Thomas J. West Music

There are many things that are not covered in an undergraduate music education degree that every music teacher needs to know. One of the things I learned the hard way is the impact that the community you serve as a music teacher directly affects the philosophy and quality level of the entire K-12 music program.

In my first teaching job, I had supportive band parents and supportive administration. As far as the rest of the community was concerned, however, all that they expected was a band to play at football games and a chorus program to sing holiday concerts.

I hit a glass ceiling in year three of teaching. Once the jr./sr. high music program had developed to that level, that was as far as the community would support. I tried to find opportunities for the band to perform at places other than the Friday night football game. We tried competition, but it did not help the program grow. We tried hosting our own band exhibition show, but we couldn't get anyone to back it, not even the local district of PMEA.

The end result was that after six years of blood, sweat, and tears, I left that district for an area of my state where music education was valued.

One of the music education faculty at my alma mater told us, "Be willing to invest at least three years in your first job." This was wise advice, as it takes at least that long to become completely acclimated to the community you serve. It is not long enough, however, to really make a music program "your own". Until you have seen one graduating class through all of the grades you are responsible for teaching, you really haven't seen the full impact of your instruction.

Along the way, you'll discover what your community will and will not support. Whether you agree or not, if you want your program to grow, find ways of weaving your music instruction into the fabric of the community. Strike a balance between striving for excellence and being inclusive for students of all aptitude levels.

And if your own satisfaction can not be met in the community you are investing your life in, go find a community that does. I began my search for a new community in year 4 all the while I was still fighting to build the program I was in. It took two years to find the right risk.

Changing jobs is always a risk. In my case, it was a risk worth taking.

This article (c) 2011 Thomas J. West. All content on ThomasJWestMusic dot com is licensed under a Creative Contributions Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Please contact the author before publishing on or off-line.

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