As June wraps up, many music teachers are finishing another teaching year. We may be slightly exhausted. There may be feelings of relief. We’ve made it through another year. With the end in sight, we’re already anticipating what it’ll be like to have time all to ourselves. Before we close the door after the last student’s lesson, let’s do something often overlooked but valuable:
CELEBRATE!
Take a moment to celebrate making it through tough days and remarkable moments. Let's acknowledge that it takes a lot of patience, insight, and imagination for music teachers to support students in music making explorations that inspire them.
Here are two reasons to celebrate your teaching year:
1. We empower students for music making across their entire lifespan.
At this time of the year, take a moment to celebrate how music teachers have the opportunity to shape what students do musically today and long into the future. We have an incredible influence on how students feel about music for the long term. Every time we help students experience something more about their own musical journey, it’s amazing to think how it all lives on in our students as they move forward. Every moment of connection, every bit of musical understanding, every challenge navigated - these are moments at the heart of Teach Music 21C. It’s our way of supporting our students for a lifespan of music making. We help our students explore the gift of lifelong music making and know that music is a vital part of who they are.
2. We embrace changes to our teaching.
A lot can happen with our teaching over the course of one year. We might begin the year relying on familiar methods and end it having taken small steps into new territory. Maybe we experimented with strategies that put student own choice front and center. Maybe we rethought how we give feedback—less correction, more conversation. Or perhaps we discovered the power of shared reflection, stepping back and inviting students to make decisions, take risks, and find their own musical voice.
Changes might feel small and uncomfortable in the moment, but over time, they reshape and strengthen our teaching. Teaching music in the 21st century calls us to be responsive, thoughtful, and deeply human. Here at Teach Music 21C, we celebrate teaching with curiosity, listening as much as we instruct. Our evolution as music teachers matters - so take a moment to notice it, name it, and honour it.
The Summer Break is Almost Here!
As we step closer to the summer break, let this be more than just the end of a teaching year. Let it be a moment of celebration for our teaching and our vision for what’s possible. We’ve done meaningful work. We’ve nurtured music makers. And we’ve continued to shape a future where music is part of who our students are, not just something they do for an after-school activity.
I hope you’ll take your well-earned rest and also carry with you the quiet confidence that your work this year made a difference. Teach Music 21C is here to remind you—you’re teaching more than music lessons. You’re changing students’ life experiences.
So - Here’s to all of us music teachers!
Not just for surviving another year—but for giving what we can week after week and month after month. Let’s celebrate that!
It’s amazing to think how quickly it all went by.
If this year has left you considering new possibilities for your teaching, you're not alone. Our Certification program offers time, space, and support to explore all kinds of new questions. Click HERE to take a look at TM21C Certification.