170 | All PD Is Not the Same: CEUs vs New Knowledge - HD 720p
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[00:00:00] Bryson Tarbet: You're listening to That Music Podcast with Bryson Tarbin, the curriculum designer and educational consultant behind That Music Teacher and the Elementary Music Summit. Each week, Bryson and his guests will dive into the reality of being an elementary music teacher and how music can truly be transformative in the lives of the students you serve.
[00:00:23] Bryson Tarbet: Show notes and resources mentioned in this episode can be found at thatmusicteacher. com.
[00:00:35] Bryson Tarbet: Welcome back to that music podcast. I'm Bryce Santarba. And last week we talked about the fact that our teaching and our professional growth should always be growing. We should always be continuing to learn new things today. We are going to be talking about the difference between new knowledge. And checking off boxes to renew our license, right?
[00:00:54] Bryson Tarbet: Um, all professional development is not the same. And I think it's important that we understand that there's a time and [00:01:00] place for both. Um, for instance, when I was looking at, you know, Alright, I knew I wanted to start my Master's, and I knew I wanted to get something, um, that would really help me in the elementary level.
[00:01:10] Bryson Tarbet: Uh, because as much as I love my undergrad experience, I, I felt like I was, like a lot of you, I felt like I wasn't really prepared to teach at the elementary level, right? I was kind of making it up as I went. So after my first year of teaching, I decided to start my master's of music education with a Kodai emphasis, you know, super fancy, right?
[00:01:27] Bryson Tarbet: From Capital University, because really I just wanted my Kodai levels. That's kind of the main thing. Um, and while I was doing it, I was like, well, might as well get a master's degree. Um, And kind of since then I've realized how, how important it is for us to get. Content specific professional development, right?
[00:01:44] Bryson Tarbet: New information that will directly help us in the elementary music classroom, right? There are masters of education programs out there that are online that I'm sure are wonderful and have great, you know, things with psychology and, and just general teaching things. But the reality is, [00:02:00] if we're struggling with certain concepts in the elementary music classroom, I highly encourage you to seek out solutions for that.
[00:02:07] Bryson Tarbet: Uh, I know that every state is different to that. You know, I know in New York you like have to have a master's degree after so many years. Uh, here in Ohio it's not that. You know, you could just get CEUs and keep on going with your bachelors forever. Um, but I think there's always going to be a drawback, and I think it's important for us to remind, remember that there are going to be seasons in your life where you are going to have the opportunity, the time, and, and the financial freedom to seek new information and there's going to be times where you just have to do the thing so you keep your license, right?
[00:02:38] Bryson Tarbet: Um, I know that in my district I would get CEUs, um, for all of the professional development that my district offered. However, none of that professional development was Elementary music. A lot of it was good context, right? Things about, um, social emotional learning and trauma informed teaching and de escalation.
[00:02:57] Bryson Tarbet: Things like that. Like, that's important. But the reality is, [00:03:00] is there was no new music information. So, often as teachers, even if you're in a big school district, you're probably going to have to do a lot of this work yourself. You're going to have to seek out this information. You're going to have to request a release day on a PD so you can go observe someone.
[00:03:14] Bryson Tarbet: Or, you know, start a master's program and things like that. My challenge for you is for you to First of all, just notice what season of your life you're in. If you are not at the point where, you know, if you just had, uh, if you have two under two at home and you are just struggling to get by, just busyness wise, starting a master's degree is not going to be helpful.
[00:03:35] Bryson Tarbet: Um, you're, you know, but, so at that point, you know, if your license is coming expired, you might need to be able, you just kind of do the, do what, do what's easy and do what's, what's Now, with that being said, I also think there's a time where we have to realize that we might have to go against the grain a little bit and push back and say, you know what?
[00:03:57] Bryson Tarbet: The PD that my district is offering me really [00:04:00] isn't helping me grow completely as a music educator. I need something more. So that might mean, you know, I've gone to my administrator before and said, Hey, like on this PD day, there's not really anything that's being offered that like directly applies to me.
[00:04:12] Bryson Tarbet: Can I go observe someone? Teach in another district. Um, and I have, I've had really good success with that being approved. Um, and I, I think that that could be a good conversation to have, especially if you're in a small district where they're not offering anything for the arts teachers. Uh, but also just thinking about, you know, if you want to start a master's degree, why do you want the master's degree?
[00:04:31] Bryson Tarbet: Are you getting a master's because you just want a pay bump? Is it because you have to or you lose your teaching license? Um, Well, both of those actually might be true as well. Or are you really looking for, you know, really concentrated information on elementary music or whatever you're looking to do next, right?
[00:04:47] Bryson Tarbet: And I think that if your answer is you want to learn more about pedagogy and sequencing and things like that, that we should look more for a specialized master's program. Or even if you're, you know, going to something [00:05:00] like Vanderbilt College of Music, they have their MECA program, which is. Um, which is pretty cool, I have to say, um, is, you know, those are things where you can get graduate credit, but they're specifically for elementary music, or they actually, you know, with Vandercook, they're not just elementary music, there's all kinds of different music education things, um, so there are opportunities that are not a master's degree that Well, our specific in music education, um, for instance, the elementary music summit.
[00:05:25] Bryson Tarbet: Now we are working on something new for July. I can't tell you anything about it yet, but we're working on something new, um, to maybe make it a little bit more worth your time. Uh, but even if, you know, right now we can offer a certificate of, of attendance. So depending on your district and your school and your state, you might be able to use that for CEUs.
[00:05:43] Bryson Tarbet: Um, so if that's the case, we'd love to have you. Uh, if it's not the case, we'd still love to have you, but. Uh, I think it's important for us to realize and to, to just try new things sometimes, right? Um, I, I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm the type of person that just wants to [00:06:00] absorb as much information as I can.
[00:06:02] Bryson Tarbet: Um, you know, I started my master's degree right after my first year of teaching just because I wanted more. Um, and at this point I'm just, I'm making myself not, not start another degree because I know who I am as a person and I know that I will start another degree and I need to not do that right now.
[00:06:17] Bryson Tarbet: But even if you're not that type of person, even if you're the person that you're like, you know what? I'm kind of where I want to be, even if it's just like a class or going to, you know, your state MEA conference and going to a couple sessions that maybe are a little bit out of your, out of your comfort zone.
[00:06:34] Bryson Tarbet: Maybe if you're not really into movement, go to one or a Dow Crow session or a folk dancing session and just learn something new. Even if you don't. So if you decide to use that in your classroom, you'll have that context, you'll have that understanding that that kind of in the background that you can use, and you might even learn something that's not directly related to the subject of the workshop that will be helpful in your classroom.
[00:06:57] Bryson Tarbet: So I again, this is another short episode [00:07:00] because we are. Right in the thick of the elementary music summit. Um, or actually, but at this point, when it comes out, we might have, it might be over. I don't know. Uh, but as I'm recording, we are right in the thick of getting everything ready. Um, and I wanted to, I just wanted to share some thoughts because professional development is not the same.
[00:07:15] Bryson Tarbet: There are some opportunities that are just going to be more impactful than others. And then there are some times where you're going to have to fight for that. Right. Um, and I, I think that's important for us to acknowledge. So with that being said. Thank you so much for listening. We'd love for you to leave a review on iTunes or leave a comment on here.
[00:07:30] Bryson Tarbet: If you're on YouTube watching us and regardless, thank you so much for joining us. And in case nobody has told you lately, thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of the students that you [00:08:00] teach.
