Articles on the Health and Wellness of Music Teachers
We are proud to announce a new collection of blog-posts to focus on self-care and job retention of pre-service, in-service and retired music educators, including reflections and resources for mitigating stress and avoidance of “burnout,” fostering a healthy life/work balance and mindfulness, learning new skills for successful “career development,” personal time management, and goal-setting, and defining “meaning” and self-identity in all phases of “the life-cycle of a music educator.”
To get you started on this important topic, please review the following sources. Some of the research released below is brought to you by members of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention.
All school music teachers should be members of the National Association for Music Education and their state’s affiliate music education association. Membership has many privileges, including access to professional development, Music Educators Journal, and other publications.
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Recent Presentations and Handouts…
SAS INSTITUTE 2025: Self-Care Cookbook 2.0 – Recipes & Resources for School Leaders, December 8, 2025
DCMEA WINTER CONFERENCE: Self-Care Cookbook (1.0) for Individual Educators, January 30, 2026
PMEA SelfCare Cookbook Slides and Handout revised s042023
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Past Postings…
I Love My Job, But It’s Killing Me by Lesley Moffat
- Free copy: https://mpowerededucator.com/contact/
- General info: https://mpowerededucator.com/2018/12/
- Purchase: https://differencepress.com/author-incubator-catalog/books/i-love-my-job-but-its-killing-me-the-teachers-guide-to-conquering-chronic-stress-and-sickness/
Relevant blog-posts by Paul Fox at this site:
- The Five C’s of Self-Care – April 1, 2025
- Bookends – Part 3 – August 20, 2024
- Summer Reading – May 31, 2021
- COVID-19 vs. New Year’s Resolutions? – December 29, 2020
- Burned Out or Bummed Out? – August 16, 2020
- Sleep and Retirement – June 25, 2020
- Teacher Self-Care During the Pandemic – May 25, 2020
- One Happy But Solitary Retiree – April 16, 2020
- Stressed Out? – February 13, 2020
- Do You Always Feel Exhausted? – December 9, 2019
- Is Your Job Killing You? – October 6, 2019
- Care of Music Teachers – August 8, 2019
- Do I Need Ear Plugs? – July 27, 2019
- Stress, Burnout, and Stage Fright in College – November 19, 2018
- Help! How Does One Keep Up – December 1, 2017
- New Dreams and Horizons – August 3, 2017
- 3 Exit Lanes for Self-Help Retirement Guides – June 27, 2016
Books and More Books
Michael Anderson: Rekindle Your Professional Fire – Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher https://leadinggreatlearning.com/books-by-mike/rekindle-your-professional-fire/
Matthew Arau: Upbeat! Mindset, Mindfulness, and Leadership in Music Education and Beyond https://giamusic.com/resource/upbeat-book-g10550
Tina H. Boogren: 180 Days of Self-Care for Busy Educators https://www.academia.edu/100358944/180_Days_of_Self_Care_for_Busy_Educators
Stephen Covey: First Things First https://www.franklincovey.com/the-7-habits/habit-3.html
Sarah Forst: The Teacher’s Guide to Self-Care – Build Resilience, Avoid Burnout, and Bring a Happier and Healthier You to the Classroom https://igniteinspirecourses.com/course/the-teachers-guide-to-self-care-build-resilience-avoid-burnout-and-bring-a-happier-and-healthier-you-to-the-classroom/
Michael Linsin: The Happy Teacher Habits https://smartclassroommanagement.com/
Lesley Moffat: Love the Job, Lose the Stress https://www.amazon.com/Love-Job-Lose-Stress-Successful/dp/B0BBQDKM42/ref=sr_1_1 and https://mpowerededucator.com/
Paul Murphy: Exhausted: Why Teachers Are So Tired and What They Can Do About It https://www.amazon.in/Exhausted-Teachers-Tired-What-About/dp/1976433371
Katrina Onstad: The Weekend Effect – The Life-Changing Benefits of Taking Time Off and Challenging the Cult of Overwork https://katrinaonstad.com/books/
Melanie J. Pellowski: The Teacher’s Guide to Self-Care – The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Thriving Through the School Year https://melaniepellowski.com/books/the-teachers-guide-to-self-care/
Grace Stevens: Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers https://happy-classrooms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/WorkbookPositiveMindsetsTeachers.pdf
Angela Watson: Awakened – Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching https://truthforteachers.com/awakened/
Angela Watson: Fewer Things, Better https://www.amazon.com/Fewer-Things-Better-Courage-Matters/dp/0982312741/ref=sr_1_1
Previously recorded webinar: Music Teacher Survival 101 sponsored by mPowered Music Educator Academy – October 29, 2019
NAfME Music Educators Journal June 2019 article: “Health and Wellness for In-Service and Future Music Teachers” by Christa Kuebel
NAfME Music Educators Journal December 2018 article: “The Mindful Music Educator – Strategies for Reducing Stress and Increasing Well-being” by Dana Arbaugh Varona
PMEA News Fall 2018 article: “Music Major Anxiety – Causes and Coping” by Kevin Shorner-Johnson
NAfME Music in a Minuet July 16, 2018 blog-post: “A Summer Bucket List for Teachers – Seven Ideas for Self-Care” by Richard Grennor
NAfME Music in a Minuet May 1, 2017 blog-post: “Preventing Teacher Stress and Burnout This Spring” by Maria Stefanova Mar
Edutopia articles on “Prioritizing Teacher Care”
Other links from PMEA Council TTRR
Contributions by NAfME/PMEA members
From Jennifer Dennett: Exhausted – Why Teachers Are So Tired and What They Can Do About It by Paul Murphy
Other Resources…
Recent “finds” to peruse:
“The Emotional Intelligent Educator” (March 2024) issue of ASCD
“The Four R’s of Music Education” from NAfME blog by José Valentino Ruiz and Eftihia Arkoudis
“Turn the Lights Back On?” from NAfME blog by Amy M. Knopps and Lori Schwartz Reichl
“Life Through the Lense of Music” from NAfME blog by Stephanie San Roman
“Mastering the Art of Saying No” from the Teaching Channel
“Five Ways to Reclaim Your Love for Education Amid Stress and Burnout” from the Teaching Channel by Randy Richards
Various articles on Teacher Wellness from Edutopia
“Teacher Stress – Balancing Demands and Resources” from Kappan by Christopher Jay McCarthy
“Addiction Treatment – What Families Need to Know” from OnlineTherapy reviewed by Danny Taylor, Addiction Specialist and Caitlin Kingston, LCSW, and shared by Grace Jackson, Community Manager
Stay tuned. More to come…
PKF
Photo credit from Pixabay.com: “Self-Care” by Gerd Altmann
© 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2025 Paul K. Fox
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