As a Music Teacher in a school...

As a Music Teacher in a school…

What does one wish for? Friends of the family as your students? Trust from your students that what you’re doing for them is in their best interests? Musical sophistication in our students with minimal effort on our part? In any case, we hope for smooth sailing…a “clear creek” to rest beside that maintains our sense of calm, fulfillment, and satisfaction. We can defend our position on a philosophical basis, knowing that we are bringing something truly unique into the lives of our students…but what about the pedagogical? Is our process effective? Does it actually stand against the trial of time and relevancy in our student’s lives? What about the teenage girl who is more concerned at the time about the teenage boy who sits next to her in the section? Is she to be a mere victim of the moment, or a true learner who takes what we offer into the next stage of life? She is someone’s daughter and a child of God, and deserves better from us than a perspective that she is only valuable for her talent and what she can contribute to the ensemble. What about the boy? Are we offering life lessons to him that go beyond the immediate musical problem (and our own egos that drive us)? Can we help him to feel valued and empowered, again beyond the position he holds within a group that we conduct? Are we process-oriented, where the learning actually takes place, or are we guilty of only pursuing the product? Do we provide opportunities for students that do not feed our egos as conductors, but allow true self-expression and motivation to be creative? What is our true value as music educators…the musical experiences and skills we provide, or the relational gifts we give through music to a generation that seems to be adrift and lost in many ways?

Let every day be a “Thanksgiving” for the gift of lives we are given to influence in a positive manner. May we regard this as a sacred trust, our personal assault on the deterioration we see in society. In the court of our professional lives, I believe this is how we best acquit ourselves.