Now what?

For some, the next logical step is graduate school. For others, it’s time to start your teaching career. The great thing about getting a teaching position is that, from now on, you can expect and demand to be paid for your services as a music teacher. But, the real challenge is getting hired.

As a professional music educator for the past 12 years, I have changed teaching positions four times. I was in my first job for six years, then have jumped jobs quite a bit the past six for a variety of reasons. This process of applying and interviewing multiple times has given me a pretty good handle on what it takes to get hired in American public school systems.

Go For The Dream Job, But Have Realistic Expectations

Every music major has an area of emphasis. Take the time to visualize or even write down your ideal dream job. You need to know what that dream job looks like so you’ll recognize it when it comes. The fact is, many other music teachers, both recent graduates and teachers with years of experience, are probably looking for the same job you are. You main objective upon graduating and starting your career should be simple: land a job you can live with.

This certainly doesn’t mean you should “settle,” but you are not going to appear attractive to someone with your dream job if you yourself believe that dream job is beyond your skills as a new teacher. Your first job does not have to be the place where you spend a 30 year career. However, don’t consider accepting a job offer in a school that you can’t see yourself spending at least three years in. In most states, K-12 tenure is attained after year three, and achieving tenure in a state is a big feather in your cap for future employers. You really won’t see the effect that your teaching has on a music program until you’ve worked through at least one graduating class. For example, if you teach middle school band, grades 5 through 8, you will need to see those 5th graders through to 8th grade graduation before you can really call that program “your own.”

If you really want to search for the dream job right out of the gate, you have to be willing to relocate. The desirable music teaching jobs, particularly secondary performing ensemble jobs, will always have a high number of applicants no matter where you are in the country.You will have to carefully weigh the pros and cons of leaving comfortable locations, friends, and family behind to pursue a desirable job. You can always make new social connections in a new place, and with online social networking, it’s easier than ever to stay connected to people you care about.

Applying for Jobs – Leave No Stone Unturned

Consider the following suggestions for finding jobs to apply to:

1. Most states, some regional areas, some counties, and even some school districts have their own online job search portals. Be sure to check out USreap.net to see if your state has a REAP employment website.
2. For states with county-wide school districts, most county districts or I.S.D.’s have their own employment portal for every school in the county.
3. Both Craigslist and Monster.com have regional classified ads for education.
4. Many state board of education associations have regular job postings. For example, here are the listings for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association website.
5. Many state music educators associations have their own job boards, and certainly check the MENC jobs postings. By the way, if you have a music ed degree and you’re not an MENC member, what are you waiting for?
6. Check out online forums for organizations affiliated with your primary teaching area. I actually found my third teaching job by posting “I’m looking for a job” in the forums at Youth Education in the Arts.
7. School districts are required by law, at least in my state, to make a public announcement every time they have an opening, even if the position is filled internally. Many school districts will give as little warning about openings in public advertising as possible if they already have a good applicant pool. Many districts do not advertise job openings at all except for the “employment” page on their district website. If you have a specific school district you are gunning for, be sure you check out their website and talk to people who are on the inside. The first place to find out about openings from a specific school district is the rumor mill.
8. Many retail music stores have a list of local openings. Typically, they have a traveling sales representative who visits all of the schools in a geographic area. Those road reps are great sources for all kinds of insider information on the districts they serve.

Credentials, Credentials, Credentials

Here are some suggestions for sprucing up your application package:

