Health and Well-Being Three-Part Series

From Overwhelmed to Fulfilled: Cultivating Resilience for a Sustainable Career in Music Education

Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Tuesday, April 30, 2024, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

This three-part NAfME health and well-being series will focus on the mental fitness and well-being of music educators so they may develop skills and strategies to thrive in today’s educational landscape. Presented by experienced mental health professionals, topics will include: Experiencing overwhelm; the intersectionality of trauma including secondary traumatic stress (STS); how to recognize and avoid burnout; developing healthy work habits and coping strategies; advocating for individual needs; establishing boundaries; and finding sustainable balance and fulfillment in work and at home. Throughout the series, the content will be interspersed with research-based strategies and tools to support music educators in overcoming these challenges. Registrants are encouraged to attend all three sessions, as they build upon each other; however, participants are welcome to attend any session as they are available!

With one registration, you will be registered for the entire three-part series. The series will be live online 7:00–8:00 PM ET on the following Tuesdays: March 26, April 30, and May 28. We hope you will join us as we strive to make our personal health a priority.

Session 1, March 26, 2024: Understanding educator mental health and wellness through the challenges of overwhelm, trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout.

Facilitator: Nathan Rødahl, Northwest Division Representative, NAfME Council for Orchestral Education

Presenters: Rebecca Jonas, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor; Abigail L. Van Klompenberg, National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood, Vocal Music; Diona Shelton, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Session 2, April 30, 2024: Finding sustainable balance by developing healthy work habits, learning healthy coping strategies, and recognizing and avoiding burnout.

Presenter: Amelia Nagowski, co-author of the book Burnout and The Burnout Workbook.

Session 3, May 28, 2024: Finding joy and fulfillment by defining professional boundaries and creating sustainable teaching and learning environments for educators.

Presenters: Christian Bernhard II, Professor and Area Head, Music Education, State University of New York at Fredonia; Beth Ruff, school counselor, Powder Springs Elementary.

Session 2, April 30 Presenter:

Amelia Nagoski, D.M.A. is the co-author, with her sister Emily, of the New York Times-bestselling Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle and the Burnout workbook. Her job is to run around waving her arms and making funny noises and generally doing whatever it takes to help singers get in touch with their internal experience. Learn more at her website and follow her on Instagram. She lives in New England with her husband and two rescue dogs.

 

 

Session 3, May 28 Presenters:

Christian Bernhard is Professor of Music Education at SUNY Fredonia, and holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Bernhard’s research regarding comprehensive musicianship and musicians’ health has been published in journals including College Music Symposium, Journal of Band Research, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and International Journal of Music Education. He is the author of Managing Stress in Music Education and Flourishing in Music Education (Routledge).

Beth Ruff has worked as a school counselor for 16 years. This is her eighth year at Powder Springs Elementary, a certified and awarded Arts Integrated school where she infuses the elements of art, drama, music, and dance into counseling instruction. She loves to collaborate with other counseling rock stars by presenting at local, state-level, and national conferences on advocacy and increasing student engagement through creative interventions. Georgia School Counselor Association recognized her as the 2021 Georgia School Counselor of the Year and ASCA as a National School Counselor of the Year finalist in 2023 . . . and she is known to bust out random dance moves.

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.