Meet Deirdre Moore | Educator, Arts Integration Enthusiast and Performing Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deirdre Moore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deirdre, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When people have asked me about taking risks, I self-report that I am not a risk-taker. I am very cautious and take a great deal of time to make a change. However, others have reflected back to me things that I have done which they consider very brave. When given those examples (like leaving my full-time teaching job and moving to San Diego where I knew only 1 person and had no job prospects) I realize I didn’t consider it brave at the time. I looked at it as self-preservation. I was busy guarding my heart or nourishing my soul so I didn’t see it as risk-taking. But every risk-taking thing I have done has brought me to where I am today. I have always encouraged my students to take risks and have tried to take my own advice by embracing risk rather than treating it as a last resort! I am still learning that lesson.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I think of my professional journey as a babbling brook that twists and turns as it encounters rocks and flows along guided by the banks on either side. There has always been a forward momentum, but I never knew what was around the next bend. I had always had two loves – the arts and education. It seemed inevitable that my two loves would be intertwined somehow; the hard part was figuring out how that would work, practically speaking. It took me over 20 years of heartbreak and trial and error bouncing between teaching in public and private school classrooms and teaching music, theatre and dance to figure out how to bring them together. My degree in arts integration helped with that but it took me a long time to appreciate that all my various jobs (middle and high school special education; sophomore English lit; fifth grade; first grade; K-5 music; early childhood music and movement; creative drama; Irish dance; arts camps) set me up well for what I would ultimately do. I discovered that all my experience made me particularly well-suited to bridging the arts and classroom teaching through writing, arts integration trainings, coaching, and modeling with educators and teaching artists. At one point, I was working 5 different jobs all in arts education and realized that each job informed the other and made me a better educator. Rather than bemoaning the fact that I didn’t have a single job, I embraced the fact that I was adept at doing all of those things.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If you are looking for a tour guide – especially for eateries, you have come to the wrong place! However, I will say that San Diego is BEAUTIFUL and has so many ways to encounter the arts and embrace the beautiful weather all at the same time. During the day, Torrey Pines is a must visit for beach walking, hiking trails, and swimming. Kayaking in La Jolla cove or in Mission Bay is a lovely way to spend a few hours. And if you go at night, you can check out the fireworks at Sea World from the water. I highly recommend a picnic in the day at Kate Sessions Park or at sunset at the gliderport in La Jolla. At night, you can combine your love of the arts and the outdoors with a movie at Cinema Under the Stars and Rooftop Cinemas or a concert at Humphries or the Rady Shell.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The ironic thing is that I would have to credit my mother for my journey in the arts even though she was the one who did NOT want me to pursue the arts as a career. However, she enrolled me in theatre camps, piano lessons and dance lessons so I would be a well-rounded person. She sang in a symphony chorus and would sing along with her rehearsal tapes as she made dinner. At her urging, I pursued a degree in education, but I came back around to the arts because they were my love and my foundation. I would never have had that foundation without her.

Website: https://www.artsedsd.org/