Introduction

Here is the Crescendo Music Education Podcast – Episode 140.

This podcast is being recorded on the lands of the Turrbal people. I acknowledge them as the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. They were the first music makers on this land.

About ‘Read the Episode’: Sometimes, we would rather skim visually than listen to a podcast! That’s a great way to learn too!
The transcript of episode 140 of The Crescendo Music Education Podcast is below.

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Debbie O’Shea 

Welcome to the Crescendo Music Education Podcast Elisa Janson Jones. Hello Elisa.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Hi Debbie. It’s wonderful to be with you.

Debbie O’Shea 

If you’re watching this on YouTube, you can admire Elisa’s beautiful crisp picture and that gorgeous background, so lovely.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Thank you.

Debbie O’Shea 

Now we’re going to start the way I always do, with a brief bio, and then we’ll get into some meaty stuff, because there’s some great information I would like to mine out of your brain Elisa, okay?

Elisa’s Bio

Elisa Janson Jones 

Okay.

Debbie O’Shea 

Elisa Janson Jones is the founder of the Music Teacher Guild, a platform dedicated to supporting and elevating music educators through mentorship, resources and professional development. A passionate advocate for inclusion in music education professional learning, she empowers teachers with the tools they need to thrive. We’ll come back to that in a minute, because that inclusion piece is becoming more and more relevant in our day to day work, isn’t it? So we’ll come back to that. As a certified AI consultant Elisa specialises in integrating AI into education and business, helping individuals and organisations navigate mentorship, innovation and effective technology use.

She has designed transformative learning experiences, developed online courses and built digital communities, impacting thousands of educators worldwide. Elisa is the author of The Music Educator’s Guide to Thrive and The Music Booster Manual and was host of the Music Ed Mentor Podcast. She has presented internationally, founded the International Music Education Summit and led professional development initiatives for music teachers at all levels. She holds an MBA and is currently pursuing an Ed D in instructional design, further deepening her expertise in education and technology. Ta da.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Wow. When you list it all out like that. It’s humbling.

Debbie O’Shea 

You don’t often hear it back to you, do you and go, Oh my goodness, how have I fitted all of that in?

Elisa Janson Jones 

Yeah, it’s doing a lot at the same time, right?

Debbie O’Shea 

That’s great. That gives us a really good background and you’re in a whole lot of areas that I know are interesting for a lot of our listeners. Like, I know we’re all thinking, Where is AI taking us? I know we’re all thinking, when you’re talking inclusion are you talking about inclusion for every student? Is that the area you’re working in?

Elisa Janson Jones 

Well when I think of inclusion. I am looking at music educators.

Debbie O’Shea 

Oh so inclusion for the educators themselves?

Elisa Janson Jones 

Right because there tends to be almost a bias toward this one career path, right? You go to university, you get your bachelor’s degree, you enter the classroom, you teach for your 30 years and that’s a very traditional sort of career path. That career path can be very, very advantageous for a select population type. But nowadays, there are people who teach private lessons for years and then get a teaching credential and then enter the classroom. So they’re going through all alternative licensure programs, or maybe they’re coming from a different subject matter area and they’re getting a secondary licensure in music.

So I want to look at how can we break down any of those preconceived barriers about what it takes to be a music educator, how we were trained and instead look at the individual journey and how we can support music educators from all backgrounds, because then we’re going to be reflecting the student populations. So the more that we represent the actual population of students, the more they can see themselves in their music teachers and the more relatable we become, and the more our programs end up thriving.

So I think that’s more what I mean about inclusion, is supporting music educators, regardless of background, regardless of placement, regardless of how they got into music teaching, or even if they are just a private lesson or studio instructor, they still are on their own private lesson teaching path and maybe still need some resources too.

