Teachers demonstrate professionalism through ethical conduct, reflection, and leadership.
Element A:
Teachers demonstrate high standards for professional conduct.
Artifact (RMHS): April 14 Band Concert
Link to Artifact Video: https://youtu.be/F1XGpyISnWM
At the April 14th Band Concert at RMHS, I conducted two pieces with Rocky Mountain Winds: March of the Belgian Paratroopers by Pierre Leemans and Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Throughout the concert, I conducted myself with the highest standard of professionalism. This started with arriving early before the students, greeting students and helping them set up when needed, working quickly and calmly through a warm-up, and presenting well on-stage. My stage professionalism was also strong. This included acknowledging soloists and the whole ensemble, bowing at the right time, being well-dressed in performance attire, and having my scores on the stand before walking out. These high standards of performance professionalism are critical for music teachers, and especially ensemble directors, to demonstrate for their students and audience. I also spent time after the concert talking to students, parents, and other audience members. I was always very positive and encouraging of the students after their strong performance, which is another element of professionalism in student-parent-teacher interactions. Concerts are a critical time for music teachers to demonstrate professionalism, and I have shown that I am ready to do so in my own program.
Element B:
Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.
Artifact (RMHS/Band-specific): “Brush up your Woodwinds” Resources from Colorado Music Educators’ Association Conference
As a trumpet player, one of my greatest strengths is brass pedagogy. However, woodwind instruments are more unfamiliar. As such, I regularly dedicate time at professional development opportunities (such as the Colorado Music Educators’ Association January Conference) to attend woodwind-specific sessions. This session, “Brush up your Woodwinds,” was a comprehensive overview of basic woodwind playing and teaching techniques for all five instruments: flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. The most important part of this session, however, is the resources I took with me. This digital notebook contains tremendous resources for each instrument, including exercises, videos, demonstrations, and pedagogical explanations. This session helped me grow as a professional because of my goals to grow as a woodwind pedagogue.
Element C:
Teachers respond to a complex, dynamic environment.
Artifact (EPES): Daily Specials Schedule/Rotation and Sample Weekly Planner
Elementary “Specials” (Music, Art, PE) teachers often have very complex daily schedules. At EPES, due to different enrollments in each grade, different age groups have different rotations. 3rd-5th grade are on a four-day rotation, with four class sections in each except for 5th grade. Two 30-minute Pre-K classes fill one of the one-hour 5th grade slots in each rotation. In the primary grades (K-2), students have 30 minutes of music and 30 minutes of PE on the same day, switching at the half-hour. With three sections of Kindergarten and two of first grade, we see each class once every three days. The same is true for second grade, except we see those students every other day for 30 minutes. Which class has PE or Music first switches each rotation in the primary grades, so it’s important to maintain a detailed weekly planner to know when I have which class, and when a new lesson plan begins. Consistent written preparation helps me respond to the complex and dynamic schedule of Elementary music.
Element D:
Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school, the community, and the teaching profession.
Artifact (RMHS): Band Festival Compliment Notes for Other Bands
At the CBA concert band festivals, all participating bands have two required listening blocks, where they listen to other bands’ performances. At Rocky Mountain High School, it is a tradition for all band members to write cards to the students in other bands. The directors also write notes, collect cards from the students, and deliver them to the other band directors. While RMHS was the first program to make this a regular practice years ago, other programs have begun to as well, including Fossil Ridge High School and Resurrection Christian High School. This demonstrates leadership in the band community and teaching profession to foster a positive, supportive environment among students and directors. Furthermore, this teaches students the importance of being supportive of other musicians and peers in any environment, and that kindness is a quality of leadership.
(I took a quick picture of these notes before delivering them to the Resurrection Christian HS band director).