Conversations with an Elementary Music Teacher
Part 1: School Concerts in the Time of COVID
By Gregg Ritchie, McGraw Hill Curriculum Specialist
As an educational consultant for McGraw Hill, I have always particularly enjoyed the aspect of my job that takes me back into classrooms to work with both teachers and students alike. This provides invaluable insight into current learning trends and instructional shifts that may be happening within education that I wouldn’t otherwise be aware of, or understand as well, if not having been directly in the classrooms.
The global pandemic has limited how much I, and others, have been able to do this important work of making observations, having in-person collaborative workshops, or joining together at conferences, sharing and learning with each other.
I recently got to sit down with Kelly Lynch, who is in her eighth year of teaching elementary music in the Lubbock Independent School District in Lubbock, Texas. Kelly received her bachelor’s degree in music education from Texas Tech University, where she also completed graduate work, as well as at Portland State University. Additionally, she is on staff with the highly-respected West Texas Children’s Chorus and National Children’s Chorus. I visited with Kelly because I wanted to get a glimpse into the life of a first-rate teacher, to better understand the challenges and realities with which she and others are now faced.
Kelly was generous with her time, and kind enough to open up about her particular situation as one who teaches every child in the school, with a schedule and expectations that frequently change. Kelly shared with me adaptations she has made to accommodate for those changes and provided first-hand insight into the renewed necessity for quality music education and its powerful connection to social emotional learning.
This interview has been divided into three parts. Enjoy Part 1 below, and look for Part 2 and 3 in the weeks to come!
Gregg: Thank you so much for talking with me for this, Kelly! So, you’re at the start of a holiday break. Does this mean you recently directed a school program to end the year?
Kelly: I did, and it was the first concert I had since the pandemic began in March 2020. I’m remembering things like — I have to setup all the chairs and arrange for a sound system. I need get help with the risers… just so much to do!
Gregg: The reason you didn’t have concerts in the past, was that a choice you made because there would have been so many limitations on what you could do that it wouldn’t have been worth it? Or, was the school saying, “absolutely no concerts”?
Kelly: That was a decision between me and my principal at the time. At the time, she and I thought we didn’t need to have four hundred people in the gym all together. I know a lot of people recorded performances and sent them out to parents. We decided not to do that as it was like, can we just get through the day today and have fun with the kids, and not put any pressure on them for something that’s performance-quality?
Gregg: Was that decision well-received or did you get pressure to have concerts regardless?
Kelly: We didn’t get any pressure, and that comes with the territory of the kids that I teach, that their parents were also in survival mode. I teach at a Title One school, and so concerts weren’t on their priority list.
Gregg: Last year, at your school, did every child have a choice to be in-person or attend school virtually?
Kelly: Yes. It was different across the district, I would say we were about 50/50, and then it became more in-person, as the school year went on. There were some schools that were more 70/30 with more kids at home, and some schools were at full capacity in-person. It is really interesting because we have a wide variety of socio-economic status in this district.
Last year, another music teacher recorded the lessons that she was teaching in-person, and then would send them out to the kids in the virtual school. So, they didn’t actually receive true interactive music instruction, but at least it was something. Similarly, I would have the kids in the classroom, kids on a computer, and then for the entire year we also had some special needs students who came on Zoom every day with their parents. So, it was sort of all over the place.
Gregg: And this year, are you 100% in-person?
Kelly: Yes.
Gregg: Back to the concert you just had, would you say it was more of a positive, or more a challenge to pull off?
Kelly: It was positive for the kids, but weird. Many students and adults were like “oh, everything is back to normal,” and I think a lot of times we don’t talk about the aspect of it not being normal for kids to have not performed in any capacity. For instance, they don’t even know how to stand still. Many don’t know how to not talk, because they’re nervous. Performing music teaches these things. Their parents had a good time watching them, but they were definitely different on stage than from my experience in the past.
Gregg: Those are indeed skills that need to be taught.
Kelly: Right. I think it was more challenging for me, but everyone else was like “oh, this is just like we’re just back to normal.” This particular program was for 3rd and 4th grade, but they were in 1st or 2nd grade two years ago, and I didn’t do a program with them then because of the pandemic, and it was also my first year at this campus.
Look for Part 2 and Part 3 of this interview, coming soon!
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