Creating a Harmony from Within: Working with Impostor Phenomenon in Music Ed

Impostor Phenomenon affects individuals who are accomplished, competent, and intelligent. Nevertheless, they feel like they are fooling people. Many music educators and their students believe they are intellectually fraudulent and not nearly as intelligent or competent as their peers or accomplishments suggest. These frequent and intense feelings can affect an individual’s well-being by producing anxiety, stress, depression, procrastination, and job burnout. Impostor Phenomenon, however, could also result in motivation and opportunities for professional growth. Through personal analysis, this session will explore the obstacles within music education that create feelings of Impostor Phenomenon and how to persevere with daily techniques that set realistic goals.

Jerry Buttrum is the Director of Bands at Monterey High School and Burks Elementary School in Putnam County, Tennessee. He previously taught music and band at the prek-12 levels in North Carolina and Tennessee. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, where he held many leadership positions, including serving as Tennessee State President of the Collegiate National Association for Music Education (CNAfME). While teaching in North Carolina, he was twice elected president of District 13 of the North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA). He earned his Master of Music Education from East Carolina University with a focus was on Conceptual Arts Integration. He is Orff-Schulwerk certified and completed his Doctor of Music Education at Liberty University with the thesis study: A Provident Mindset to Impostor Phenomenon of In-Service Music Educators.

NAfME presents this live virtual event at no charge to all as a service to the music education profession. To register, you must enter your NAfME member information or create a nonmember account. After registering, check your email for instructions. A recording of this program will be available to all registrants for one week following the live event. Members can also view archived NAfME webinars in the NAfME Academy.

The views expressed are those of the presenter; they do not necessarily reflect the views of NAfME.