Developing Tomorrow's Music Teachers Today

Summary Our job as music teachers is much broader than working with those few students who wish to follow in our footsteps. We must encourage and inspire all of the students involved in our programs. Still, given the power-ful influence that this survey attrib-uted to the high school music teacher, we must consider how we might iden-tify and nurture potential teachers more directly. Take the time to speak with interested and promising stu-dents about how much music teach-ing has meant to you. Telling them how personally and professionally rewarding it has been will certainly influence students in strong and posi-tive ways. Of course, the opposite is true as well. Music teachers who find their profession unrewarding and unsatisfying will likely communicate these feelings to students. We some-times get caught up in all the small things that our jobs require and forget the fundamental reasons we became music teachers. Passion for what we do is the most powerful tool for moti-vating all students, and it will strike a chord with those who see themselves in our shoes. College music educators must also play a greater role. One way we can help is to communicate regularly with high school teachers about students who have shown an interest in music teaching. In our clinics and outreach programs, we could build in opportu-nities for high school musicians to try their hand at conducting. We must also begin to talk to our college and university schools of music and our state organizations about better schol-arship support for music education majors. Millions of children's experiences with school music, now and in the future, depend on actions all of us take today. Good music teachers must be encouraged, nurtured, developed, and valued. All of us who currently teach must accept this responsibility We should not just assume that quali-ty music teachers will always be there. Talented young music students often have other abilities as well. Other pro-fessions, some more lucrative, com-pete for their interest. Active steps based on good information, such as the ones discussed above, might help encourage promising young students to commit to the enriching and rewarding profession of teaching music.