1. Some districts prefer to get your entire application electronically. The previously mentioned USreap.net system delivers your entire application to any school district in the system. Others will give you a specific email address to send items to. Still others want it mailed to them in paper. As the old song goes, “Find out what they like, and how they like it, and give it to them just that way.”
2. Be sure that you have current copies of any clearances in your possession – child abuse clearance, criminal record check, FBI clearance, etc. Make copies of the originals and include them with your initial application. This shows that you are organized.
3. Make sure that your references and reference letters are people who really know you personally and can go to bat for you. The more recent their contact with you, or the longer-term their work has been with you, the better they are as a reference. The more references you can provide that directly interacted with you in a music teaching (or any teaching capacity) the better.
4. Make sure that your resume is clean, easy to read, and is full of action words. If you have not done a lot of teaching outside of your bachelor’s program, incorporate any employment you have had that demonstrates your professionalism. Be sure to include awards you have won and student leadership positions you have held in ensembles.
5. Your cover letter is one of the most important parts of your packet. This is where you need to customize the message for each school you submit to – do NOT write one cover letter and then send copies of the same letter to all of the employers. Your cover letter needs to address the specific position that is open in the school district and how you are uniquely qualified to fill that position. This is your chance to tell the employers something about yourself that is not apparent in your resume, as well as express your individual personality and philosophy with respect to the opening they have. I do not recommend that you use your cover letter to “tell them what you think they want to hear,” but certainly use it to highlight abilities you have that match the job opening.

The Interview

When you do finally get an interview, be thankful for the opportunity – it means that the district is considering you as a possible match for their needs. Keep in mind that districts are looking to add a full-time employee, complete with a significant salary and benefits – it is a big investment on their part. They are also adding someone to their extended work family. No matter what kind of “inside track” you may have with this district (you’ve subbed there, you know the principal, etc.), you really have no idea of what qualities the interviewing panel is looking for, so don’t try to “tell them what you think they want to hear.” It is much better for all parties involved if you are straightforward and honest with them about who you are, what you value, and what you want out of this relationship. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If you get mixed signals from them or have any kind of intuitive “red flags” like a knot in the pit of your stomach when they mention something, consider finding a different district to work for. Yes, you need a job, but again if you can’t picture spending at least three years of your life working with these people, you will be much happier somewhere else.

Some tips for the interview:

1. Be on time, dress to kill. Plan travel time with at least a 30 minute cushion for unexpected delays.
2. Make sure you have a contact number in case you get lost.
3. Shake hands, make eye contact as much as possible. Sit with good posture, but not too rigidly.
4. Be prepared to answer questions on your teaching style, how you handle classroom discipline, what kind of music you program, how you accommodate special learners, etc.
5. If you don’t have an immediate answer to a question they ask, relax, take a deep breath, and if nothing comes, say so.
6. Be prepared for an interview panel containing anywhere between 2 and 10 people. Some districts will have the parent booster group president sit in on interviews.
7. Come prepared with at least one question to ask the panel, as they usually give you an opportunity to do so at the end. If something comes up for you as a “red flag” in what they say during the interview, dump your prepared question and ask about that.
8. Confident but not cocky is a good approach.
9. Most districts are looking for tech-savvy people. If you use technology, be sure to bring it up if possible.
10. Afterwards, send an email thanking them for the opportunity and looking forward to speaking with them again.

And here’s a great power tip: If you don’t get hired after giving an interview, call them back and ask who was hired and which school district they are coming from. Not all schools will give out that information, but if they do, you have another school to apply to. Chances are that the district the other person is leaving hasn’t posted their opening yet.

Above all, getting hired by a district has more to do with your own preparation and attitude than anything else. If you go in with a “please hire me, I’m desperate” attitude, this will come across in your presentation. If you consider yourself to be a valuable addition to a teaching faculty and expect to be hired by a deserving district, you will find yourself in a teaching position. Above all, DON’T GIVE UP! I got one of my teaching jobs in the third week of August and had two weeks to put a marching band show on the field! Best of luck to you on your job search, and be sure to join us as a professional in the Music Educators Professional Learning Network.

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So what are these videos? They are a clinic that Wayne Downey did for the Riverside City College in Riverside, California. “Who is Wayne Downey,” you ask? His biography explains:

Wayne Downey is the Music Director of the 13 time DCI Champion Concord Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps. Under his supervision as arranger and teacher, the brass section of the Blue Devils has been awarded the Jim Ott Memorial Trophy for “Excellence in Brass Performance” for an unprecedented 22 times, more than any other brass section in the history of DCI.

