Blog
What are we doing to make our classrooms as safe a space as they possibly can be?
As teachers, we worry about our students fairly often. Not only do we worry about their grades or how they are understanding a concept, but we worry about them emotionally as well. I know...
Language Matters.
Language has so much power. Spoken language. Written. Non-spoken. Body language. It communicates to the world what we want them to know, what we value, and what we know to be true in our lives.
While language is one part of...
Going back to school can fill teachers with many emotions. For many of us, one of the first emotions is excitement! The students are coming back and it’s a fresh start! However, it inevitably also fills many of us with varying degrees of anxiety and dread (especially...
When we enter the world of special education as teachers, we are told of some standards which are “set in stone,” for our students. Every student is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education. Every child who qualifies for special needs services...
This post is based on a podcast episode with Stephanie Powell. To listen to her episode, click here.
What is adaptive music education and why is it important?
Adaptive anything simply means giving someone the tools that they need to accomplish a goal. Adapting could...
There are a lot of things that were exceptional about my first real teaching experience. First of all, I was so thankful to be hired before I technically finished my degree. This was because my undergraduate school was on quarters rather than semesters so we...
In this episode I share my conversation with Stephanie Powell about adaptive music education, and how she (accidentally) began teaching adaptive music lessons.
Stephanie Powell is a wife, mother of 4, special needs teacher...
This post is based on a podcast interview with Lauren Marcinkowski, MT-BC, M.Ed.. To listen to her episode, click here.
What is music therapy and why is it important?
Music therapy is a clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individual goals...
Throughout my life, I have seen and heard my fair share of “polite” words to describe students with disabilities. Growing up with a brother who has autism and an intellectual disability, I have heard people describe him as “special,” an “extra...
Whether you have a self-contained class of exceptional learners or a few are part of the general population of your classes, having strategies on hand to help these students will help them (and you!) in the long run. The great thing about these strategies is that they will...
When it comes to IEPs, it can be overwhelming for the non-special education teachers to think about. Heck, it’s even overwhelming at times as the seasoned special education teacher, too! What is an SDI? Why should I look at their goals? What is a PBSP?! All these...
If you’ve followed That Music Teacher for a while now, you’ve likely heard the term “Exceptional Learners.” My school refers to this population as “Students with Learning Differences.” There are many names for these amazing students...
