Southwestern Section Update

JM: What advice would you give to students or young teachers who may be thinking about the military?

AM: I regret not taking the military options more seriously sooner. I felt like everyone was saying, “You must go to college, you must go right away.” I think we’re better now, we’re not pushing that narrative as strongly, and that’s better. There are some amazing benefits to joining the military, especially as a reservist, because you can have it both ways. You can have a rewarding military career, performing, with all of the benefits, but still have your civilian job,

JM: I wish I knew more of these options sooner as well, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to sit down and share them with our state now – even though I’m too old to sign up! Our section is wonderfully diverse in many ways, and I’m glad to give a platform to a worthwhile option.

by Ryan Rowles

Happy Holidays from the Southwestern Section. It has been an exciting fall to say the least. Connecting with colleagues across the section, a few recurring themes have emerged:

1. It is SO great to be back in person making MUSIC!!! As exciting as some may have found exploring new ways of doing music making (did anyone think to buy stock in

Soundtrap???), the consensus certainly is that students are excited to be back making music together again and so are we as music teachers. 2. Enrollment in music classes has been a struggle. We will, not only in this section, but within our profession collectively, need to share some new best practices in recruitment and retention as we all strive to rebuild our programs, ideally stronger and better than ever. 3. We are TIRED!!! With new, and ever changing, covid protocols in place, it certainly is not just business as usual.

What can we all do to find ways to recharge? Another challenge to look for in 2022 for sure.

Despite all of this, the level of excitement and enthusiasm that we have seen in our students, and ideally in ourselves, has hopefully been a source of encouragement for all of us. Keep going. We got this!!!

Earlier this fall, the Southwestern Section hosted another virtual conference, this time geared specifically to our collegiate members and future music educators. They experienced sessions around pedagogy (choral, instrumental, general music, emerging practices) along with sessions on writing a cover letter and building a resume. Additionally, students experienced two panels: one including current working professional music educators who are new to the profession (3 years or less). The other panel included VAPA coordinators from Southern California districts where they provided attendees with tips for a successful job interview. Students in attendance asked outstanding questions and the conversations that occurred pointed to a bright future for music education. In attendance were students from CSU Long Beach, CSU Northridge, CSU Los Angeles, and UCLA. If these students are any sign of what the future of music education holds, we are in GREAT HANDS!!! Special thanks to board members Ryan Rowles, Tamara Thies, Tim Hill, Mary Turner, and Jessica Husselstein for putting together an outstanding conference.

Looking forward to connecting with everyone in person at CASMEC in February. Until then, have a wonderful and restful holiday!!!