From Return to Normal to a “New Normal”? A Call to Revive Music Teacher Motivation and Reflection

Abstract

What might the field of music education do to learn, grow, and reinvent itself as we emerge from COVID-19 and virtual learning? Implied in the “return to normal” discourse, permeating all areas of music education in the year or more following virtual learning is the felt need to keep going and return to music education as usual. Yet significant changes, both positive and negative, occurred during virtual learning and music teachers have not received adequate time to reflect and consider new possibilities. In this article, I reject the idea of “return to normal” and call for a “new normal.” While this new normal might take many forms, I offer one possibility for middle level general music focused on student (as well as teacher) motivation. As music educators, we face a potentially exciting time to re-envision the future of music education—but only if we pause, reflect, and imagine a “new normal.”