If that’s not enough, here he is in an interview from 1980:

Even posting them to my blog So You Want To Teach? didn’t feel like the right thing to do, so I decided that the best place to put them was here on MusicEdMajor.Net. The total time of the videos is nearly 30 minutes so before you start watching them, I want to list a few things that I took away from the video regarding his pacing and teaching style. Even more, I’d encourage discussion about some of these things or other things you see in the comments section below…

• Obviously, if you’re teaching a younger group, classroom management will be more of an issue.
• Notice how relaxed, yet engaged he is. People will generally respond with the same energy-level that you portray.
• Though these are basic concepts that most of us have heard at one point or another – and he has doubtless taught hundreds of times, he still goes at them with the same passion.
• On that same topic, the students have heard the same stuff for years also. But he focuses on four primary things over and over: breathing, tone quality, intonation, and releases.
• Notice at the beginning of the third video how he stops mid-thought and tells them he likes something that they did. If you missed it, rewind to about 0:10 and watch the baritones in the second row as they put their horns down.

All of these concepts are exactly why great music teachers and great coaches are just generally incredible teachers. Sorry about my mini classroom management clinic here, but it’s vital. We can really boil great teaching down then to three things:

1. Know the subject matter
2. Stick to what works, and present it passionately
3. Catch someone doing something remarkable – and remark about it

Enough of me, here we go:

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These kinds of discrepancies and uncomfortable feelings aren’t solely limited to the genre of jazz and are frequently found in all musics. Many musical genres and cultures have histories that feature men as prominent composers and instrumentalists (O’Neill, 1997). Koza’s 1993 analysis of music education textbooks support this, with the results suggesting that despite the “missing males” problem that is so well-known (not to say that it should be disregarded), female music students in K-12 education might just be found wanting for role models not only directly in the classroom, but indirectly in textbooks they read and concerts they see. Indeed, a sampling of professional musicians indicates that most of these quality players are men. This is despite the fact that female music students are the majority in the formative years of formal music education (Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994) and that music itself is considered to be a female subject (Boldizar, as cited in O’Neill, 1997).

So how do we get from point A to B?

1. Gender associations for music instruments do exist (Dr. Abeles at Teachers College, Columbia University has done a lot of work on this topic, among others) and are still persisting over time, though the degree of associations is lessening (Delzell & Leppla, along with Abeles, have done recent studies that demonstrate this).
2. While researchers have suggested that girls feel more freedom than boys in choosing non-stereotypical music instruments (Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994), analysis of programs over the years indicates that both male and female students still are not opting for these instruments in significant numbers.
3. During K-12 education women represent at least half of the students involved in ensembles (Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994), so where are they going?\

First, the previously-mentioned lack of musical role models may make some female music students feel as though there is not a place for them in the field of music. Psychologists like Vygotsky and Bandura, among others, have emphasized the role of peer or older individuals with a greater amount of skill or intelligence in not only the learning process but also in identity formation. If a female music student sees a lack of female professional musicians, she may feel as though it might not be worth pursuing.

Second, bullying can be a problem. Researchers have demonstrated that gender associations are prevalent to the point where children can identify which instruments a hypothetical male and female student are most likely to play (Delzell & Leppla, 1992), suggesting that students in any phase of their K-12 education will easily recognize ‘outliers,’ students who play gender-nonstereotypical instruments. This, obviously, can be a problem for both the discouraged student and the teacher who wants to help.

How should we as pre- and in-service music educators deal with this? Researchers like Johnson and Stewart, among others, suggest that teachers are attempting to not make assignments based on race and gender and can even try to lessen the strength of students’ gender associations by presenting them with gender-nonstereotypical role models (one study detailed an ‘intervention’ procedure in which students were presented with a concert of such a nature (e.g., Harrison and O’Neill’s 2000 study)). I personally think that the latter is incredibly important for us to keep in mind.
As I’ve stated earlier, role models for students can play a significant role in the way that they think of themselves as musicians and whether they feel comfortable in our programs. Not only can female students feel more comfortable in K-12 music if they are exposed to more significant and successful female musicians and composers, but both female and male students playing gender-nonstereotypical instruments can increase their confidence. Incorporating more creativity in the curriculum in the form of composition and improvisation can also help all students, regardless of their instrument choice, build confidence and competency on their instrument.

