Part 2: Benefits of Teaching Music
The rigors of the music education track may have you wondering, “Is this worth it?” The long nights of study, extra education classes, student teaching challenges, or keyboarding classes might wear away your enthusiasm with which you started the major. They might also tempt you to change your track from music education to music performance, or even to another program.
MENC member Richard Sang shares the following with his Introduction to Music Education classes, “Some people consider teaching music a job. Not me. Many look at teaching music as a profession. Not me. To me, it's a way of life. I wake up thinking about teaching, and go to bed thinking about teaching. I've been at it for over 35 years, and don't regret a minute.”
“Dr. Tim” Lautzenheiser reminds music education majors that if teaching music is your dream, it’s worth the effort. “Perhaps we should mentally revisit those special days in our high school rehearsal rooms,” he says. He encourages students to remember the fun of rehearsals, the pride in wearing that band jacket or orchestra patch. All of the work you’re doing now in college will help you bring those experiences to students in the near future.
Lautzenheiser continues, “There is a certain indescribable wealth that comes as a bonus to every music educator’s payment plan. It may be in the form of a parent who pulls you aside to tell you of the importance music plays in the role of his or her child’s life. It may manifest itself as a holiday greeting card from a student from many years ago who poetically tells you of the values learned in your choir, and how those very values helped him complete medical school. It may be the smile of a fifth grader who quietly whispers in your ear, ‘I like music better than anything else in school. Thank you.’ And on, and on, and on….”
Sang believes that the benefits of teaching music far surpass the trials, but there are also realities of teaching music. He says that understanding the benefits and realities of this profession is essential to make an informed choice.
Read Is Teaching Music for Me? Part 3
Read Is Teaching for Me? Part 1
If the demands of your music education program are getting to you, check out the August NewsLink articles on wellness and avoiding burnout. Talk to other teachers on the forums for encouragement.
This article is based on the article, “Choosing Music Education as a Profession” by Tim Lautzenheiser, originally featured in the March 2005 issue of NewsLink.
Richard Sang is the National Collegiate Chairperson and Music Education Professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, NY.
“Dr. Tim” Lautzenheiser is a music education motivational speaker and Conn-Selmer Institute leader.
--Shauna Leavitt, September 25, 2008, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education