Misplaced Concerns

This evening I had the pleasure of being part of a panel of music teachers to speak in an undergraduate Music Education course my supervisor teaches. I was honored to have been asked to participate.

An interesting phenomenon took place as the Q&A session began. The points of concern of the college students were quite different than those of the panelists.

The students asked questions about these topics:
- The most effective fund raisers
- Teaching music theory
- Band trips
- How the 10-second rule is impossible
- Listening materials (the subtext of the question being “Can I get my kids to listen to Bartok and Coltrane?” A panelist’s response: “They need to listen to the guy playing Lightly Row on their Essential Elements CD.”)

These were the panel’s points of emphasis:
- Connecting with kids
- Learning from other experienced teachers
- Being flexible

They spoke of their most effective ways to motivate students, what to do when you’re kicked out of your teaching area, and keeping an attitude of lifelong learning.

As you might imagine, I learned a great deal from listening to the other panelists.