field of education, whether in the “classroom” or in school board meetings. We really do have an opportunity to look not only at our individual teaching styles and tools, but also the way that we reach children to give them an education.
other. We must be willing to reach out with questions and our responses. We as music educators are very fortunate that we have a variety of teachers who are willing to share their knowledge of technology, letting us know which programs are good for different applications. As we look toward the opening of schools in the fall, whatever that may look like, most likely a hybrid of sorts, know that we can do this at all grade levels. I encourage all of you to reach out to one another, especially when we get frustrated. As teachers, we never stop learning and we will be together in a classroom once again.
Central Coast Section
Reflections and Looking Forward
to figure out how to have rehearsals virtually, festivals and spring concerts were canceled. As we prepare for the start of 2020-2021, none of us know what the school opening will look like and what part we will play in it; and it is on this note that I begin my tenure as the President of the Central Coast Section. For many teachers, the learning curve using technology has been steep. As we continue to learn new programs, we need to ask, is this the best I can do? Is there more out there that I can do? Is there more I can learn to better serve my students? As a music teacher who is not comfortable with a lot of technology, how do I have rehearsals online with limited class sizes? What do I do? Of course, there is also the question, “how do we reach students who do not have the internet?” These are just some of the questions that come up. This will be an interesting time for all of us as Music Educators. The uncertainty that we face - not only with the way that classes will be structured, but the decline in state funding which is causing many districts to cut deep into their already limited budget - create a myriad of feelings and questions. We must learn from each
