See Sarah Blog.

Last night I had a discussion on Twitter which - as is often the case - led to some reflection. Travel with me in my Way-Back Machine - we're going to college. Specifically to my Philosophies of Music Education class (Which, spoiler, was the only music class I ever received a C in. More on that later.) - I'm sure, if you're a teacher you had a Philosophy of Ed class - I had to take that one too - so you know that the purpose of a class like this is to study different schools of thought on pedagogy and student learning to help you develop your own ideas of what teachers do. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was a very opinionated student in this class. My instructor didn't much care for me and my ideas, and honestly, that feeling was mutual. He was of the thought that music instruction was a privilege and that the most talented students deserved the most attention. Now, before you clutch your pearls about this, I want you to know that among performance majors,...

Earlier this year, I had a student "teachersplained" to me. I'd spoken with the girl about inappropriate behavior, just like I would any other student, only the next morning, her classroom teacher came to me to tell me about the student's homelife and family, about how important it was for her to stay in school, and basically (though, I truly believe it was out of care for the student and because I was new to the school) to giver her a bit more leeway than I would others. This conversation has bothered me ever since. It bothered me in a professional way - "Don't tell me how to run my classroom." It bothered me in a parental way - "I'd want my kid treated the same as everyone else." It bothered me in a personal way - "Who are we to speak of families like this?" Where I live, I don't encounter racism daily. I know it exists intellectually. I see it happening to people I interact with online and in the media, but around...