WHO WE WERE, WHO WE BECAME, WHAT WE WILL BE

Dr. Lisa Martin

In the last year, through all the ways the world has changed, our professional identities were disrupted. Music teachers across the world were forced to reinvent themselves, reimagine their programs, and relearn how to connect with their students. Now, as the prospect of a more typical world exists on the horizon of the next school year, it is worthwhile to take inventory of who we were as a profession, who we became during the pandemic, and what we will be moving forward.

WHO WE WERE

It is natural for us to long for how things used to be. What is normal is familiar, and what is familiar is comfortable. However, it is also important to avoid looking at past practices through rose-colored glasses. While many aspects of music teaching may have been more ideal pre-pandemic, it would be remiss to blanketly state that everything about our past practice was flawless. Indeed, the events of the last year prompt applying a critical lens to how things were done. In reflecting upon past practice, knowing what we know now, what can we uncover about…

…how we defined success in the classroom?

…which students we served, and which students were we unable to reach?

…what music comprised our curriculum, what was omitted, and why?

…what values were celebrated in our program?

…where we excelled, and where we had room to grow in our personal musicianship and pedagogy?

Although reflective practice plays a critical role in our professional development, music teachers well know that there is often little time to meaningfully engage with deep reflection. In preparing for the post-pandemic world, however, it is our responsibility to reflect, learn, and respond objectively. In asking these and other questions, we can uncover opportunities to address the ways in which what was normal and familiar might not have always espoused best practice. What opportunities for change do we notice, now that there is space between what once was, and what is?

WHO WE BECAME

In a world where we thrive on the security of what we know, the past year revealed much about what we did not. We experienced feelings of vulnerability, inadequacy, and lack of control. The concept of planning became simultaneously crucial and moot, and as a profession, we were both celebrated and criticized. Living through these dichotomies, we experienced frustration, demonstrated resilience, and rediscovered our own creativity. As such, we must similarly ask ourselves questions about who we became – both in our own classrooms and as a profession at large: • What did we discover about our students’ and our own capacity for resilience? • What teaching tools were effective? • What made us feel vulnerable, and why? • How did our students respond to new strategies in the classroom? • In what ways were students able to demonstrate learning differently? • What sustained us as a profession?

There are a range of models for reflective practice in teaching that can help guide the reflection process. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1998) captures a six-stage process which, unlike many other reflective models, encourages teachers to consider their feelings about a given teaching experience. In the “feelings” stage, Gibbs suggests teachers ask themselves questions such as “How were you feeling when the event started?” and “What were you thinking about at the time?” Certainly, our feelings over the past year have been complicated, making it all the more important to reflect upon our feelings alongside

all that has transpired in our classrooms. It is worth noting that the range of emotions associated with teaching in a pandemic can color our objective reflections upon what worked over the past year and what did not. Simply because our circumstances became less than ideal does not mean that the ideas and practices born from our adaptivity do not have merit. Indeed, good things have come from the chaos, and in moving forward, it is our responsibility to identify and acknowledge those things.

WHAT WE WILL BE

In the space between who we were and who we became as a profession, we can find opportunities for who we will be moving forward. Simply going back to “how it was” is not an option for a variety of reasons, but even if it were an option, what lies ahead should be customized to our future rather than simply reflect our past. In piecing together what our programs might look like as we move ahead, we should objectively examine best practices across the board, crafting a reimagined approach to music education that reflects all that we have learned over the past year while also sustaining those traditions of the past that are valuable for our students. Some questions worth asking include: • What traditions and new ideas are worth carrying forward into normal times, and which are worth reconsidering or restructuring? • How will we approach our relationships with our students differently? • How might we continue to grow and develop our own personal musicianship in meaningful ways? • What have we learned about musicking, comprehensive musicianship, and alternative approaches that might reshape our personal philosophies of music education in the long term?

In a 2007 article, music education scholar John Kratus noted that our profession was at a tipping point for curricular change. Now, nearly 15 years later, we find ourselves at another tipping point. Because of the events of the last year, we love music differently now. How will this new love reveal itself in who we are and how we teach in the years ahead?

REFERENCES Gibbs, G. (1998). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning. London: Further Educational Unit. Kratus, J. (2007). Music education at the tipping point. Music Educators Journal, 94(2), 42-48.

Dr. Lisa Martin currently serves as assistant professor of music education at Bowling Green State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate music education courses. Prior to her appointment at BGSU, she taught middle school band and orchestra for nine years in Illinois and Colorado. Her research interests include music teacher identity development, assessment practices in music education, and music teacher evaluation.