Younger students can begin to be directly involved in musicmaking at an early age through composition in large groups or with the entire class, while older students can develop musical independence by working in smaller groups or by themselves. Activities like collective improvisation can help students begin to experiment creatively without feeling singled out, and a creative process can be incorporated into many classroom activities such as the teaching of musical literature (e.g., using musical elements from the literature being studied as a jumping off point for composition or improvisation) or an ensemble’s warm-up (e.g., ornamentation/improvisation during an initial run-through of a piece or section). At Teachers College, Columbia University, many of my classes incorporate experiences like this and it truly is nothing like I’ve experienced in both my K-12 and undergraduate music education (if you want specific examples, feel free to ask me!), so I can say firsthand that it is a great way to really dive into and experience music and musical repertoire for what it is and get a better understanding of aural skills, music history, and music theory.

Obviously, for any of these experiences or processes to be successful in the classroom, the teacher needs to establish a feeling of safety, and I think that this is the most important thing that we pre and in-service teachers can do, not just for students who feel like they are left out of a traditional K-12 music education program but also for those who feel more at home. Getting involved in these kinds of experiences in a safe place can make a difference to a student with low musical self-esteem, but ultimately it is really up to the teacher to try and reach every student equally instead of just teaching to those the traditional musical curriculum has always been able to reach. My continued participation in music to this day is one example of a student who had been implicitly discouraged, more so by peers than by educators, fortunately, from continuing in a musical passion, and I am very excited to work in K-12 education and reach out to students who may feel like I did once before. Hopefully you can do your part as well.

Suggested Reading/References

• Abeles, H. F. & Porter, S. Y. (1978). The sex-stereotyping of musical instruments. Journal of Research in Music Education, 26 (2), 65-75.
• Delzell, J. K. & Leppla, D. A. (1992). Gender association of musical instruments and preferences of fourth-grade students for selected instruments. Journal of Research in Music Education, 40 (2), 93-103.
• Koza, J. E. (1993). The “missing males” and other gender issues in music education: Evidence from the “Music Supervisors’ Journal,” 1914-1924. Journal of Research in Music Education, 41 (3), 212-232.
• Koza, J. E. (1994). Females in 1988 middle school music textbooks: An analysis of illustrations. Journal of Research in Music Education, 42 (2), 145-171.
• O’Neill, S. A. (1997). Gender and music. In D. J. Hargreaves & A.C. North (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Music (pp. 46-63). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Tanur, J. M. & Zervoudakes, J. (1994). Gender and musical instruments: Winds of change? Journal of Research in Music Education, 42, 58-67.
• Sinsabaugh, K. (2005). Understanding Students Who Cross Over Gender Stereotypes In Musical Instrument Selection. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.

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Those words, spoken to me by my applied clarinet teacher during my sophomore year as an undergraduate music ed student at Penn State, were a slap in the face – and I totally deserved them. He made this statement during one of our many sessions that semester when it was obvious to both of us that I had not made much progress on the assigned material from the week before. I didn’t respond to him then, but I’m sure it was obvious to him by my reaction that his words had stung. “I’ll show him!” I thought, and then started practicing.

Like many music majors, I sat first chair in my high school’s concert band. I attended all the honors band festivals and successfully did seating auditions. I successfully auditioned into the Penn State Marching Blue Band and the School of Music. I did it all with a minimal amount of practicing – riding primarily on my natural abilities. My music teachers never taught me how to practice effectively. Even the private teacher I had in high school, a sweet old man who was a reed doubler and a friend of my band director’s dad, didn’t teach me anything about practicing.

