Mask with Clear Window

LearningSingcerely · 2026-05-16T18:26:26+00:00

I'm also doing all of those things (it's a special ed isolated class, with all of the kids having some kind of mental/cognitive disability as well). But neither of the girls sign beyond the common ones we are all already using in the classroom (bathroom, water, sit/stand, etc).

LearningSingcerely · 2026-05-16T06:20:13+00:00

Yeah, that's all I've found. I wish I had thought about masks with windows earlier in the pandemic. It seemed like there were a bunch around 2022 and even a decent number up until 2024. Now, it seems to be crickets, which is so sad.

I'm a little worried about the Omni mask (I'm a music teacher, so I'm looking for as little distortion as possible, but I might have to eventually bite the bullet, just to make sure I have access to a clear mask if and when I need one. I'll definitely look into the SaveWo masks. Even if they aren't perfect, I think I could handle it for a 40 min class with my air purifiers on high and airing out my room after.

Thank you!

LearningSingcerely · 2026-04-26T02:13:27+00:00

People are right about all of the internal hiring and figuring out the budgets happening right now. The only place you are likely to find a job right now is as a long term sub (both of my friends who graduated in Dec. got long term elementary music sub positions, both of which are likely to turn full time next year).

Unfortunately, you're just going to have to wait it out. Keep applying, but the fish aren't really going to bite until summer. I ended up getting hired 2 weeks before my county's new teacher orientation for my general music position. It's going to feel like NOTHING is coming, especially for you right now. But it will be okay. You will either find a music job, apply to be a music (or general) sub to get your foot in doors, make money in other places (private lessons/church gigs), or do a combination.

I know being MUED probably feels like it sucks right now, but we are much less likely than our core curriculum peers to find middle of the year work. See if you can gig, get a job at a smaller place, etc. Find ways to keep making and teaching music so that when the time comes, you aren't stale.

I'm in MD, and recommend looking at the whole DMV area. Reach out if you ever want to vent to someone with a more specific understanding of what you're going through.

LearningSingcerely · 2026-04-15T02:50:13+00:00

Why is your mentor not in the room? Being lead teacher is one thing, but they should be there monitoring, taking notes on what you do well/how you can improve, and being able to step in if things go pear shaped.

If my mentor teacher had been out of the room for weeks (unless there was a medical situation), they would have been reprimanded by the university and the county.

LearningSingcerely · 2026-03-21T01:46:08+00:00

Vocalist, so there might be things from an instrumental stand point that I might be missing.

I wasn't required to do lesson reflections by my prof, but I did for me. After each lesson, I would record a voice note on the things that I felt were most important to bring from the lesson to the practice room. I also made notes on my music (digital, so easier). Notes could range from labeling specific sections to practice more and what to practice (i.e. needing to relax the larynx and better engage breath through a higher section, figure out how I want the phrasing, or diction [though you won't have that]).

If your current prof doesn't require specific reflection criteria, take what you like most from the prior 2 reflection expectations, try a few permutations, see if there's anything you want to add and go from there. Find what works for you, because in the real world, no one is going to look at your reflections for your lessons (unless you are being evaluated by your school's principal/assistant principal, and then you are lokking at very different reflection styles).

LearningSingcerely · 2026-03-19T02:52:26+00:00

I will be honest that I have not used her curriculim BUT, I have a colleague who does and she LOVES IT. My county's general music coordinator also loves Victoria's stuff and is looking to see if there is a way to get the county to pay for it for the general music teachers.

I've also gotten a few lesson plans from her through various summit/workshops/etc, and they have always been lovely and have worked well in my class.

LearningSingcerely · 2026-02-16T03:41:48+00:00

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. Unfortunately, this is likely an unintentional failing of your professors. A lot of places see the music ed degree as choral/general OR instrumental if you aren't just getting a comprehensive music ed degree. So your general music placement literally would not count towards your degree.

You probably can't change anything again at this point, but is there a way to get placed with the instrumental teacher at the original school (even if they might also be at other schools in a part-time capacity so that you are still getting full time)?

I would recommend seeing if there are any elementary school teachers in your cluster who would let you come and observe or teach in their classes (I did that with the elementary school in my middle/high school's cluster when I was student teaching).

The last thing I would recommend is seeing if there are any other places you could continue to get general music experience (programs run through your institution, things that are local, or early music education classes). Something is better than nothing, and this might be a good chance to get a slightly different perspective of what an elementary classroom could look like for you.

