I fondly remember driving
from Detroit, MI to Rochester, NY with my colleague to attend my first AOSA
national conference. The three days of music-making and workshops was a key to
my success in the elementary classroom, and even now as an editor for Heritage
Music Press, I will occasionally find myself revisiting those well-worn session
notes.
It is no secret that attendees
see the conference like a family reunion. Just spend a good half hour and watch
the joyous meeting and greeting in the lobby of the hotel, and you’ll know
exactly what I mean. And, like a strong family, the AOSA members are there for
each other to ask questions, lend an ear, and offer help. It truly is a
wonderful network of passionate music educators coming together in pursuit of
reinvigorating their teaching, refreshing their souls, and furthering their
quest to be the best music educators they can.
One of the highlights for me
of every AOSA conference is getting to meet music educators from around the
country and listen to what they need and want in terms of resources to improve
their teaching or expand their repertoire. I absolutely love seeing someone’s
eyes light up when I introduce them to a resource that they know will add that
special something to their classroom (even if it is just a collection of
worksheets to help out with sub planning). It’s hard to find music education
resources anywhere other than online, so having the ability to peruse the print
products and interact with the software in the exhibit hall is a really unique
opportunity. I really enjoy being able to help music educators in any capacity.
Having both past experience in the classroom and an in depth knowledge of the
products we offer puts me in a unique situation to be at your service, and I
hope you took advantage of it at this conference or will plan to in the future.
I’m already looking forward to reconnecting with my music education family next
year in Nashville!
__________________________________________________
Jeanette attended Ithaca College, majoring in Music
Education with voice as her primary instrument. While at Ithaca, she performed
with the Women's Chorale under the direction of Janet Galván and was a founding
member of the college's first women's a cappella group. She completed her
Master of Education degree from Wayne State University while teaching
elementary music in L'Anse Creuse Public Schools. In her more than eight years
of teaching elementary music education, Jeanette was the writer and recipient
of several educational grants, director of after school music clubs, and one of
the directors in a district-wide choir. She has also taught Elementary Music
Education: Methods and Assessments as an adjunct professor at Rochester
Community College in Rochester Hills, Michigan. In 2008, Jeanette became editor
of Activate!, a magazine for music
educators, and in 2009, she accepted the position of Classroom Resources Editor
for Heritage Music Press.
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