About a month later, after spending an hour in the practice room a couple of times a week, I played the assigned material again for the professor. He gave me a wry smile and asked, “Why did you think you didn’t have to practice?” I told him that, as a music education major, I didn’t really see a connection between being a performer on clarinet and teaching music to students on other instruments besides clarinet. He shook his head in a manner suggesting the phrase “you’ll find out.” He was right – I did.

Disproving an Old Adage

“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” The old adage is meant to demean teachers, who do not have enough skill to make a living doing what they teach to others. One of the great truths of being a teacher is that you can only teach to a student that which you yourself have directly learned, experienced, and mastered. You can’t teach a student advanced concepts in instrumental performance if you have not reached that level of performance on at least one instrument yourself. To reach that level of performance as a vocalist, consider taking singing lessons.

Once you have developed to an advanced level of proficiency on one instrument, you can apply that experience to instruction on any other instrument, making it possible for you to instruct students from a beginning to intermediate level of skill. The basic concepts of performance (tone production, tonal literacy, rhythmic literacy, technical development) are similar no matter what the instrument is. Learning the idiosyncrasies of each instrument is just a matter of time and experience once you have a firm foundation in one instrument.

Have a “Raison d’Etre” (Reason to Be) in the Practice Room

The human ego has an important job – it exists to protect the organism from harm and seek out pleasurable experiences. It tends to do its job entirely too well, which keeps us mired in patterns of behavior that prevents us from taking risks and avoiding unpleasant situations that push us outside our comfort zone. People in general are not willing to extend an effort to an end if the perceived result is not “worth it.”

For me as an undergrad, there was little motivation to practice because I could get by without it, and I didn’t understand the value of having a more advanced level of proficiency on the instrument. Once I understood the benefits of being more advanced on my instrument, I had a reason to practice. The first step as an undergrad is to find your own personal reason to invest the time and effort in practicing. It needs to be something that will motivate you when the drudgery of practicing is upon you.

Develop an Efficient and Consistent Routine

Once you have your raison d’etre, the next step is to develop a practice routine and stick to it. Developing a successful practice routine begins with scheduling. How often will you get in the practice room? How long will you spend there when you do? A few things to keep in mind when scheduling practice time:

• Shorter sessions on a more regular basis have a stronger long-term effect than longer sessions with less frequency. Two short sessions per day tends to yield excellent results.
• Scheduled times should be as consistent as possible, as in the same time every day or every other day. Develop a routine that flows with your class schedule, meals, ensemble rehearsals, and meetings.
• Have the same regimen in every practice session. In a basic half-hour practice regimen, I recommend 10 minutes of scales/arpeggios, 15 minutes of repertoire work, and 5 minutes of sight-reading or improvising. Touching on every aspect of your performance (technique work, literature, and musicianship) will keep you improving steadily on everything.
• Cycle through different items in each phase of the practice. For example, you may cycle through major scales in sharp keys one session, flat keys the next, then save day 5 of a weekday cycle for a review of all 12. In repertoire, you will have to break down etudes and sonatas into smaller sections. It is quite easy to spend an entire practice session drilling a technical passage. Alternate between sight reading and improvisation. You don’t have to be a jazz player to improvise a melody. Just pick a scale and try creating a melodic line.
• Depending on the timing during the semester, shift the balance of your practice session to focus on repertoire as needed. When approaching concerts or juries, more time will obviously need to be spent on the material for those performances. Sacrificing time on scales or sight reading during these “crunch time” periods is acceptable.

A Few Other Suggestions

• Know when to quit. The Law of Diminishing Returns states that as fatigue and frustration increase, the amount of productive progress you will make for the effort you put in decreases. Sometimes quitting early and adding the lost time to the next session is a good move. Practicing for hours on end does little to help you improve if it is unfocused and disorganized. It also contributes to overuse injuries.
• Make staying focused and on task a part of your practice. See if you can go 10 to 15 minutes or longer of straight repetitions before taking a break. Focus is the key to success in just about any endeavor.
• Sometimes taking a five minute break yields great results when you return.
• Consider keeping a written practice journal to keep track of what you worked on and how it is progressing. You can detect trends in your routine that are effective or less than effective.
• Occasionally record a performance of an excerpt. Recordings are very unforgiving and point out the smallest of flaws. Listen to them with a grain of salt – human perception is focused, not general like the recorder, so your audience does not hear all of that, either.

