North Carolina Music Educator Journal Summer 2021

Middle School Choral
Carla Reid, Chair
Whew! What a year! The 2020 – 2021 school year
presented many challenges and different situations
for all educators, but I think music educators were
significantly challenged by COVID-19. The mitigation strategies
for singing and playing instruments affected us all and made us
change everything about the way we do our jobs. Not only were we
asked to change our methods, but what we teach, what we believe
in our souls to be important in the lives of our students suddenly
became dangerous and potentially life-threatening. But, guess
what? Music is still alive! You all are the most resilient people on
the planet!!! Together, we have worked through many difficulties
and created meaningful music education experiences for the
students.
As I reflect on the year, I have thought about how different
the experiences have been for each of us. Some of us have been
teaching in person all year. Some of us were remote most or all of
the year. Many went back to school in person with all students in
“plan A” this spring. In some counties, singing was only permitted
outside, others could sing inside with masks, social distancing,
and for 30 minutes at a time. Others were not permitted to sing at
all. Some were able to present in-person concerts, others created
virtual choirs. Even though many of our experiences were different,
I believe we each have five important things in common:
Change – Everyone experienced change over the past 18
months. Our daily lives were interrupted; we had to change how
we lived each day overnight. No more going out to eat, no more
going to the movies or amusement parks. We had to change how
we teach. Many of us (myself included) had to go way outside
our comfort zones to learn new technology in order to provide
music education for our students. We had to give up annual field
trips, Honor’s Chorus, All-State Chorus, MPA, and in-person
Professional Development Conference. We learned new terms like
“social distancing” and said weird phrases like, “I like your mask!”
Adaptability – We were told we had to teach our students
through a computer screen, and we said “okay,” and we did it. They
said we can’t have live concerts, so we created virtual ones. One
minute we are teaching in a remote setting and the next minute,
school officials decided to send the students back to physical
schools, and once again, we have to adapt. As I write this, things
I know to be true right now will change before this article is
published, and yet again, we will adapt.
Fear – We have experienced fear of the virus, fear of losing
someone we love, or fear of having life changing effects from it. We
have felt fear of losing our jobs, fear of losing our livelihoods, fear
of losing the music that has inspired us.
Loss – I’m sure each person reading this has experienced a
sense of loss during the pandemic. Many of us had to help our
students cope with the loss of a parent or a classmate, or perhaps
you are experiencing the grief of losing a loved one. We have all
lost something this year, but we are all in this together.
Hope – As I am writing this, mask restrictions are being
lifted, room capacities are being restored to 100%, businesses are
reopening to “normal” standards, and summer is beginning. Each
day, more and more people are receiving the vaccine and we are
hopeful that we are reaching a new sense of normalcy. Things will
never be the same, but there are good things on the horizon. We
are planning an in-person Professional Development Conference
and Honor’s Chorus in November. We are hopeful to restore MPA
and All-State Chorus in the spring.
We will never be the same after what we have experienced, but I
believe we will come through this stronger and better than before.
Stay strong, get some rest, read a book, try something new this
summer, and get ready for better days. The best is yet to come!
Online Master’s Degree
in Music Education
East Carolina University® established the online MM in music
education program in 2004, making it the oldest online music
education curriculum in North Carolina.
Master of Music distance education classes are taught by the
same excellent East Carolina University School of Music faculty
that teach campus-based students.
For more information, contact Dr. Jay Juchniewicz, Coordinator
of Graduate Studies, at juchniewiczj@ecu.edu or 252-328-1251,
or visit ecu.edu/music.
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