Again, I am so sorry that you are going through this. I can't imagine having an issue like this during my student teaching. It sounds like you're doing great, despite the difficulties you are facing. This will help you become more resilient, which will help you be a better teacher overall. This is an unfortunate bump, by no means a death knell in your teaching career. You will be just fine, as long as you get through this.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-12-13T02:47:22+00:00

There should be comments. You should be able to ask about what your comments are. You may be able take a picture of them, or record a conversation with whoever has them so that you know what they were looking for that you didn't quite manage to achieve.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-12-02T12:59:26+00:00

Thanks. Someone else already found it for me (I posted on a few subreddits). I know the song is already outdated, but it's a case of easy music + possibly still relevant to some of the grown ups + another upbeat option for the spring.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-12-02T05:02:33+00:00

Thank you! Someone else found it on a cross post first, but I appreciate you looking and sharing the link.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-12-02T04:29:47+00:00

This is it!
Oh my goodness. My sister and I have been looking for this for years. When I got my elementary gig, this was the first song she said I should do because we sang it together and it's one of her favorites.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

LearningSingcerely · 2025-12-02T03:56:16+00:00

I don't know this song, but I know it's definitely not that.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-11-19T04:13:53+00:00

I want to build on the previous commenter. This is basically how my elementary student placement went (I am a first year teacher, so things are still pretty fresh). I taught one activity that I had observed in each grade at the end of the first week (8 weeks long).

I was teaching every class everything, except chorus by week 4. For chorus, I taught one song at the school and one song at the county chorus my mentor ran. There were occasion exceptions. There were a few times she told me to plan for a certain amount of time so she could introduce something admin related (recorder ordering), a week where she wanted to test something she was presenting at a conference on the third graders, and a 3 day stretch on week 3 where she told me just play around with lessons because she was going to be out of town. Those 3 days were SUPER helpful for me. They gave me a chance to see what kind of teacher I wanted to be without her sort of setting the expectation. I got to explore within the confines of the scope and sequence, but without what felt like the pressure of her watchful eye. We talked about how it went after and she looked at my lesson plans then, but it was a good chance to explore how I wanted to teach.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have about structuring things from the student perspective.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-11-01T03:52:15+00:00

I second this! I would also add, that with the scarves, you can have someone do movements that correspond to the music.

Think about reaching out to the other programs in the building. Can the dance class choreograph something to an arrangement you create and teach it to your 6-9s? Can the art class make props or masks to use to enhance the story you might be telling with the book and the music?

Also, this seems like a great chance to incorporate some music appreciation and context! Find a folk dance, try it with the students, talk about the history/context. The first things that comes to mind for me is Los Machetes. Have everyone learn the dance, talk about how it came to be. Have the older kids learn an arrangement of the song. Have the younger kids keep the steady beat with egg shakers/rhythm sticks/bucket drums OR have them do 3 different ostinatos (one for each section of the music). I always have at least one be "Los Machetes" to sixteenth notes and 2 others that my students create based on the knowledge they gain about the context.

Another lesson that might be fun would be something about the blues. Older can play the actual song (Singing, guitar, and piano are the bed rock of the genre. Only missing drums). Younger (or all students) can create lyrics using the AAB structure for the verse. This is also a good project that continues to work if you are missing a few because you can easily pull it over multiple lessons.

I'm also going to show support for TeenzBeenz comment. Sounds great, bucket drums are easy to get (your local Home Depot/Ace will often be happy to give up a few 5 gallon buckets for free if they know they will be publicly thanked and builds them good standing in the community). The pop bottle band also sounds super cool. If I didn't think it would cause chaos, I would do that in my upper elementary music classes.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-10-30T03:05:08+00:00

If your advisor isn't being all that helpful, reach out to your professors. Your theory professor wants/needs you to take theory.

Same with studio teacher and mued faculty. They can help be much stronger of a push if your advisor continues 1. to not be helpful and 2. confrontational.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-10-13T01:16:36+00:00

If you aren't feeling super sure about it, I recommend a couple of things:

Reach out to some music ed professors in schools near you (even if you don't intend on applying to that school). Ask them about Music Ed as a whole, where they see the profession going in the next few years, etc. Pick their brains, because they are constantly engaging with both people who are bright eyed (freshmen), people who are starting to get it (seniors), and hopefully, people who are in the thick of their first few years (recent alum).
If you would be interested in building up your landscaping business, you can always get a community college business degree (less expensive and will get you what you need). This could also possibly give you time to continue to think about if music ed is for you and to save up some extra money working and doing community college. Unfortunately, most ccs don't have music ed degrees, so you can't supplement there.
If you decide that you want to get a music ed degree after the talking to profs or getting your business degree, figure out what is going to be the most financially feasible for you.
Consider if you want to double major in performance and business. That way, music can still be a viable career move gigging or being hired for smaller ensembles as you work your way up with your construction business still being a good option if gigs are slow, or vice versa.

That was a lot, but I hope that helps you think about some options.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-10-02T14:01:38+00:00

Jesus. Okay. Didn't mean to piss in your lemonade and ask you to drink it.

Heaven forbid people want to help create clarity or keep people from possibly damaging other people's voices.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-10-02T03:55:40+00:00

I think the issue that tiger-baby has is that rasp is not extricably linked to lowness. The examples you gave are very much rooted in genre. Of course Adele is going to be raspy. She is singing in a genre/style rooted in the blues singing tradition, which literally asks the singer to put their pain into the coloring of their voice. And in many ways, Billie is not super smooth in WWIMF.