Effective practicing is about being consistent and developing a routine that you will stick with. As Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” Developing a successful practice routine can be akin to developing a healthier diet – it is a long-term change in habits. But then, what would undergraduates know about healthy eating habits? I certainly didn’t have them.

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Why go to graduate school?

Teachers are expected to be constantly learning and growing.  While professional development and workshops are wonderful ways to add to knowledge, graduate school is a concentrated path of study in one topic.  Also, in many states, obtaining a graduate degree will increase the salary of a teacher.  Lastly, if career goals include teaching college later on down the road, this may require some form of graduate degree.

What are the differences between graduate and undergraduate study?

What I have noticed as a graduate student is that my professors have higher expectations of us graduate students than they have of undergraduate students.  They obviously expect maturity.  I remember the first few days of graduate school I would just try to crack jokes and stuff, and everyone would just look at me strangely.  Professors expect us students to have a certain amount of knowledge coming in, since usually the graduate program is the next level of what we studied as an undergraduate. Instead of telling me to read something or to work certain problems, I am expected to do those things myself.  Also I am expected to be able to do research on my own.

What I have also noticed is that professors are more understanding of what is going on in graduate students’ lives.  Graduate students come from all backgrounds and walks of life.  They can bring unique experiences but also have different life situations to work around.

Should I go straight out of college, or should I wait awhile?

I have known colleagues that have done both.  There is no definite answer, but I think it really depends on your needs and your attitude toward education.  Personally, I decided to go teach for a while before even thinking about a graduate degree.  Graduating from college was a stressful time– I had just gotten married and I was broke!  No way could I afford graduate school!

Also, going to work really helps one realize what he/she wants to get out of graduate school.  Teaching for four years helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses as a musician and a teacher, so when I could finally start school I knew what to work toward. I also had experience that I could share with my classmates and professors that I may not have had straight out of college.

Some of you may be ready to begin graduate school right after earning your Bachelor’s degree.  There are some definite positives to this.  It can be harder to go back to school after having a job for awhile, and even harder if you have a family, bills and other obligations.  If you are still young without any of these obligations, and you are ready for it, it may be worth looking into graduate school.  Also, the knowledge you obtained in your undergraduate program is still fresh on your mind.

Should I look into an online program or on-site program?

Again, this is up to the needs and attitude of the student.  There has been a rising trend with entire degree programs being offered online.  Even some on-site programs offer online classes.  Online programs are great for people who are working and going to school at the same time.  For the most part one can do classwork at any time it is convenient.  Depending on the school, sometimes tuition is less with an online program.  Currently the only three schools I have found that offer a program online are Boston University, East Carolina University, and University of Southern Mississippi.

There are many different on-site programs.  Your average program is full-time for two years.  There are some summer programs, especially for teachers, that are even more convenient.  I am in a program at Appalachian State University that takes four summers to complete.  The classes meet for six weeks every summer.

Making the decision to go to graduate school is not one to be made lightly.  Hopefully the above comments will be helpful in helping you decide.

What about you?

Are you a graduate student (or do you have a graduate degree)? What considerations did you take before getting a graduate degree? Are you an undergraduate student with additional questions about grad school? The conversation does not have to stop here! Please leave your thoughts in a comment and this topic can be discussed further!

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What is CMENC?

CMENC is the designation for the collegiate chapters of the MENC organization. As a member of CMENC students should strive to help be a driving force in their department, school and community. Much like MENC itself most states will have a divisional level above the individual college chapters. For more information about your particular state it is recommended you contact your State Collegiate Chairperson.

What will CMENC do for me?

This will sound generic at first but, it will make you a better educator if you allow it to do so. Member benefits include subscriptions to periodicals such as the “Music Educators Journal”, “Teaching Music” and “Journal of Research in Music Education” as well as many others that are offered online through the MENC website. Other material benefits also include a 25% discount on other MENC resources as well as a “special introductory” rate for your initial MENC membership during your first year of teaching.

