Welcome to WindyJ Pubs. This is a collection of blogs, research and other publications written by Joel Windsor. ### [[WindyJ Pubs#WindyJ Pubs Contents|View the Contents Below]] Joel Windsor advocates for Music, Music Education and general Education topics in Alberta. He also comments on public policy, and has a special place in his heart for the High River region, the Foothills, Alberta and Canada. Joel is a high school music teacher in High River, Alberta, as well as a small business owner in WindyJMusic. In that business he operates MusicFestivalSuite, a web application that helps music festivals organize. He also writes and arranges music for Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, Strings and Steel Pan Ensembles, as well as solo and small ensemble arrangements. He is also a common fixture in the renaissance festival and living history community as a Master of Ceremonies. Joel started writing about current events and issues in Education, Alberta and the Foothills in 2012. At that time he became more involved in the Alberta Teachers' Association, and shortly thereafter, the Alberta Party. He also served as the chairperson for the Town of High River's Arts and Culture Committee. When the 2013 Flood hit his home community of High River, he got even more involved in the Disaster Recovery Program, and then in Alberta Politics. He put his name forward as Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2015, and was unsuccessful in that bid, however much of his commentary and post-election work still held influence over legislation, with some of his work contributing to successful amendments to legislation affecting municipal employees. Following a disagreement, Joel left the Alberta Party, and shifted his focus back to his educational practice and business. Joel is a staunch advocate of music education. He received his Masters in Music Education *summa cum laude* from Boston University in 2015. In the period since 2016, Joel has created a music program that is too big for it's Little Britches, growing into offering 13 different musical ensembles of 6 different genres at his rural Junior/Senior high school. His business has also expanded to reach from coast to coast, helping to process tens of thousands of music festival performances nationwide. Joel has also advocated for marginalized groups and students including LGBTQ2IA+ and people of color, as well as for the Arts in communities. Joel lives in High River, Alberta with his family, and writes when his schedule allows it. # WindyJ Pubs Contents ## Most Recent Articles - [[They're supposed to represent you]] - [[13 Years of Dismantling Public Education in Alberta]] ## Featured Articles ### Education Policy in Alberta - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now.]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Part Dos]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Tatlo]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Parti Quatre]] - [[Parents Should Be Freaking Out Right Now ... Revenge of the Fifth]] - [[LaGrange thinks she can Wag the Dog.]] - [[With Alberta's Education system, the Damage is Done]] ### Music Education Curriculum - [[Music is hard - How a draft curriculum can be objectively wrong]] - [[When 'Feedback' makes a draft curriculum worse.]] ## Archives ### 2012 - Coming Back Soon ### 2013 - Coming Back Soon ### 2014 - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now.]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Part Dos]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Tatlo]] - [[Parents should be freaking out right about now - Parti Quatre]] - More Coming Back Soon ### 2015 - Coming Back Soon ### 2016 - Coming Back Soon ### 2019 - [[Parents Should Be Freaking Out Right Now ... Revenge of the Fifth]] - More Coming Back Soon ### 2021 - [[LaGrange thinks she can Wag the Dog.]] - [[Music is hard - How a draft curriculum can be objectively wrong]] - [[With Alberta's Education system, the Damage is Done]] - More Coming Back Soon ### 2022 - [[When 'Feedback' makes a draft curriculum worse.]]