Teen Girls and Nutrition

May 17, 2021 | Blog

This is such a huge subject and it’s not likely to hit everything in one post but I want to open the discussion since the topic has been swirling around since…forever.  I finally decided to write about it because I’ve now talked with two friends whose...

Teens Need ZZZZZZZZs

May 9, 2021 | Blog, Teen Culture

This week, I encountered two music students who were not their usual “on-the-ball selves” during their private lessons.  After observing them make a few mistakes that they normally wouldn’t make and a whole lot of yawning, I asked each girl if she was...

Reflections from “COVID Conversations”

Mar 1, 2021 | Blog

This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a small group of middle school girls in a “COVID Conversations” workshop. It was my first student workshop that was health-related, rather than music-related. I was excited and nervous but ready. You see, I had finally...

How much news coverage is too much for my teenager?

Feb 20, 2021 | Blog

This is a touchy subject right now because “news” is everywhere and not all of it is reliable! While we want to raise informed kids, it’s important to monitor the constant stream of information, much of it negative, that comes their way.  The answer to that...

The Joy of Participation

Feb 10, 2021 | Blog

As I practiced my clarinet today, I had a thought that gave me pause: Many kids today are stuck in a cycle of activities that they would enjoy more if they weren’t always feeling like they had to be “the best” at it.  What happened to doing something for the joy...

A New Beginning

Feb 1, 2021 | Blog

I’ve been teaching the clarinet for 32 years.  Like all new educators, I wasn’t great at first and there were bumps in the road, lessons learned, and things I wished I could do over.  But over time, as I grew into a confident and creative teacher, I...