Debbie O’Shea 

Right, I see. I’m glad I asked that question because as a music teacher the word inclusion that floats around is usually all about including neurodiverse students but I’d never thought about it as inclusion for teacher education. But that makes complete sense and there are so many people with a different path. My path, I started as a general classroom teacher when I first graduated and went. I love this music stuff. I want to do this music stuff. I think that added a different flavour to my work as a music teacher, because I’d come from being in the classroom and I had certain skill sets in that area, so I’m right with you. That’s fabulous. Now back to your bio. Is there anything else you wanted to include or tell us about that was not in that bio?

More About Elisa

Elisa Janson Jones 

There’s a wonderful Facebook group that is called The Music Teacher Guild Forum. We have about 45,000 members, a very high activation rate. So if you are looking for a community, that is a good one. I was very pleased to be one of the co founders of that back in 2020 and we established it as a way for music industry professionals to also support music education professionals. Not a lot of communities really embrace the whole music industry as well as music education. But I see it as hand in hand. I’m a big supporter of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, which is actually an international organisation.

They host the largest music product trade show every January in Anaheim, California. I highly recommend that every music educator finds at some point the opportunity to go to the NAMM show, because it opens your eyes to all of the opportunities in the music industry.

And I think sometimes we live in our little world of music education. You can be a teacher or you can be a performer and that is it. The music industry is open to so many professions in so many ways and it’s a passion industry. So I’m a big advocate for the music industry and the way that we partner with them as music educators. Then let’s see right now, I’m training for a triathlon, so I’m doing a lot of time on the bike and running and in the pool and that is challenging.

Debbie O’Shea 

I bet you’ve never been called an overachiever.

Elisa Janson Jones 

I don’t think I’ve ever not been called an overachiever.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yeah, I’m sort of gathering that. Okay, in the show notes, we will put a link to that Facebook page. Oh, I can’t wait to dig into that myself. I’m so into Facebook. My sons say that’s because I’m a boomer. I tell them, I’m only just a boomer. Anyway, it doesn’t matter I’m a boomer to them. So I’m going to get into that Facebook page. I would love to also pop the link to NAMM into the show notes.

You’re actually the second person I’ve spoken to about that and Oh, I’d love to come myself. It sounds amazing. I don’t want you to necessarily draw better or worse comparisons, but from the other side of the world, I guess the two big conferences we hear about are the Texas Music Educators Conference and NAMM. So the difference, from my perspective, is one includes industry representation but it is for educators as well, whereas the Texas one is just music education. Is that right?

Elisa Janson Jones 

Yeah, they’re similar but also very different. So at TMEA or Texas Music Educators Association, they do have a robust exhibit hall that is full of wonderful, wonderful companies that support music educators specifically. What NAMM is that is different, now you can get PD at either one. Texas Music Educators is going to have a lot more professional development options and more professional development pathways and a lot more youth performing groups. That’s where they do their all state performances. You’re going to have more interactive sessions and things like that. NAMM also offers some professional development.

I’ve been very privileged to present both at Texas Music Educators and at NAMM. And NAMM has some good options, but they are more geared toward industry professionals. There is some music educator stuff, but a lot of it is for the industry professionals. Then you’re going to have an exhibit hall that’s 10 times the size of Texas Music Educators, because it’s almost every company in the industry, not just the ones who focus on music education. So it’s a crowded, lively, noisy party and it’s amazing. So they’re different in those aspects if that makes sense. I would never say that one is necessarily better than the other. I think they’re both phenomenal.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yes, it makes me want to go to both actually. But I do agree with you, there’s this separation between industry and education. They just don’t mix, do they? I think they should. In fact there’s quite almost a shunning of educators, some educators, for industry. Like they’re separate, they’re lining their own pockets. They’re only about profit. I care for the children. There’s actually real room for connection, I think.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Yeah, absolutely. I actually did a whole presentation about it at NAMM, not this year, but the year before. A lot of it comes down to just bias. But you have to understand that the people who work in the music industry that focus specifically on helping music educators, many of them were educators themselves. Right? That was me, lifelong educator. Ran my own private lesson studio, taught kindergarten through eighth grade like wonderful teaching background. My dad was a teacher. My daughter is about to become a music teacher.

