Keep learning — Join a Connecting Canada session.
Connecting Canada Year-Round – An Invitation from CFMTA for Coffee, Conversation and
Connections!
Submitted by Barb Levorson (Connecting Canada Year-Round Committee)
The privilege of watching our students learn and grow is one of the greatest joys of our profession. What a delight to hear a lift of a phrase, the graceful turn of an ornament, to see a face light up when the mystery of the music is unlocked. The process of learning is a gift, and one to be treasured.
The gift of learning is one that we, as teachers, also deserve to receive. Central to our energy and expertise is the knowledge base acquired over many years, and each experience we have enriches our pedagogical fitness.
Some of our own learning happens in the daily impartment of our current knowledge, and some comes from professional development to inspire us to become learners again. CFMTA provides free monthly chats called Connecting Canada Year-Round (CCYR) to teachers across our country on a wide range of topics, from pedagogy to child development to studio and business management. These chats are hosted by Laura Gray (Past President, CFMTA), Dina Pollock (Chair of CCYR and Webmaster) and myself, and we welcome teachers to learn, share and mentor each other every month.
Some of our past topics have been Digital Music, The Goldilocks Studio and the Hurried Child, Keyboard Harmony, Speech Arts, Diversifying Your Income, Racism in Music, Fun with Music History, Online Teaching Tech, and many more diverse subjects! We present a wide array of topics of interest to teachers of varying instruments. In addition, each month we select a piece of piano music for pedagogical discussion and teaching approaches.
CCYR Chats are usually on the third Thursday of each month at noon EST, and they are scheduled August to November and January to May. Upcoming topics will include The Goldilocks Student (How to find – or let go – of the right student), Speech Arts Part 2, and Teaching Children with Learning and Physical Challenges (including EDS). We strive to choose topics that will be of broad interest and to encourage discussion and participation.
For October, CCYR will host the winning composers from the Canadian Composition Competition in advance of Canada Music Week. It is an opportunity to meet the composers and hear their inspiration for their pieces. This is a wonderful way to enthuse your students to take greater joy and meaning from a piece.
I look forward to seeing my Saskatchewan colleagues at our next CCYR Chat on October 23 – look for the Zoom invitation by email from CFMTA. I also look forward to seeing you on October 24 and 25 in Saskatoon for our provincial conference. As professionals, we work hard to make learning fun and enjoyable for our students – let’s make learning a priority for us as well!
