Chaotic Harmony

In this episode, we talk with Melissa Salguero, an incredible music educator at P.S.48 Joseph R. Drake Elementary School in the South Bronx. She has built the music program from the ground up and has raised over $200,000 for her music program. Salguero was honored as the Lincoln Center Arts Teacher of the Year in 2013. In 2014, after P.S. 48 suffered a break-in, Salguero was invited to represent t...

Ondrya Leavitt has been teaching in our district long enough to see music programs come and go along with changes in funding. Her story is one of a teacher who knows how to pivot when things change. Learn from how she takes care of her physical and mental wellbeing while being an excellent teacher. Spiccato: Antique Fan Pull Round of the Week: Here I Sit and Wait for You tags: music education, iro...

In this episode Christa Crawford Valency, music teacher at Discovery Charter School, joined us. We talked about how Christa’s teaching career has interwoven with Zoe & Marc, how having a strong community really is so important and how as a teacher we need to remind ourselves and our students that “we can do hard things.” Spiccato: Bag of Colored Pencils Quarantine Song of the Week: Count On Me Our...

This week we have back with us, the best Arts Administrator in the World, Lauren Shelton. Lauren is the coordinator of visual and performing arts in the Chula Vista Elementary School District. We talked about the realities facing arts educators now and in the future advocating why are the arts important, and taking care of the social and emotional needs of ourselves and the people around us. Spicc...

In this week’s episode Crystal, Jon, Marc and Zoe talk to therapist Noelle Vitor about trauma and strategies to cope with the anxiety we are all living with daily. She has great insight from a brain science perspective for us to process the change and uncertainty we are facing. She recommends "The Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook," which you can download for free here: https://thewellnesssociety.org/w...

This week, Victoria Boler joins us to talk about how to prioritize content and speak to administrators during distance learning. While none of us have landed on a system that feels perfect quite yet, we are slowly finding practices that work for our schools. Quarantine Song of the Week: Crystal sings Woody Guthrie’s “Pick it Up” Spiccato: What have you found around your house to make homemade inst...

In this week’s episode Crystal, Jon, Marc and Zoe realize that it has been over forty days since they started sheltering-in-place. They check-in with each other, distance learning/teaching about the realness of Imposter’s Syndrome. Quarantine Round of the Week: Marc ‘I Got a Letter’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rul7DFPszk Spiccato: Find things to use in your house for rhythm sticks in 30 secon...

It’s now Week 4 since we’ve been sheltered-in-place and our second update on how we’re coping with being in quarantine. Each of us gives 2 stars and 1 wish: 2 things we’re enjoying and 1 thing we wish was different—from the personal life to the world outside. Spiccato: Chalk Feature of the Week: Sevens In the end of the episode, we gave out some shoutouts to groups, charities, and organizations th...

This week we're not letting social distancing from stopping us! Join us on a Zoom meeting as we talk about navigating distance learning, share our struggles with virtual choir creations, and our attempts at reaching our students during the pandemic. Spiccato: Drumming with stuff in your house! Round of the Week: Morning Has Come Our Social Media: @CHClassroom Marc Keehmer: @mrKeehmer Zoe Kumagai:...

COVID-19 has hit us all in multiple ways. In this episode, we talk about how it has affected us as music teachers and individuals, how we plan to cope with it all, and what we intend to do for ourselves and the community abroad. We are all suffering together, so join in the conversation. Spiccato: Toilet Paper Round of the Week: Alleluia #COVID #COVID19 #CoronaVirus19 #RemoteLearning #MusicEducati...

This week, Marc, Zoe, Jon, and Crystal take you along for the ride as they teach. You'll hear their real time thoughts as they experience a normal teaching day, deal with challenges, lead concerts, and talk to parents. Spiccato: Giant Dice Round of the Week: Companero Our Social Media: @CHClassroom Marc Keehmer: @mrKeehmer Zoe Kumagai: @msKumagai Crystal Pridmore: @FinneyVAPA Jonathan Seligman: @m...

This week, Feaster music educator Steve Pandis shares his unique story. Going from being a touring professional musician to in the classroom, Steve shares the importance of having fun. You don’t neglect the theory and the hard stuff, but you still have fun. Spiccato: Toy Skateboard Round of the Week: I Love the Mountains Our Social Media: @CHClassroom Marc Keehmer: @mrKeehmer Zoe Kumagai: @msKumag...