So you have people like me and then I have also done stints in the music industry. But that doesn’t take away from the music industry people, yes, they have to make money, that’s what they’re there for. But that’s not their primary purpose. Many of them could be making much more money in other industries, but because they are passionate about music education, they are more supportive and you’re going to be able to nurture relationships far longer term with music industry professionals.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yes, I like that. So I think that’s something that we could all start to think about, even in our own schools and our own situations. Yeah, time to crack open those minds a little bit. Yeah, I like it. Before we get into your Music Ed Mentor and the Music Teacher Guild, I like to ask all my guests about gratitude. I think it’s an important aspect of keeping our feet on the ground and so I would love you to tell our listeners, for what are you most grateful Elisa?

Elisa’s Gratitude

Elisa Janson Jones 

I 100% agree with you. Having a gratitude practice is something I highly recommend. Dedicating time every day just to gratitude. If I had to pinpoint one thing, it’s that I’m in good health. I think taking care of our health is the number one thing that we have to do as humans and especially as teachers, is to take care of our health, because if we’re low energy, we are not as effective as we could be as educators. If we’re out of the classroom because we’re having health issues our classroom time and our students can suffer from that.

So right now, I am extremely grateful to be in excellent health. I’m still recovering actually from a mountain bike injury that happened last July. So I have, you can’t see it, but I have tape on my shoulder and everything. But I’m just so grateful that I’m still able to get out there. That I’m very healthy. I don’t have to have doctors care for anything and I can just be my best self.

Debbie O’Shea 

That is wonderful. Do you have any quick tips for keeping healthy as a busy music teacher? I know you weren’t expecting that question, but you’re obviously moving and being physical. That’s obviously important to you. You’ve mentioned triathlons and your mountain bike and so moving is important. Any other quick tips?

Elisa’s Health Tips

Elisa Janson Jones 

Yeah, it’s sleep, Not just sleep quantity but sweet sleep quality really matters. One of my favourite tips to give is to plan your day the night before. So before you close your eyes to go to sleep, get that next day planned. Understand what you’re going to be doing, so that you don’t wake up with the monkey mind in the middle of the night going, oh, I need to remember that. Oh, I need to remember that thing. You already have it planned, which gives you a much more peaceful, restful time. Detox from your phone every chance you get, read before bed to help calm your mind. For me, it comes down to obviously exercise and movement.

That’s for the good endorphins and oxytocin and serotonin and all of those good things. I found my best teaching days were the days when I would ride my bike to school and it was about 10 miles. So it was about an hour of cycling and I would get there and change my clothes and prepare for teaching and those were the days when I was most emotionally stable, nothing could phase me. I was always very happy and calm and it really makes a difference.

So exercise, of course nutrition, I’m very careful about my own nutrition, because I care deeply about my health and my stamina and my immune system. We forget that nutrition isn’t just about fueling our body for energetic reasons. It’s also strengthening our immune system, strengthening our cognitive system. So yeah, does that help?

Debbie O’Shea 

Oh, wonderful. I agree with all of that. I’m with you. I can second almost all of those things. Wonderful. Now I would like you to tell us about Music Ed Mentor and The Music Teacher Guild because I will confess they’re new to me, so they’re possibly new to some of my listeners. So could you tell us a little about them? And you created them both, I think, from your bio? So also, what led you to create them?

Music Ed Mentor and The Music Teacher Guild

Elisa Janson Jones 

Sure? So I’ll start back in the very start of my career, it was actually in music industry. I worked my way through college working at a music store, so I had all of these wonderful relationships with the teachers who were my customers at the music store and then I was able to enter the classroom myself. I thought I knew about the business side of running a robust school music program, it’s like running a small business. I did not.

I thought if somebody like me whose dad was a music educator, who worked in music industry for six years to put myself through school. Yes, it took me that long to get my first music degree. If it took me and I still struggled with the business side of things, how much more do other people struggle? So when I went back to school for my master’s degree, that’s why I did a degree in business, because I felt like I knew how to teach music. It was all the other stuff I needed help with.

