T-minus Twelve Months to Year 70!
Wow! I can’t believe it’s been three whole months since I posted a blog here! Where’s the time gone? Excuses? Well, what first leaps to my mind are several quotes from this Southern Living website about being an extremely busy retiree:
“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” — Abe Lemons
“I need to retire from retirement.” — Sandra Day O’Connor
“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” — Vince Lombardi
“I wanted to have more time to play and reflect, but I find retirement more stressful than having a nice, steady job because I have to make decisions about where I want to be.” — Walter Cronkite
“I see retirement as just another of these reinventions, another chance to do new things and be a new version of myself.” — Walt Mossberg
“Living each day as if it were your last doesn’t mean your last day of retirement on a remote island. It means to live fully, authentically and spontaneously with nothing being held back.” — Jack Canfield
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.” —Albert Einstein
To my friends and colleagues in the profession, yes I am “living the dream” and having fun in retirement! Health remains good, and the days of my wife and I are filled with personal enrichment, unique new and renewed adventures, and meaningful service to the causes that matter to us both! Our only complaint? There are only 24 hours in a day… But, that means, as we head to bed each night, we have lots on our ever-expanding to-do lists motivating us to get up even earlier the next day to accomplish!
So, the following will be a quick (?) update, ramblings in the format of “streams of consciousness” of what’s happening in our lives, geared to my more faithful friends and followers, and perhaps modeling the activities of two happily retired music teachers. I promise that future blogs will re-engage with our series on “Bookends…” (life cycle of a music educator), ethics training of educators, and interviewing skills of newcomers to the profession (the season of job screenings will soon be upon us!), not to mention more tips towards a smooth transition to retirement for those who are planning to “pull their pin” and leave their full-time employment in the near future. Thanks for hanging in there with us!
PMEA Conference
Both my wife Donna, her cousin Judy, our two dogs Gracie and Brewster, and I just returned from Erie, PA participating in the PMEA Annual In-Service Conference. This was unique in that, for the first time since we retired in 2013, Donna could attend “the big event” with me. Judy served as our dog babysitter (we don’t believe in “jailing” our pups!), and the Bayfront Sheraton, Courtyard Marriott, and Erie Convention Center were pet-friendly. We reserved adjoining rooms, and the dogs were content to walking all around the Bayfront Area/Lake Erie and returning at night to sleep with us.
To my PMEA colleagues and other PA educators, in case you missed it, here is the link to more than 1,000 photos I took at the conference (sessions, meetings, exhibits, and performances). Attendees, I challenge you: CAN YOU FIND YOURSELF & YOUR STUDENTS?
As usual, Executive Director Abi Young, PD Council Chair Martha Heise and her conference planning committee, PMEA state EXCOM and staffers planned another outstanding event. If you have never gone to a PMEA conference, mark next year’s dates April 9-12, 2025 on your calendar, which will be held in the luxurious Kalahari Resort in the Poconos. Besides, the “world’s largest indoor water park” is a fun place to bring your (grand)children! In addition, several other professional development and career enhancement venues are on the horizon available to members of NAfME and PMEA:
- PMEA Summer Summit (Leadership Conference), Reading, PA
July 15-17, 2024 - NAfME Biennial Music Research and Teacher Education Conference, Atlanta, GA
September 25-28, 2024 - NAfME Eastern Division Conference and Honors Ensembles Festival, Hartford, CT
April 24-26, 2025
At the Erie conference, I hosted my last PMEA Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention and TTRR SHOWCASE. At our annual meeting, I stepped down as the state chair, but will continue as State Retired Member Coordinator on the Council TTRR. We’re in excellent hands, with TRI-M Chair Tina Bennett being elected to the state TTRR Council Chair position. Joining her is the visionary leadership of State SMTE Chair Dr. Kathleen Melago, Mentor Co-Chairs Lisa Endler and Eric Plum, PCMEA Student President Ellie Vito, Future Music Teachers Honors Symposium Chairs Aaron and Stephanie Magaro, PDE Fine Arts Education Consultant David Deitz, and Higher Education Representatives Paul Doerksen, Jessica Vaughan-Marra, Sarah Watts, Debbie Wolf, among others.
Below is a copy of the “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Council TTRR” SHOWCASE slides which were presented to a whopping 60 PCMEA members during our breakfast meeting at the conference. (Perhaps the food motivated more collegiates to get up extra-early for that first session?)
