By: Claire Quigle

Hello and happy “Where Do You Work” Wednesday! This week, meet Kamal Talukder (B.M. ‘20 Trumpet Performance, B.A. ‘20 Music Education).

Talukder will be working as a first-year Assistant Band Director for the Sioux City Community School District in Sioux City, Iowa. He will be teaching at both North Middle School and North High School. Talukder is originally from Glenview, Illinois.

Going into his first year of teaching, Talukder is excited to build positive relationships with students through kindness and respect, as well as promote music education.

Talukder feels the diversity of the University of Iowa College of Education allowed him to be more prepared as he enters his first year of teaching.

“My practicum and student teaching placements put me in a variety of situations that allowed me to develop my instructional skills,” says Talukder. “The School of Music also gave me amazing connections and options for ensembles that helped develop my diverse performance experience.”

Like other teachers, Talukder’s experience as a teacher has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. His district has decided to use a hybrid model for this school year. Band teachers and students are impacted differently than other students because music classes are more reliant on human interaction.

“Aerosols are a huge problem with the band at the moment so we are having to juggle ordering specific PPE for the students and deciding how we are going to rehearse,” says Talukder. “In addition to that, we are having trouble programming and organizing ensembles for students who may be opting to go online. We are also having trouble planning for the marching band season without knowing if football games or band competitions will happen this year.”

Talukder explained how it can be difficult during the pandemic to keep music instruction fun, engaging, and educational. However, he is hopeful and positive as he begins his first year of teaching.

“Despite all of this happening during my first year of teaching, I am more excited than ever to be a teacher because of how amazing it is to see teachers improvise and adapt to everything thrown at them,” says Talukder.

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