Networking and Job Search

You never know who can help you in the future and as a member of MENC you will be provided with full access to the Members Only section of MENC’s website. This area provides opportunities to not only talk to other majors in the Future Teachers Forum but also provides development and networking possibilities through the rest of the member forums. Additionally, membership includes access to MENC’s online Job Center, where there are many listings of available positions nationwide.

Conferences

While online forums have made the world a smaller place, MENC also holds national, division and state conferences that usually offer CMENC members discounted registration rates. As a matter of fact, MENC offered completely free registration to CMENC members to their Music Education Week that just recently took place in Washington, D.C.! The conferences are the best opportunity to get face time with people in our profession and learn from some of the leaders in our field who are willing to share their thoughts and ideas with us. This also provides an opportunity to meet some of your fellow Music Ed majors from across your state or the country.

Topics in the conferences can vary and include anything from additional teaching techniques and development to technology and its benefit in the music classroom. While at my last state conference, I was given the opportunity to meet Robin Hodson who just recently left Avid/Sibelius but at the time trained us in many of the benefits of Sibelius and how it could make the teacher’s job much easier.

Your Chapter

Along with the networking opportunities and these conferences, your chapter will hold regular meetings at your college/university. The meetings will include discussion on how to build the chapter itself, the program and it’s presence in your community. Always remember that as an educator your surrounding community will be your greatest resource as they will often dictate what you can and cannot do within the school and your program. Using these meetings to bring in guest speakers or organize events are a great way to get your name out there and see what you and your chapter are made of. Also, your chapter could have the opportunity to do small “master classes” at local schools, which gives you the opportunity to further your education outside of the classroom. The classroom is a great place to begin our education, but what we do with after that will determine what kind of educator we are.

Remember that this is the profession you have chosen and as such you probably have a major interest in it. MENC and CMENC provide you the tools to better yourself in a field that you have already shown interest in being a part of. CMENC can provide a chance for you to meet those who can help you learn, as well as a chance to have your voice be heard.

What if my school doesn’t have a chapter?

If your school doesn’t already have a CMENC chapter, first check with other schools in your area or state. They can assist you in contacting your State Collegiate Chairperson who is the advisor and coordinator for all of the chapter advisors in their state. If you want more information, please visit MENC’s Main CMENC Page, which includes tons of resources and information on CMENC. Additionally, you will need to speak with your department about getting a chapter advisor and go to MENC Collegiate: Getting Your Chapter Started page on MENC’s website to learn the steps to getting your chapter started. If your school already has a chapter and you are not a member, speak to your chapter advisor or president, and sign up to be a member here.

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2. MENC’s Biennial Conference Approaching MENC: The National Association for Music Education, has had it’s...
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In reality, one person played, and he played a wrong note.

“What did I do wrong?” I’m asking myself.  I checked the baton – yep, fresh batteries, and it’s in the right key.  Therefore, I come to the conclusion that it is THEIR fault.

“uh, Mr. Simpson?” “It’s ‘Stinson’” “Whatever. Our old director did it differently.”  This was not the last time I would hear this phrase.

This first day was one of many moments that would destroy my assumptions. I called myself a teacher, but I was shocked at how much I had to actually “teach”. The following are assumptions that were broken during my first two years.

The students will automatically_________.

Fill in the blank: practice, sit up, respond to a new conducting gesture, etc. You might come in to a situation where the students already have proper rehearsal etiquette. Or, you might not. And it will not automatically fix itself. Put a car on cruise control, don’t touch the steering wheel, and tell me if you get to your destination. You have to be prepared to drive your students to success, and realize that yes, some students need to be taught how to and why we need to practice.

The band/choir/orchestra never meets my expectations.

