Music Education Memoirs: A Podcast

Hi Donald

Congratulations! What a great initiative and an area which most certainly would benefit greatly from a call to action. As someone who has grown up learning and playing music, it doesn't feature enough in my teaching practice. I am looking forward to listening to the podcast and gaining insight from these stories of impact.

Thanks so much for your kind comments, Mary! We don't often make time for introspective reflection, but when we do, we can discover new ripples that have transformed our lives in small ways (or large) that become monumental in our development as humans. I hope that listeners will begin to trace their paths through life back to experiences such as participation in school music programs (or athletics, or clubs, etc.) and consider the impact those experiences have made on their lives.

What a great reflective activity this could be; to trace our lives backwards in a timeline, analyzing our development very much as Malcolm Gladwell writes about others in his great book Outliers. 💡

Exactly! It is so important to pause, slow down and take the time to reflect. I do love a journal! Introspective reflection can unveil the profound impact of our experiences and how moments, like participating in school programs, can shape us significantly.

Your suggestion to trace our paths backward, akin to Gladwell's insights, is a great idea! Interesting what is says on the blurb about his book:

"His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing."

I think I may need to read this book!