Through his love for music, Mickey blends the roles of educator and entertainer to create a dynamic experience that entertains, educates, and elevates everyone to excellence. Mickey is dedicated to helping educators discover their sound. No matter what the classroom challenge may be, he strives to encourage others to keep on going.

Find out more about Mickey's Educator-Encouragement album and podcast SEE THE SOUND and his BAND: TOGETHER initiative at MickeySmithJr.com.

SEE THE SOUND

A workshop for educators on how maximizing awareness & perspective advances academics & performance 

Any teacher can know all the latest techniques, plan the greatest lessons, and implement effective classroom management strategies. But what is your "sound?" Your "sound" is your value as well as the unique personal significance you bring to the classroom. Maximizing your awareness and perspective in those you teach and seeing the "sound" in yourself is arguably the most important skill you can possess as a teacher. Without a strong sense of personal significance and emotional resilience, most teachers won’t stick around long enough in the profession to realize their potential and become not just teachers but phenomenal educators. In a profession that loses 50% of its workforce within the first five years of their careers, and with teacher shortage estimates in the hundreds of thousands yearly for qualified teachers, it is critical now more than ever to find new ways to encourage, equip, and empower teachers to fall in love with teaching. That starts by seeing the "sound."

Sessions

These topics can be individualized, or combined in any format to fit the following criteria:

Keynote Talk/Breakout Session/1 Day Workshop/2 Day Workshop

SESSION LENGTH

30 Minutes/60 Minutes/90 Minutes/1 Day/2 Days

ESTABLISH YOUR PURPOSE & PERSPECTIVE

All any of us can really leave in this thing called life is what we believe, so our actions and deeds become seeds for our students’ future. A teacher who is aware of their values, strengths, and can also affirm their purpose is both sound and unstoppable. Mickey works with educators on their purpose as a teacher. Understanding your motivation for teaching makes you more likely to respond to challenging situations in ways that are consistent with your defined purpose and bounce back from any setbacks with poise.

THE POWER OF NOW & A SOUND ADULT

A 21st-century educator is culturally competent, innovative, empathetic, and adaptable. Mickey deconstructs the composition of 21st-century educators. Teachers will examine their pedagogical practices and resources to help them serve all students, not just a select or convenient few.

THE NEXT IS NOW

Innovation is simply a fancy word for “change.” Innovation and education are now at a crossroads. Through the advancements of technology, the world around us is constantly changing. Mickey examines how the workforce has shifted in our society. More importantly,  educators will begin to discuss various practices or applications that help our scholars be prepared for the future, whether that means having the skill set to work for a business or establishing their own.

EDUCATOR ELEVATION, EDUCATION REVOLUTION

Mickey will help you identify ways to improve your teaching practice through formal feedback, building a network, experimentation, and learner feedback. We will also explore the various forms of data a teacher can collect and analyze about their learners and a sampling of educational applications that will help teachers lead more effective classrooms.

BAND TOGETHER

As an award-winning band director Mickey reminds his students that “life is better when we band together” and in teaching the strength of a professional community also outperforms talent in isolation. Mickey dives into the science of human behavior and how the principles you learned in topic #4 can help you establish a community of mentors to develop longevity in the education profession.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE

Mickey establishes the importance of seeing each and everyone’s “sound” (significance) by presenting culturally relevant viewpoints in lesson design and your classroom. As the diversity within our student population continues to increase, we must embrace the beauty of diversity, inclusion, and strategies that will mold our students into global citizens.

SITUATION-SHIPS

One of the pillars in education is relationships. Unfortunately, our situations, which consist of so many competing demands, sometimes causes educators to lose sight that healthy situations are the result of healthy relationships and together they create situation-ships which are built from trust and trust is THE critical ingredient to our classrooms’ success. In this module, we will discuss best practices for establishing the foundation for a healthy situation-ship and different pedagogical techniques as well.

WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Virtual learning quickly revealed that we, as educators, rely heavily, if not entirely, on direct instruction. Mickey leads discussions with educators on different ways of structuring class time by leveraging technology, organizing your content, and designing classroom interactions for more efficient teaching and learning.

NEXT STEPS BEST STEPS, NEXT SOUND BEST SOUNDS

Being a great educator is much like being a great jazz musician. It requires preparation and know-how, but equally important is the ability to improve, improv, and inspire. Here Mickey reviews essential strategies and concepts and challenges you to draft your goals for implementing these strategies in your professional practice and classroom.

LAGNIAPPE (PRONOUNCED LAN-YAP)

MICKEY’S BONUS MODULE: KEEP ON GOING!

Mickey provides various books, podcasts, and organizations that provide powerful information and tools that will encourage continued growth and promote mental health.

OBJECTIVES:

To help educators teach S.O.U.N.D. by design and not by default

● See Yourself Beyond Yourself 

● Operate In Optimism And Excellence 

● Utilize All Available Resources 

● Nourish Relationships

● Don’t Stop (Keep On Going)

BEGINNING BAND FIRST DAYS LASTING WAYS 

FIRST DAYS LASTING WAYS is a Classroom M.A.P. (Management Action Plan) for beginning band music educators that helps teachers of all experience levels teach by design and not by default with the mission to help all teachers succeed over frustration and fatigue, creating a SOUND180 days of classroom instruction and harmony.

Created and presented by GRAMMY Music Educator Mickey Smith Jr. FDLW provides individual, campus, and district level professional development that focuses on connection, captivation, collaboration and, communication in order to increase effectiveness in the areas of: 

*SELF MANAGEMENT 

*CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

*BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

OBJECTIVES:

● Establish a strong identity & purpose to the classroom & instruction

● Obtain broad exposure from award-winning educators

● Demonstrate excellence in teaching and performance 

● Seek wisdom from models of excellence

● Teach, think & act like an educational-artist (performer)