One of my friends, also a first year teacher at this time, came to me with a dilemma.  “The band never does what I want it to. They would rather talk the entire time than rehearse, and it’s stressing me out.”  I asked a simple question: what do you expect from the band at rehearsal?  “Well, I expect that they’ll take forever to get ready, they’ll play out of tune, the whole rehearsal will be full of talking, and I’ll have to get after them the whole time.”  “What if you expect the opposite?” The next day, he let his band know exactly what he expected of them. Was it a perfect rehearsal?  No, but over time, he told me of the remarkable improvement.  We’ve heard it before, but here’s the bottom line: people will meet your expectations over time, regardless of how high or low you set them.

Everyone loves what you do and you will be appreciated immediately.

Another harsh reality: not all of the teachers, staff, administration, parents, and even students love the band/choir/orchestra as much as you do. Even harsher: not everyone will like you.

It’s tough to deal with. What do you do? First off, you realize that your class or ensemble is a part of a larger picture: the school. People have other priorities and obligations. Everyone in the school has worth; why not let them know? Basically, if you want respect, make sure that you’re dishing it out.

There are some people, however, that will never come over to your side. Take the seasoned 30-year teacher that has decided that he just doesn’t like new teachers. What you do then? The only thing you can do – tell yourself that they are missing out on a great person, and just keep being you for the sake of your students.

Every student will behave because I told them to.

There’s a reason that most evaluations for new teachers deal with classroom management.  Now I’m not saying classroom management is difficult; it just requires clearly defined expectations, a quick response time, a cool head, and pepper spray. (I’m kidding about that last one.  Kind of.) I spoke of my troubles to my high school band director. His advice? If it is good music, and it has the power to grasp the students and take them over for that rehearsal and you’re teaching it well, most of my problems would be gone.  Along with clear classroom guidelines, this piece of advice helped me greatly. Remember: you can’t always control what the students do, but you have complete control over your response and consequence.

You will still get some of “those” students, however. Let’s call this particular student John.  Not to protect his identity, but to deny him the pride that this story would bring him. You see, John was easy to get along with, and could usually play his part, but had a reputation for being a bit of a clown. One snowy day, things were going particularly well in rehearsal. I looked to cue the timpani, but found no response. “Where’s John?” Blank and confused looks.  “We don’t know. He was just here.”  I continued on with rehearsal as my co-director searched for him. After rehearsal, John came back in.  “Mr. Stinson, come see what I did!” The hallway door to the band room now had a three foot tall snowman (complete with a carrot stick nose) was greeting anyone that happened to be walking past. It was then that I had the answer to my question: yes, I did get a BME and thousands in debt so I could write a detention for the band room’s version of Frosty the Snowman.

Teachers Are Underpaid and Unappreciated

I’d love to completely disagree with this, but this is true for some.  But what if we look at the other side of the coin?  My friend is a math teacher. He is paid a full time salary for teaching three math classes at a high school using the block schedule.  To supplement his income, he coaches soccer, and he is a member of one of the school committees.  Each of these extra jobs provides a stipend for his outside of school work.

I am a music teacher. I am paid a full time salary for teaching three music classes in the same setting.  I have many after school commitments, but I am paid a stipend for them. I am also a member of the curriculum committee to help rewrite the fine arts standards – a chance to not only make money, but make a difference in what is expected of our students.  In the evenings, I work as a staff member for two marching bands, and on the weekends, I have a private trumpet studio and I play the occasional gig. As music teachers, we are blessed with opportunities such as these that the math or English teacher might not have. There’s money out there; just ask yourself how much time you want to put in to it. I do caution, however, about spreading yourself too thin. We would rather have A+ work in one area, than taking on many things and doing C work across the board. You need to also have time to for “recess.” The healthiest individual realizes the importance of focusing on work when working and focusing on playing during recreational time. Make time to play.

And now, for the second part – teachers are unappreciated. Do this: treat your students as the respectable young adults that you expect them to be, allow them to create and perform at their highest level, make your class worth their time, and let them know that you appreciate them. Then, let me know if you feel unappreciated at the end of the year. I sure don’t.

Front Page Image Credit: Music Man 5 on Flickr

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