So then I started doing business consulting for solopreneurs and digital product people and local people. It was a lot of word of mouth and I realised I wanted to take what I had learned in my business consulting career and help music educators with the business side of their program. So that’s when I started Music Ed Mentor, which is a podcast that helps music educators build, manage and grow thriving school music programs and have long and happy careers.

So we don’t talk a lot about curriculum or classroom management strategies or different resources or things like that. Those do come up in the conversations, but it’s largely geared around working with your local music store and how to develop a lifestyle that helps you truly thrive. So the podcast was kind of the start of that. I started doing a lot of workshops, national, international, regional, state workshops and conference presentations. I partnered with the Make Music organisation for the podcast.

If you’re looking for the podcast, we haven’t published anything in a while, so you’ll want to find it on YouTube. That’s where you can find all 96 or 100 episodes, or whatever it is and a lot of them still hold up. We did that from 2016 through 2021 so there’s some pandemicesk episodes in there, which I think are actually still very poignant with the way the world is right now as well. So looking at that and then, of course, I thought, what else? What else can I do? So that’s when I wrote The Music Educators Guide to Thrive, which is about how to create a lifestyle like an entrepreneur and thus be healthy and happy.

Then I wrote The Music Booster Manual and Best Practices in Music Education. Then I thought, what we need is actually a better way for music educators to access professional development. I live in western Colorado, in a small town and the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference on a good day in the winter when they host it, is about a seven hour drive over the Rocky Mountains, often in snow, which meant that getting there in person is a real commitment.

Not just to mention the registration fees and the time and the hotel, they hold it at this beautiful resort that’s $250 a night, $20 a plate for a meal. It’s just it’s a big commitment, in addition to that extra day of travel each way. Many music educators aren’t going and yet we need that professional learning. So I created the International Music Education Summit, which I no longer run, a wonderful woman named Daphne Wright does, she’s wonderful.

They are hosting it again this year, but it allowed me to tap into many of those wonderful podcast guests that I’d had on from all over the world and they became the conference presenters and we hosted a three day live streamed Professional Development Conference and this was three years before the pandemic. So of course, when everybody was shut down and we all had to quickly pivot to remote learning, I was fortunately very poised to be able to help many people through that process due to all the online learning stuff that I’d been doing.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yes, so you had come to that early. You were ready.

Elisa Janson Jones 

I was grateful to be in a position to be able to use my experience to help my peers and colleagues. That’s really what it came down to. Along those same lines, I still see myself as somebody who is able to design systems that raise other people like you up Debbie, you and your wonderful experience and 40 years and your huge heart and the way that you help so many people with the things that you’re doing. So I think, what else can I do? Right? So I did a few years working for the Conn Selmer Corporation, which was great.

It built my stronger network of music industry people. I left there about a year and a half ago and started The Music Teacher Guild. So that’s why you haven’t heard of it, because we’ve only been around for a year and I started it to initiate a robust mentorship network that music educators from around the world could get onto the website, could find a vetted, experienced and well trained mentor. So I vet the mentors, I train them on how to be wonderful mentors. Then they’re available for booking on the website.

You just go on there and there’s a little category filter. You can find and connect with a mentor there and request a 15 minute alignment call just to make sure it’s a good fit and then you can decide what that mentorship relationship looks like. So we started with that and a community. So I already mentioned the Facebook community. We have another community that’s off Facebook for non Boomer types, that’s categorising me also as a boomer.

Debbie O’Shea 

You’re obviously not, but go on!

Elisa Janson Jones 

Maybe I have the heart of a boomer. Let’s go with that. Anyway we have one that’s off of Facebook. It’s connected to our learning management system, where we can deliver online courses and things like that. So we have a course that is on funding and finance, specifically for professional development funding, but a lot of the stuff I built into that course could be used for any type of funding, for grant applications, award applications, finding local funding.

