Teaching
Teaching is hard. The teacher must be able to recognize their student’s skills, strengths, and abilities, as well as their needs and weaknesses. They must be able to balance students’ emotional needs as well as their intellectual needs. They must be able to manage numerous students’ behaviors and correct them if necessary. They must also recognize physical needs such as going to the bathroom or hunger and thirst. These are if the day is typical and there are no other outside forces playing upon them, such as fire drills, state tests, field trips, emergencies at schools, etc. Music teachers are responsible for engaging students in a “new language” and trying to teach them the necessary vocabulary and literacy skills. And they must perform at numerous events throughout the year.
I say all this because, despite all the factors listed above, teaching is one of the most beautiful and powerful acts of optimism and hope. Teachers wake up every day to try to make our society better. Building up humans in the ways we can, in the time we have, because we believe that the world will continue to evolve, and if we prepare the children, it will grow towards a better future. We are inspired as we witness all that the children are capable of; we are in AWE when we see the glimmers of how they will surpass us. And that is the hope that we as teachers will someday be unnecessary in that child's life because they have grown and learned enough. The other hope is that they will remember us and return to share their successes, but that’s another story. The more significant hope is that they will surpass us. The music will continue and grow without us.
Teaching is also a strange balance between ego—look what I taught them—and humility—I didn’t do it all. I set the stage for the student to grow and learn. The teacher doesn’t pour knowledge into the student. The teacher helps the student find the information and utilize it in the best way for the student.
I have been a teacher for 22 years, and I still love watching students grow, regardless of their ages. I love to see them become more confident, I love to see the light bulb moment when they grasp a concept for the first time, and I love to see when they want to learn more. At this career stage, I am amazed that I still feel this way. When I was ten years in, a burned-out colleague assumed I was only in the first five years of my career and said, “Wait until you’re ten years in.” I looked at them and said, this is my 10th year. I still feel this way today, on the cusp of year 23.
I am angry that so many individuals do not understand the value of the teacher and frustrated by those who don’t understand the value of music education. But in the classroom, with the students, I have hope for a better future. We laugh, we cry, we sing, we dance, and we discuss the world. I am thankful for this career, and I STILL LOVE IT!