Scholarships
One of the concerns repeatedly expressed at Council TTRR meetings was the funding issues of college students. Besides an anonymous donor funding the PCMEA breakfast at the SHOWCASE on April 18, PMEA instituted a “send a collegiate to the conference” campaign (complimentary registrations) and in 2023, also announced two major scholarship (college expense reimbursement) opportunities endowed by our Stark-Fox Family Fund in memory of our parents:
- PMEA Council TTRR Award for Music Education Majors
- PMEA Music for Lifelong Learning for STEM Students in College Music
In the spring of 2023, three $5K PMEA Council TTRR Scholarships were awarded to:
- Elizabeth Corbett (Duquesne University)
- Adam Hanna (Susquehanna University)
- Mitchell Hourt (Moravian University
Unfortunately, last year no applications were submitted for the PMEA Music for Lifelong Learning Award. A concerted effort has been made to “reachout” to this population of students who are pursuing a science-related field and participating in their PA college band, chorus, jazz, or orchestra program. Please spread the word! Deadline to register is May 29, 2024. More information is posted here.
Upcoming Workshops
I was pleased to learn that two of my sessions were accepted for the Kappan 2024 Educators Rising National Conference scheduled for June 28-July 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Marquis:
- Embarking the E3-Train – Essentials for Future Educators – What It Takes to Become a Teacher: Ethos, Ethics, and Engagement
- Interviewing and Branding 101 – The Art and Science of Marketing Yourself for Employment Screening
In addition, I remain active in supporting my colleague Thomas Bailey in providing PDE-approved Act 45 and Act 48 ethics training courses for PA educators. Currently, we’re teaching our fifth series of classes (25 PIL hours) for school system leaders and have presented more than 14 additional professional development workshops, webinars, or conference sessions of in depth interactive discussions of ethics and daily educator decision-making. Our next focus area is to help PA administrators to incorporate the newly mandated PA Chapter 49 ethics competencies into their school induction programs.
To learn more about course offerings or read court case blogs on ethics in education, visit Tom Bailey’s website here. This blog-site also provides a comprehensive library of past articles on educator ethics.
Who Really Reads These Blogs?
That’s a good question! Although I have always provided a “comment” link at the top of each posting and seek feedback and even “guest authors” to feature in future blogs, very few people respond to these articles. I have always hoped that “my meanderings” could help music teachers at all stages of their careers, from pre-college and music/music education majors to veteran educators to retirees. At least, this WordPress site allows me to permanently archive my writings with the hope this exhaustive but always-accessible supply of resources, links and viewpoints could be used in the future. Share on!
So recently, I was pleasantly surprised when Becca Robinson, a tutor of homeschooled children, reached out to me and said Jeremy, one of her students, did extra-credit research after reading one of my blogs on retirement resources. We are adding his recommendation for this link to the Transportation Resource Guide for Seniors & Individuals with Disabilities in the “Retiree” menu section at the top of the page. This comprehensive article by Cole Neder documenting the following is a valuable read for senior citizens and anyone who is experiencing personal mobility challenges:
- Public Transit
- Paratransit Services
- Demand Responsive Services
- Non-Emergency Transportation
- Ride-Sharing and Taxis Services
- Service Resources by State
On a Personal Note…
Yes, last week was my 69th birthday! I never imagined getting that old… er, I mean, mature! Neither my mother nor my father made it to their seventh decade! I attribute my positive attitude and active lifestyle (even though at times I could unintentionally forget your name at the drop of a hat) to embracing what Ernie Zelinski, author of How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free, says is absolutely essential to maintain in retirement: “finding purpose, structure, and community.” It is a paramount of importance to feel we matter and are needed every day, exercise both sides of our brain (the analytical and the creative), keep physically fit, jump out of our bed with purpose, maintain busy schedules and accept a lot on our plate, and stay connected to the people surrounding us. To that end, my wife and I continue to teach the pursuit “creative self-expression,” directing a community ensemble (the South Hills Junior Orchestra), teaching, walking our dogs, and pushing wheelchairs at our local hospital. At times, this latter activity allows us to catch up with our former music students, their parents, school staff, and neighbors. What FUN it is to meet someone who I taught many years ago in middle school, now grown up and busy raising their own “band” of musicians! God willing, I hope to continue with good health, a sharp mind, and motivation to live to Moses age (150 years old?), or at least have a ball along the way!
I leave you this month with a copy of the one-of-the-kind birthday card one of my adult students (who claims me as her “adopted father?”) created using Photoshop. Three generations of her family play in our Saturday orchestra. Caption: Left is our Gracie, a bichon frise, and right is Brewster, a yorkie-poo. I’m depicted in the middle with my SHJO bow-tie, of course!)
Happy trails, retirees and active educators alike! Keep in touch!
PKF
© 2024 Paul K. Fox