This week, we wrestle and discuss the hard topic: what do you do with music that has words and themes stemmed from racist backgrounds? Do we dig our heels and stick with it? Do we just change the words? Or do we stop and choose different songs? Why ought we need to consider different songs? There are so many questions that we tackle and address gracefully. Aimee Curtis Pfitzner comes in as a guest...

This week, we interview Mister Rogers—Jesse Rogers! Jesse shares his journey, from middle/high school to elementary, the changes between the differing educational styles, and what we have to learn from each other. Spiccato: Toothless Round of the Week: Dona Nobis Pacem Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @FinneyVAPA & @mrsPridmore Jonathan Seligman — @mrSeligman...

Life happens during teaching. In this episode, we talk about the hard moments of life that we had to wrestle with amidst wrestling. Some partitioned our feelings. Some leaned in. Spiccato: Octopus Toy Round of the Week: The Bell Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @FinneyVAPA & @mrsPridmore Jonathan Seligman — @mrSeligman Marc Keehmer — @mrKeehmer Zoe Kumagai —...

This week, we interview Caitlin Mehta, a new CVESD music teacher. Here, she shares her narrative of teaching in Canada, traveling around the world, and how El Sistema has vastly affected how she teaches. Spiccato: Slinky Round of the Week: Chairs to Mend Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @FinneyVAPA & @mrsPridmore Jonathan Seligman — @mrSeligman Marc Keehmer —...

If you hold concerts, you know how it is. There’s a cycle of emotions as you start from planning the concert to the end—and it’s a rollercoaster from point A to B. This week, we talk about our experience tackling the cycle and what we’ve learned over the year. Spiccato: Cotton balls Round of the Week: Goodnight to You All Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @Fin...

This week, interview with Maya Diaz, one of the first music teachers in Chula Vista. Here, Maya shares her story on perseverance, building multiple music programs, and the importance of being present. Spiccato: Shoe string Round of the Week: C-O-F-F-E-E Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @FinneyVAPA & @mrsPridmore Jonathan Seligman — @mrSeligman Marc Keehmer —...

Planning can be overwhelming when you teach 14 classes and 7 grade levels- or more! How do you organize your schedule, routine, and still make time to reflect and grow in your teaching? Crystal, Hans, and Zoe talk about what has worked or not over their careers. Spiccato: stretch and share Round of the Week: Peace Round Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHClassroom Crystal Pridmore — @Finne...

Hans Chamberlain shares his story of growing up in Chula Vista, teaching music on his own for many years, and helping to grow the CVESD music program to its current form. He grew up in a musical family and had many music opportunities outside of school. He's excited to provide access to in-school music opportunities for his students now. He shares some of his ideas for growing programs from the gr...

One of the main themes of this year's AOSA Conference was diversity and inclusion. This is a huge topic that we are discussing honestly and imperfectly in this episode. What does diversity and inclusion look like in our classrooms, curriculum, leadership organizations, and counties? We touch on the types of inclusion and diversity issues that have touched us directly, and hash out our ideas for co...

Jon Seligman, Crystal Pridmore, and Sasha Stone share memories and experiences from the 2019 AOSA Professional Development Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. 8 CVESD music teachers shared a house for the weekend, and many new friends were made! From ukulele jams in the living room to family dinners to incredible conference sessions, this weekend was one that will stay with us for many years. We c...

Teachers take care of everyone else first and often neglect their own care. Today we tackle the subject and share openly about our own struggles to find balance and peace while managing the ups and downs of teaching hundreds of students. Spiccato: Stretching and sharing how self care over fall break worked for us Round of the Week: The Star Wars round! Follow us on Twitter! Chaotic Harmony — @CHCl...

Victoria Boler (wemakethemusic.org) shares her journey into becoming an elementary music teacher, and her method to educating her parents and administrators about the value of music education. She shares practical tips for planning lessons, performances, and assessments, and we have plenty of great laughs along the way! Be sure to visit her website to find her resources, many of which are offered...

Classroom management looks different for a music teacher with hundreds of students than it does for a general ed teacher with 20-30. How do you create a warm, safe, well managed music classroom when you process hundreds of students through the classroom every single week? Using a combination of different classroom management systems, keeping the focus on teacher/student relationship as much as pos...