To kick off the Collegiate MENC and New Teachers academy, Milt Allen gave the opening session”You’re Finally Here: We’ve Been Waiting Your Whole Life”, and a following session entitled,”Hero Training: How to Harness Your Superpowers”.
“You’re Finally Here: We’ve Been Waiting Your Whole Life”
Hero Training – How to Harness Your Superpowers
“You’re training the next generation of Artist Heroes”
In his second session, Dr. Allen built upon the foundation he laid in the first session – this time dealing with how beginning music educators and students can begin to hone their skills in teaching music. Dr. Allen put forth alot of great advice in this session.
He began by discussing whether or not we as teachers or future teachers were mature musicians. Some criteria he put forth to self-assess were, Do you: “Teach with the heart of a child and soul of a musician”, accept responsibility and exercise discipline, listen to music of all types, continue to learn about music no matter what your age?
He continued to give advice about your surroundings. He suggested to make sure your “hideout” (office, professional space) is conducive to being a hero, reflecting your passion and ideals. Along with this, Dr. Allen suggested to always dress professionally, and to spend money on your tools such as batons and music. He also suggested to be wary of your “sidekicks” and reminded the attendees to “Surround yourselves with greatness.”
Next, Dr. Allen explained how to Discover Your Superpowers. One piece of advice he gave was to tape yourself teaching. He stressed the importance of assessing this tape well. First, he said to watch it twice. The first time you assess the tape, note what you did well. On the second viewing, he recommended recording gestures or techniques that you used that you may have gotten from another source. When evaluating these, make note of : What did work, what could work, what could work if you modified it, and what just didn’t work. Dr. Allen said to be sure to build on what worked, modify what needs altered, and drop what just won’t work. In addition to effective assessment, he cautioned to never be afraid to try something new, and suggested to have a more-experienced teacher view your tape and ask for suggestions.
In his last portion of this session, Dr. Allen discussed “Your Musical Mission”. First he discussed something he called “Pure You”. In this, he challenged the attendees to think back to the passion of the moment when we realized that music was “it” for us. He challenged us to remember that moment in our teaching. He also told the session that we will learn much from our students.
Dr. Allen then covered some basic “Hero Rules” where he covered some thoughts that we should be thinking about. First, he stated that if the job were easy, everybody would be doing it. He also suggested having HAT (How Are Things) talks with students, where you as the teacher just check up on students and try to get to know them on a personal level. Also, he stated that teachers are on duty 24/7 – it becomes a way of life. Along with this, Dr. Allen warned that there are no shortcuts, and recommending doing things right the first time.
Dr. Allen left the session with some last closing thoughts:
“Don’t restrict your adult self”
“Dont define yourself by what others will let you do.”
“Don’t define yourself by what you have, how you got it, what you can’t get, and what others won’t give you.”
We were lucky enough to snag an interview with Dr. Milt Allen following his sessions. Dr. Allen was kind enough to expand some thoughts for us for better understanding, and delve in to some other topics in our interview. Check it out here!
Special Thanks to Dr. Milt Allen for his inspiring sessions and willingness to talk to have an interview with us!
Dr. Milton Allen is the Visiting Associate Director of Bands at The Ohio State University. He is currently taking a leave of absence from the Eastern Illinois University as the Director of Bands and Instrumental Division Director. Here, he conducts the Wind Symphony, Collegiate Band, University Band, teaches undergraduate conducting, guides the graduate conducting program, and oversees all aspects of Eastern’s band program.
About Andrew Ritenour