top of page
Dr. Amy Spears Sabbatical 2022-23:
The UK and Europe


Alicante, Spain, and time with a great friend
Prelude: I came to Alicante to visit my good friend and colleague Viktor, who is an economics professor at my university. I’m so glad...
aspears120
Jun 4, 20238 min read
Â
Â
Â


Beautiful Bristol!
The last week of my time in the UK (May 15-21), I lived in Bristol. I picked this part of the country because I had not been there yet...
aspears120
May 26, 20238 min read
Â
Â
Â


Scottish v. English secondary schools: a comparison of music programs from my perspective
Comparisons of Scottish and English schools and music course set-up Larbert High was the only Scottish school I was able to go to, but...
aspears120
May 24, 20235 min read
Â
Â
Â


Being sick in York
What to say about being in York. I was there from May 8-15. The whole reason I stayed in York for the week I was there was because my...
aspears120
May 20, 20236 min read
Â
Â
Â


Three cities in Scotland
I was in Scotland for the last school placement I had. In total, I was there from April 30-May 8. While there, I stayed in Falkirk, which...
aspears120
May 14, 20236 min read
Â
Â
Â


A Scottish School: Larbert High School
The week of May 2-5 I was at Larbert High School in Scotland with Andy McClean and the team of music teachers he works with. I think they...
aspears120
May 14, 20238 min read
Â
Â
Â


From vacation back to the real world
When I left Nick and Mark in Paris, I took the Eurostar back to London and stayed in London for three nights at my friend Stephanie‘s...
aspears120
May 9, 20233 min read
Â
Â
Â


London, Paris, Nick, and Mark!
Saturday through Thursday April 22-27, I was with some of my best friends from the US, Mark and Nick, who live in Nashville. They came on...
aspears120
May 9, 20237 min read
Â
Â
Â


A Beautiful home on the English countryside
Time with Matthew and Luc While I was at Broughton, I stayed with a teacher who volunteered to host me that week. His name is Matthew...
aspears120
May 5, 20232 min read
Â
Â
Â


My 7th school: Broughton High in Preston
April 17-21 First, a comparison of music in the US and music in the UK at the high school level One of the things I’ve noticed about the...
aspears120
May 1, 202311 min read
Â
Â
Â


Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Mykonos to Preston
LOGISTICS from Mykonos to Preston Logistics getting back from Mykonos to my next place were quite difficult and required a lot of...
aspears120
May 1, 20232 min read
Â
Â
Â


Mykonos, Greece
The second week of my Easter break, I went to Mykonos. Rosie, one of the teachers I was with at Castleford Academy in March, came to meet...
aspears120
Apr 21, 20238 min read
Â
Â
Â


Santorini, Greece
April 1-8 - first half of Easter Break I could not have had a better time while I was in Greece. Both in Santorini and Mykonos. They were...
aspears120
Apr 21, 20237 min read
Â
Â
Â


What do you know about Manchester?
I lived in Manchester for three weeks (March 11-31) while I visited two different schools, Fred Longworth High School and Ladybridge High...
aspears120
Apr 10, 20232 min read
Â
Â
Â


Edinburgh, Liverpool, Alan Turing, Whiskey, and my friend Dave!
My friend Dr. David Rickels, who is a music education professor at The University of Colorado at Boulder, came out to visit for a week...
aspears120
Apr 4, 20233 min read
Â
Â
Â


Continue here!
Since this is my first time creating a lengthy blog, I already used up all the storage from my first blog site. I'm still a learner, what...
aspears120
Apr 1, 20231 min read
Â
Â
Â


Ladybridge High School
The teachers I’ve worked with Over the past two weeks, between March 21 and 30, I was shadowing Martin Ainscough and Joe Starbuck who are...
aspears120
Apr 1, 202310 min read
Â
Â
Â
bottom of page