Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

warrrreagl · 11-11-2004, 05:23 AM

Your guardian angel has arrived, Mr. Pink. I have a bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree in music education and I'll give you all the help I can.

First, are you going to focus on elementary or secondary music education? Second, are you going to focus on vocal, instrumental, or general music education? Here are all the possible areas of focus:
1) Elementary General - this was my area, and it means you will be certified to teach basic general music classes at the elementary school level (typically K-6). If I knew what state you're in, I could be more specific.
2) Secondary General - not very common as most states are cutting this program out of the public schools. This certification applies to people who teach general music appreciation classes at the junior high or high school level (certification 7-12).
3) Secondary Vocal - junior high and senior high choral programs, certified 7-12.
4) Secondary Instrumental - junior high and senior high band programs, certified 7-12.

You'll notice there's not an elementary vocal or instrumental concentration, and it's for a practical reason; the elementary general teacher usually is responsible for any choral or band groups at the elementary level (and most elementary schools don't have a band anyway).

Since your degree will be a teaching degree, there can be no better experience than teaching. However, don't limit your thinking to organized schools; volunteer or apply at churches, day care centers, nursery schools, YMCA's, shelter homes, etc. They probably won't pay you much (if at all), but the experience you gain will be invaluable. At the very least, you'll get a critical opportunity to find out of teaching is really the thing for you. I've supervised some extremely brilliant students who were miserable teachers and they had no business in the classroom. It's important to find this out BEFORE you get a job teaching somewhere.

As for the question about starting graduate school or getting a job, why not both? Get a teaching job and start your masters program simultaneously; that's what I did. First of all, Frowning Budah is exactly correct about the pay; if you complete your masters program in three years, then you'll get your degree right at the same time you'll be granted tenure at your teaching job, and you'll get one monster mofo of a pay raise all at once. Second, there is no way to describe how deep and broad an entire school year can seem for a first-year teacher, and if you're in a masters program it will give you even more ideas of what to do. When I took my first job as an elementary music teacher, I used up every single lesson and trick I'd learned in college before we'd even hit the Thanksgiving break; thank God for graduate school! Third, since you'll be working full time in the day, your graduate courses will be in the late afternoon and evening and full time in the summer. I continued to follow that same schedule all the way through my doctoral program, working full time at an elementary school all the way through graduate school. By the way, any teaching job you get will require you to complete "inservice activities" in order to keep your teaching certificate updated, and graduate school covers those requirements beautifully.

I can tell you so much more, but I'll wait to hear for more specific questions. Good luck, and start learning about Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory as quickly as possible!

11-11-2004, 05:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Your guardian angel has arrived, Mr. Pink. I have a bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree in music education and I'll give you all the help I can. First, are you going to focus on elementary or secondary music education? Second, are you going to focus on vocal, instrumental, or general music education? Here are all the possible areas of focus: 1) Elementary General - this was my area, and it means you will be certified to teach basic general music classes at the elementary school level (typically K-6). If I knew what state you're in, I could be more specific. 2) Secondary General - not very common as most states are cutting this program out of the public schools. This certification applies to people who teach general music appreciation classes at the junior high or high school level (certification 7-12). 3) Secondary Vocal - junior high and senior high choral programs, certified 7-12. 4) Secondary Instrumental - junior high and senior high band programs, certified 7-12. You'll notice there's not an elementary vocal or instrumental concentration, and it's for a practical reason; the elementary general teacher usually is responsible for any choral or band groups at the elementary level (and most elementary schools don't have a band anyway). Since your degree will be a teaching degree, there can be no better experience than teaching. However, don't limit your thinking to organized schools; volunteer or apply at churches, day care centers, nursery schools, YMCA's, shelter homes, etc. They probably won't pay you much (if at all), but the experience you gain will be invaluable. At the very least, you'll get a critical opportunity to find out of teaching is really the thing for you. I've supervised some extremely brilliant students who were miserable teachers and they had no business in the classroom. It's important to find this out BEFORE you get a job teaching somewhere. As for the question about starting graduate school or getting a job, why not both? Get a teaching job and start your masters program simultaneously; that's what I did. First of all, Frowning Budah is exactly correct about the pay; if you complete your masters program in three years, then you'll get your degree right at the same time you'll be granted tenure at your teaching job, and you'll get one monster mofo of a pay raise all at once. Second, there is no way to describe how deep and broad an entire school year can seem for a first-year teacher, and if you're in a masters program it will give you even more ideas of what to do. When I took my first job as an elementary music teacher, I used up every single lesson and trick I'd learned in college before we'd even hit the Thanksgiving break; thank God for graduate school! Third, since you'll be working full time in the day, your graduate courses will be in the late afternoon and evening and full time in the summer. I continued to follow that same schedule all the way through my doctoral program, working full time at an elementary school all the way through graduate school. By the way, any teaching job you get will require you to complete "inservice activities" in order to keep your teaching certificate updated, and graduate school covers those requirements beautifully. I can tell you so much more, but I'll wait to hear for more specific questions. Good luck, and start learning about Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory as quickly as possible! __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.