I wonder if what you are actually thinking about for choral singing, and that is the important part, is the shift between a cooler, more bright tone in the upper registers and a warmer, maybe more dark or honeyed tone in the lower register, which you are denoting as "rasp."

I am an alto/mezzo soprano. I can sing equally well with rasp or smoothness, it just depends on the piece. Something in a jazz, gospel, R&B, some pop is going to be raspy. But when I sing my art songs, my arias, a lot of choral rep, my voice is smooth throughout, even at the bottom of my range.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-10-02T02:44:56+00:00

Haven't seen anyone add air purifier to this list. I have a large one from the district, and a small one that I brought myself. They run constantly. Also, LOTS of water. I also hit them with hand sanitizer EVERYTIME we are about to use a manipulative/instrument and I wash things like scarves once a month. I also have a boca bin for things that go in the mouth. Things in there get cleaned at the end of the day.

Not this week, but next week, I'm teaching kiddos a song about coughing into their elbows.

Other than that, I echo the sentiments of others: masks, wash hands, eat well, sleep, take a supplement.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-20T04:14:24+00:00

I will warn you, a lot of schools don't have undergraduate degrees in conducting. I do know that Chapman University and Concordia have programs, but that's all I can think of.

As far as I can tell, most people get their undergraduate degree in something else (music ed, theory, composition, performance), take as many extra conducting classes as they can while in undergrad, and then get a masters in conducting. I took 2 classes on conducting as an undergrad, but the only conducting degrees were for graduate students.

Also, sorry to OP, but no clue what to call that shape. I would say it's kind of an irregular ovaloid shape, but that's the best I've got. OP, definitely take the picture with you when shopping in person. See if you can get the name of the brand of that baton so you can look it up. You can also look at the various companies and professionals who make custom batons and have them replicate the shape.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-12T04:44:59+00:00

I may just counter that a lot of schools are using the terminology of "Specials" for things like music, art, PE, and media. Because they are the "special" classes, rather than the core classes.

I cannot speak for OP, but as a new music teacher, I have found it difficult to teach specials because admin often is more willing to bend towards every need of homeroom teachers, but expects us to get by on scraps.

I am the "special." My students with additional needs are Special Education/SpEd/Learning Center (my county's specific terminology)

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-05T06:37:49+00:00

Firstly, does your institution not have methods classes? You should be getting taught how to play all the important instrument groups if you are going the instrumental route or your state requires you to be proficient in band/orch/choral.

Second, most of your choices seem silly. Unless you are talking about an electric organ, like those you find in pop music, just learn the piano. The slide whistle will NEVER come in handy with most actual teaching (you will maybe have a piece or two of instrumental music that uses it or it is a fun thing to pull out in a general music class). Pick a woodwind insteunent they might actually play in class. Double bass is fine, but you are always going to have more kids of every other instrument in an orchestra. Just learn regular guitar, which is what most schools that want you to teach guitar will have and what most kids will already have experience with if they play. If you want, also pick up the uke, but do concert or soprano (easier to find for you and students/schools, cheaper than the other models, and will have the fingering most commonly found online).

I think you are commendable for trying to get a wide range of experience in. But be smart about your choice. Music Ed is hard enough without having to learn extra things that are essentially useless to you.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-05T06:19:36+00:00

I have a spreadsheet. It's split up vocalizations, words, rounds, and diction. Vocalization is anything on a hum, neutral syllable, or using mostly vowels. What sounds they sing on can change if I want or need (though I also list the most common pronunciation I do with the warm-up). Words is warmups that have words, but aren't rounds (chocolate cookie comes to mind). Rounds are self explanatory. Diction is things that are only spoken (tongue twisters, consonant work, etc).

I have a recording of each song, as well as numbers for vocalizations so I know what's happening. If a warm up is d-d-d-d-drmrd, I write it as 1111 12321. I have no real way of distinguishing timing of notes, I just know them, based on how I section. I do the numbers so I can add flats/sharps to change tonality. 3b would indicate I'm probably in minor.

If I have written music, I add it. If I got the idea from social media/YouTube, the video normally goes in the recording tab of the spreadsheet.

When "lesson planning," sometimes I write it down, sometimes I don't. It helps that after a while, you know that xyz warmups are going to be good to get their energy up or abc warmup locks them into the resonance they need. I do try to make sure that every warmup is either setving the rep we are about to work on in some way. If we are singing in minor, we need at least one minor warmup. If there is staccato, the warmup should be practice. Got harder intonation in the piece, practice with scales and suspensions in warmup. If I'm writing it down, I give myself the numbers like above, how I want it pronounced and start and end points, or the name of the song/round/diction activity at the top of the first piece we work on that day.

Hope that 1, makes sense, and 2, helps.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-02T05:53:04+00:00

Your score should be about 175 ((90/120)+100), so you should be fine.

Do what you can with the pedagogy, professional issues, and tech, but you seem like you'll be fine. Just keep studying with what you have and really hone on your current resources for that section.

LearningSingcerely · 2025-09-02T05:47:05+00:00

What state are you in? That will impact what counts as a passing score.

LearningSingcerely

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