I feel really passionate about that right now as at least in the US, a lot of programs are looking at funding cuts and potential job losses, which is unfortunate. But we can’t advocate if we don’t have the tools and the know how to do so. Which somebody with marketing and PR, public relations experience and accounting experience, like you’re going to know how to do those things. So what I’ve done with this online course is built in all of the templates and methodologies and everything that I’ve learned. I didn’t mention this, I’m almost always on some kind of nonprofit board as well.

So right now, I’m on the board of the Colorado Brass Band, so I’ve done more than a decade and a half in the nonprofit space as well. So how can we get more funding? That’s what the Music Booster Manual is all about, of course, that’s included free in this online course and right now that course is totally free to access.

I think we’re going to end up paywalling it at some point, but we haven’t done that yet. And we actually have a workshop on April 30 that is a totally free Funding and Finance workshop, so that we can start to empower music educators with the tools that they need to powerfully advocate for funding and for sustaining their careers.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yes, that sounds amazing. Obviously, we’re going to put the links in the show notes to all of these things and actually this episode won’t be out until after your workshop. So when I get those links, I’ll send them out in my newsletters and things as well, because it does sound like something we need to be more aware of. I know within our state system here in in Queensland, in Australia and many of us, we don’t have to worry too much about money.

We do have to fight for even sometimes $1 in our budget, but our job has been moderately safe until the last 10-15 years, we’ve been facing some fairly big attrition and other states are even worse than our Queensland situation. So I do believe, the more we know about saving our jobs and it may be connected to finance, even if it’s more political. Like in our situation, it’s more a political thing than a money thing. But the political thing is based on money, isn’t it?

Elisa Janson Jones 

Yes and we cover all of that in the course, as well as what kind of data that you need to collect to make a strong case. So even if it’s not about money, even if it’s about well I want this after school program or I want this new curriculum because I think we should be doing more modern band in my school. It does cost some money for us to get books and things like that. The templates that I’ve created cover all of that. So hopefully it will be of good use and we will record the presentations from the Funding and Finance workshop and we’re going to include those in the online course as well.

Debbie O’Shea 

I love that so much. Count me in. I will register and I’ll send that out. I think that’s something that we all should be more aware of and apply for grants and just get out there and tell the world how incredibly important what we do is. I was going to talk to you later about advocacy, but this sounds like the best thing you could do for advocacy. Get in and get some of this information to help you.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Don’t be shy about asking for what it is that you want or need. I think we come into this career with such a humility mindset that, oh, I don’t want to toot my own horn, being a French horn player that’s never been a problem for me. But we don’t want the attention to be honest, it’s on our students, it’s on our program, it’s on all of this. But one of the best ways that you can advocate for yourself is to apply for awards, right? If you get a Grammy Award or some sort of recognition, that is one of the best things that you can do to advocate for your program.

Debbie O’Shea 

Yes. Oh, it’s so lovely to hear you say that. Last year Deb and I jointly were awarded a national Kodály award. Then the year before that, the Australian Music Educators, ASME, we won an award for that too. And I thought it’s not actually about me, it’s about telling the world how what we do is super important. So I love to hear you say that.

Elisa Janson Jones 

100%.

Debbie O’Shea 

I don’t like people going, Oh, it’s all about you. No, it’s all about what we do and the power of what we do.

Elisa Janson Jones 

Absolutely, congratulations on those honours.

Debbie O’Shea 

Oh, thank you very much. Okay, see now I’m feeling like I’m just big noting myself, stop it. Debbie, stop it.

Sign-Off

Thank you for joining me for this podcast. Don’t forget, you’ll find the show notes and transcript and all sorts of information on crescendo.com.au. If you’ve enjoyed the podcast or found it valuable, you might like to rate it on your podcast player and leave a review. I’d really appreciate it if you did. All I can be as the best version of me. All you can do is be the best you. Until next time, bye.

Just for Laughs

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Links Mentioned in the Episode:

📜 Crescendo Music Education Podcast | Episode 140

Where to find me:

• The Stalagmite Effect: How Small, Consistent Actions Build Extraordinary Lives by Debbie O’Shea https://www.balboapress.com/en-AU/bookstore/bookdetails/865572-the-stalagmite-effect
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