Re: Re: Re: Music Education


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Posted by Steve Dedman on March 07, 2000 at 23:40:17:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Music Education posted by Scott Roeder on March 07, 2000 at 21:29:56:

I think that it is wonderful to hear that someone wants to teach! Band directors have such an advantage over other teachers, because you will probably teach these students for two to four years. You have time to build up a relationship with these students that trancends the classroom. They will come to you for advice, and friendship. Most of all, they will find you to be something consistent, when many of these kids have no consistency anywhere else in their lives. You will stand a much greater chance to make a difference with these kids than most of the other teachers that they will have. If you feel the call to teach, DO IT!

That said; there are a few things to think about that you probably won't learn in your college courses. These are some of the reasons that made me change my major.

1) I don't know of any school that offers Fundraising 101. Every band director that I know loathes the process of raising the money needed to run a band program - the paperwork, the money laundering AHEM handling, trying to get the kids and parents to understand why fundraising is so vitally important. Some of your instruments will be ancient. Some of the uniforms will be mildewed. Your set of parts for Stars & Stripes Forever will be yellowed and brittle. Also, when was the last time a strapping young man rang your doorbell to ask for donations to buy new football uniforms?

2) It's definitely not a 9-5 job. It's not even a 9-7 job. In the fall, there are extra marching rehearsals and Friday night football games. (So that you can cheer the team and their brand-new uniforms that the school district provided) In the spring, there are extra jazz band rehearsals. You will have to take the time to re-score and re-voice to cover parts that your band's instrumentation doesn't cover. Need some new music, or instrument repairs? That'll happen on your own time, too.

3) Local school districts tend to be monuments to bureaucracy. You will make requests in duplicate that will be answered in triplicate. It takes a special kind of cunning to navigate the ins and outs of a school district's mindset. It's like concrete - all mixed up and firmly set.

4) Most parents want to support you, but they they think that they don't know how. They ask "What do I know from music?" You will have to teach them, too - that you need their time, not their know-how. Of course there is always the occasional parent who will get upset that their little Johnny got last chair, even though you calmly explained to them that dust blew out of little Johnny's cornet bell at the chair tryouts.

5) Don't do it for the money. You'll be disappointed.

There are more, but you get the idea. I've never heard of a public school district that didn't have all of these problems to some extent. Bigger districts have bigger problems. It wasn't until I visited a friend that graduated 3 years ahead of me in music ed that I saw the reality.

But here are some good things: the look on a kid's face when he finally GETS IT, knowing that you have made a difference in THAT child's life. Sometimes knowing that music is the only reason that a kid is staying in school. He may not be making the best grades, but he's THERE. Discovering that the kids respect you because you've earned it, and the kids feel that you deserve it. Those are the things that make me want to go back for my certification, instead of teaching a couple of beginners each year.

I didn't say any of this to discourage you. Good, dedicated teachers are very hard to find. But like anything in the musical world, you have to do it with your eyes wide open. If you're up to the challenge that being a music teacher presents, then GO FOR IT!

Not only can it make you a better player, it might even make you a better person.


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