The Assisted Director Podcast

Topics mentioned in this episode: What are the lessons I’ve learned in the first six weeks of my first year? What if my head band director doesn’t want my march played at the Christmas concert? Is it OK that my entire UIL program is in B-flat? Help! I don’t agree with my head band director’s choices in running marching rehearsal. What are some things I should help my students understand when preparing for a concert? Don’t kids lie on practice records? What are other ways that I can help at the middle school as a high school assistant? Should I plan an extra rehearsal before UIL?   Connect with us on Facebook! Alex Ortega Christina Ortega

Topics mentioned in this episode: Is “Bandtober” too much? How do I clean my band? How can I put more grades in the gradebook? What if my band program doesn’t use tuners and tuning clips? Is it OK to switch a beginner student to a different instrument? What if I’m not sure about what to focus on with my students right now? How can I support my high performing beginners? What verbiage should I use for my articulation exercise with my band? What should I do if my head director isn’t receptive to hearing my suggestions? Help! I need ideas for teaching balance within my ensemble! What is “tickle tongue”?  Connect with us on Facebook!  Alex Ortega Christina Ortega https://www.theassisteddirector.com/  

A conversation recorded on the way to El Paso during Thanksgiving break!   Topics mentioned in this episode: What should a mentee do after “graduating” from our mentorship program? Do young band directors know who the accomplished directors / potential mentors are? Should we know more about the history of UIL and Honor Band? What does each UIL rating (1, 2, 3, etc.) sound like? How do people measure their success in the first few years of teaching? Do you think socio-economics should play into the baseline of “what bands should sound like”? How should a young band director or college student network? Connect with us on Facebook!  Alex Ortega Christina Ortega https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How did The Walkers join the team? What are they looking forward to the most in joining the team? What are we looking for in mentoring coaches? What kinds of people are reaching out to us? What are The Walkers doing for the holidays? :)   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker  Alex Ortega  Jett Walker  https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How did Alex meet Vincent? Why did Vincent want to become a band director? How did Vincent’s middle and high school experiences contribute to studying music in college? What influenced Vincent to choose to study performance versus education? What prompted Vincent to do a lot of observing while in college? What was Vincent’s transition like from graduation into his first year of teaching? What were the main things that Vincent learned from his first head director/mentor? What did Vincent struggle with the most in his first year? What did Vincent struggle with “outside of the classroom” in the first two years of teaching?  How did he overcome that? How is Vincent able to maximize efficiency in his day? Who does Vincent go to for help?  Who does he consider as his mentors? What piece of advice would Vincent give to first year teachers? What does Vincent like to do in his free time?   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Alex Ortega Vincent Morris  https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How do we get organized on Sundays? What does the opening week of our mentorship program look like? What does the first one-on-one session look like? What are some action items that resulted from the first session? What is the end goal of our mentorship program? How have we handled adversity in the beginning stages of this business?   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega  Hanna Walker  https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How did we get our first guest speaker? What were our mentees’ favorite pieces of insight on the sight-reading training from Ryan Straten? What were our favorite reminders on sight-reading from Ryan Straten? What was the student teacher program kick off like? How can you make some extra cash while student teaching? What were some of the biggest takeaways of our first impressions student teacher training? How can I start building a list of quotables when providing feedback in a band rehearsal? How do I diagnose preparation from busyness?     Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: What? Sectionals aren’t a universal thing?! How does Heather Becker divide her sectional time? How does Hanna divide up her sectional time? Is it “crossing the bridge” or “crossing the break” on clarinet? How can I motivate students to attend sectionals, if sectionals are new to my program? What are some relevant social media “do’s and don’t’s” to consider as you enter the band directing profession? What if I put work email on my phone? What do our student teaching group coaching sessions look like? How do I start dissecting ensemble sounds? What are some standard pieces of feedback you can give to the ensemble? How can I spit out my feedback faster?       Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How does Hanna structure her 90 minute rehearsal with middle school? What are BIPs and IEPs? What is an ARD?  Why should I attend one? What if I have a student with disabilities who wants to be in band? Who is Richard Gonzalez? What is the assistant’s job at the beginning of your head band director’s rehearsal? How can I help my head band director on the day of UIL? What other things can you do as an assistant director?   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: Would I want to be around me? How do I want others to perceive me? How do I actually network though? How do I know if I’ve networked well? How do I know if a job will be a good fit for me? In general, what are some things that I should consider as I transition from college student to professional?   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: What are our thoughts on the job fair at TMEA? What are noteworthy questions to ask while at the job fair? What else is going on with The Assisted Director? What were our favorite things about TMEA?   Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker  https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: What did the first year band directors chat about after TMEA? What is the rule of 21? What is the ‘mindful minute’? What is a Texas Academic Performance Report? What are some things to consider when teaching Title I? Who is Noel Esquivel? Why did Noel want to become a band director? What were Noel’s biggest takeaways from Noel’s undergraduate and graduate school experiences? What was Noel’s student teaching experience like and how has that influenced how he works with student teachers? What was Noel’s first year of teaching like? What was the transition like into Noel’s second year of teaching? What are Noel’s non-negotiables? What is the “plan, do, study, act”? What does Noel like to do outside of band? Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega  Hanna Walker Noel Esquivel

Topics mentioned in this episode: Who is Rachael Janek? Why did Rachael want to be a band director? How did Rachael participate in marching band as a bassoon player? Why did Rachael choose to study music at Texas State University? What were Rachael’s favorite experiences while at Texas State? What was Rachael’s student teaching experience like? What was Rachael’s job hunting process like after graduating from college? What was Rachael’s relationship with her head director like during her first year? How did Rachael decide on the type of mentoring she wanted from her head director? How did Rachael learn how to create the type of relationship she wanted with her head director? How did Rachael learn how to start to dissect the sounds in her band hall? What did Rachael struggle with outside of the band hall during her first year? What are Rachael’s non-negotiables? What are Rachael’s favorite parts of The Assisted Director? What does Rachael like to do in her spare time? Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker Rachael Janek https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: How can I incorporate core class material into my band class? Who is Jeff Jones? What do students actually want in the band class? What do you want to leave behind when you’re gone? Who is Cliff Croomes? Is it appropriate to contact the composer of one of my programmed pieces? What are other basics of score study that I may forget about? Is it acceptable to make changes to the score? Who is Henry Dreitner? What is the Whataburger diet? Why did Henry want to become a band director? What was the benefit of starting music education at a community college? What were Henry’s biggest takeaways from his university experience? What was Henry’s student teaching experience like? What did Henry do after student teaching, since he graduated in the fall? What were some of Henry’s first year band directing struggles? What is Henry’s current small school situation like? What are things to know if you’re going to be teaching at a small school? What are some things Henry implemented when he became a head band director? What does Henry do outside of band? Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega Hanna Walker Henry Dreitner https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode: What are our questions and thoughts on the sight-reading and UIL processes? Why do kids do band? What are your personal goals and professional goals and can they co-exist? What does burnout actually mean? What is a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset? Who are you surrounding yourself with?     Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook! Christina Ortega  Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/