First, Be a Teacher

As a music specialist, it is often frustrating when you see "those days" on the school calendar - the dreaded "teacher in-service training" days.  Music teachers frequently don't like these days because 1) rarely is there anything on the agenda that is music-specific and 2) we usually have 900 things on our plate that need to be accomplished and we feel that sitting and hearing about the latest trend in math instruction is not the best use of our time.

There are certain things that are unavoidable - you know, like death and taxes.  In-service days should also go on this list.  Rather than making these days a source of boredom and frustration (if you do, indeed view them as such) view them as opportunity days.  When the latest classroom requirement is handed down from above, I often see colleagues put up the argument "but music is different."  Yes, music is different.  Music is also not on the state-mandated tests (yet).  However, after spending nearly 30 years in this business, I am here to tell you if you put your time and effort into proving how "music is different" and finding crafty ways to convince your principal to let you out of certain meetings and trainings, guess what?  You've just helped solidify any opponent's point of view.  You've just verified any suspicion that "music is different."

There seems to be two camps when it comes to elementary music types.  One camp feels they are viewed as an integral part of their faculty.  The other feels the "odd man out" syndrome.  Regardless of which side you find yourself on (or any part of the spectrum in between), there is something you can do make others view you as "a teacher too."  Rather than spending your energy fighting against school or district requirements for you to attend trainings that "have nothing to do with music," take the opportunity to go.  Find out what's going on in "their" world.  As you are sitting and listening politely (secretly planning your next program in your head), stretch your brain and creativity.  Mentally start making connections between what you do (or could do) in the music class that is similar to the topic being presented.  Participate in the discussion.  Show your colleagues that you, too, ARE a teacher!

Another strategy is to find out what the "hot topics" are for the year.  Check the direction in which your school or district is headed.  If you are so inclined, see if you can talk to your principal or the person in charge of in-service trainings to be listed as a presenter or being part of a presentation team.  Here is one example:

There was great concern last year that poetry was to be a topic included on the new state test (personally, I was under the assumption that it always was).  There was some scrambling on the part of department leaders as to how this topic was to be addressed effectively because "poetry hadn't been addressed before."  I had a discussion with a department head for the district and told her that poetry is a large part of what we do in music.  Then I set out to show her the similarities.

Fortunately, my principal came through a program where arts integration was a big part of her personal learning.  She approached me prior to the start of this school year to see if there was something I could do during our opening days to expose teachers to classroom arts integration.  She wanted to see more arts as part of standard instruction, not just when students were in my class.  I did a short presentation on A) the importance of the arts in brain development and presented brief data (emphasis on "brief") from studies related to arts instruction and academic success and B) did a couple quick and fun activities related to meter, phrasing, and stanza (verse) using nursery rhymes.

By doing things like this, you are accomplishing much.  First, you are showing that music is a vital part of a child's development and you are thus doing great PR work for arts education.  Secondly, you are showing others who may be skeptical that teaching and learning actually does go on while students are in your care.  It's not just "fun and games."  And finally, your are elevating your own status among your peers.  You are establishing yourself as an "education expert" not just a "music expert." 

I have discovered over the years that by making sure music is included in every educational discussion, my own teaching has improved.  Instead of saying, "Well, that doesn't pertain to me, I teach music..." I found a way to see how it DID pertain to me and my classroom.  Good teaching is good teaching.  Period.  There is no distinction between music teaching and teaching other subjects.

I can assure you, if all music specialists took this approach, there would never be an "us versus them" situation in any school and, as enough students came through such programs, there would never be another discussion about whether or not to cut arts instruction from a curriculum.  It would be viewed as the vital aspect of every child's education that it truly is.  To quote Ben Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."  We must "hang together" as teachers, not "hang separately" as arts educators.

Happy Easter!  Until next time...