ArtistYear Blog

Centering trauma-informed practices in the classroom is essential for helping students to not only succeed academically, but also to find joy in education.

Through this service year experience, I learned so much about implementing mental health practices and mindfulness into the elementary curriculum.

Curiosity is a key factor of human change. I’d even go as far as to say that nothing related to humankind and our interactions changes (on purpose) without curiosity playing a part.

When we say one of our values is curiosity, we are committing to asking questions - for ourselves and others - and understanding that we may not find answers right away in pursuit of our mission.

...studies suggest that our best learning happens in a state of partial knowledge. So, believing that curiosity requires both humility and a willingness to engage with the unknown helps us better serve the world around us.

Curiosity is essential for making the change we envision in the world...It’s not hard to teach our students about how the world currently is. The real challenge lies in helping the youth envision and prepare for a yet-unseen world.

It was in that moment that I realized I needed to tell him something I wish somebody would've told me: I told him to not stop at being first, ‘cause first doesn’t matter if you stop there.

By being flexible, I spent less time working to make my “perfect” plan fit the students, and instead allowed myself to read the vibe of the class and take the lesson in a different direction, if need be.

"I want to foster a sense of community that feels organic and not forced, where we can rely on the collective wisdom of the room." - Bets Charmelus | ArtistYear CEO

I hope that my students will continue to care about music, whether by listening in a more thoughtful way, by joining ensembles in middle and high school, or learning how to make music on their own.

During my first year of service, I saw my personal artistry and teaching artistry as separate practices...[but] I’ve recently started to reconcile my personal artistry and teaching artistry, noticing that the concepts in the lessons I teach spring out of the ideas that drive my personal practice.

Part of studying Phillis Wheatley is studying art as a form of belonging and agency...I want my students to see their own writing as a way to make themselves at home, even when in a school, or a class, or a community that may not be a comfortable place.

Here, there are no grades or rubrics, just time and materials to try and fail, to readjust and discover. 

Participating in a service year has given me the space to identify my own purpose for teaching music, and how my teaching and my artistry are connected.