Music teachers say one thing consistently: “students face challenges and don’t know how to handle them.” Followed by, “how am I supposed to teach music with these challenges?” Youth social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being is something we realize needs to be addressed for effective teaching and learning to occur. Drawing from well-being tenets, we will explore these challenges and develop strategies for students to build life skills to become more resilient and ready to learn.
Scott Edgar
- Biographical Information
Dr. Scott N. Edgar (he/him) has dedicated his career to highlighting the potential music education and educators have to build life skills students will utilize long after they leave the classroom. As a notable authority on music education and Social Emotional Learning, Dr. Edgar has emerged as the leading researcher, best-selling author, and internationally sought-after clinician on the subject. He is the author of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music, The ABCs of My Feelings and Music (co-authored with his wife Stephanie), and editor of Portraits of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning (published through GIA Publications). Dr. Edgar prioritizes facilitating spaces where people can explore their identity, build a sense of belonging, and experience agency. He is grateful for the many experiences he has had at Bowling Green State University (B.M.E.), University of Dayton, (M.S.), and the University of Michigan (Ph.D.) to learn from his mentors. He is Associate Professor of Music, Chair of the Department of Music, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College, Social Emotional Learning Editor for GIA Publications, and serves as Director of Practice and Research for The Center for Arts Education and Social Emotional Learning. Dr. Edgar is also a Music for All Educational Consultant and a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician. Striving for work/life balance, he enjoys grilling, exercising, and spending time with his wife Steph and their son Nathan, and their rescue golden retriever, Aria, and rescue cats, Violet and Clover.