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ISM Information Sheet 03/6

A Career in School Music Teaching
An information sheet produced by the Incorporated Society of Musicians

This leaflet looks at a career in school music teaching; that is, music teaching in the classroom. The advice is based on the responses of over 100 music teachers in primary and secondary schools, to questions about how and why they became teachers, their views about the job and what it requires of them, and the advice they would give to others who were considering a teaching career. Most of the replies came from teachers who had been working for 10-30 years; but a small number had been teaching for as little as eighteen months and others for 40 years or more.

Choice, Preferences, Decisions

Some people know from a very early age that they want to be teachers - the choice of subject comes later - while others realise during their years at school that they want to combine their enjoyment of music with a teaching career. Those who decide at a later stage that they want to teach might do so during or after their music college or university courses, or they might come into teaching as mature students, having chosen to change their career.

If you ask yourself why you are attracted to a career in school music teaching, you will probably find that you like the idea of working with young people, that you like the idea of working with music and musicians all day, that you want to impart your love of music to others, and that school life and working within the framework of a school generally appeals to you.

Now is the time to give some thought to whether you want to teach in primary, middle or secondary schools. Your choice might be influenced by the level of music you want to teach. On the whole, teachers seem to have clear preferences for working with a particular age range of pupils, although their preferences can change over the years and with experience. However, your initial inclination will help you to decide on the course of teacher training to take, or on options within the course.

At whatever point in life you decide that you want to teach music in schools, it is essential to have a training that gives you both musical and teaching skills. Throughout the UK at present, the usual routes are either a BEd with music as a main subject, or a music degree or a graduate diploma in music followed by a teacher-training year to obtain a PGCE (post-graduate certificate in education).*

If you want to be a class teacher in schools in the maintained sector, your professional training as a teacher must be officially recognised. Teachers in England and Wales who have successfully completed their course of training are awarded QTS (qualified teacher status) by the Department for Education and receive a DfEE Number (there is no probationary year). In Scotland, teachers must work for a two-year probationary period before they can become registered with the General Teaching Council and receive a Registration Number. In Northern Ireland, QTS is normally awarded after one probationary year, and teachers receive a Reference Number from the Department of Education for Northern Ireland.

*(It should be noted, however, that this situation could change if the government goes ahead with its plans for entirely school-based courses giving on-the-job training. Whilst the increased amount of school-based training in current courses has been generally welcomed, there have been very mixed reactions to the idea of taking initial teacher training completely out of the hands of higher education institutions.)

How do Teachers feel about their Jobs?

Teachers find that by far the most rewarding and fufilling aspects of their jobs are developing pupils' musical skills and capabilities, and watching their pleasure and enjoyment at discovery, achievement and success. Joy and happiness - for both pupils and teachers - are two words which crop up time and again in this context. Teachers value highly the opportunity they have to open up new vistas and to give pupils a love of music which will enrich the rest of their lives.

The diversity that music teaching offers and the freedom to get on with the job are attractive. In particular, teachers enjoy the extra curricular activities such as orchestral and choral rehearsals and performances, which exercise their own skills as musicians. Some get a similar satisfaction from teaching GCSE and A Level or their equivalents, when pupils start to consolidate their achievements.

Regular pay and holidays are looked on more as a bonus than a reason for choosing this career - in fact school holidays are usually spent catching up on paperwork and preparing work for the next term. A positive, friendly atmosphere attracts teachers to some schools and not others. Good relations, within a well-run department which is seen to be achieving its objectives, can make a big difference to morale.

With all jobs there are unattractive aspects as well. However, since they also bring their challenges and rewards, it is important to learn to cope with them.

Because music teachers find they never have enough time, many of the least attractive aspects of their jobs are those that do not involve making music. Chief among them is paperwork - reports, marking, assessments, although necessary, are far from being favourite tasks. Understandably, difficulties with parents or pupils with behavioural problems detract from the enjoyment of the job, as do difficulties with colleagues, professional jealousy and school politics. The status given to music on a day to day basis as opposed to its 'shop window' uses depends very much on the attitude of the headteacher and the governors. Battling for adequate accommodation, timetable time and resources, against the opposing demands of other subjects, and the feeling that music, despite what it contributes to a school, is given too low a priority and too little recognition, weigh heavily on music teachers. Nevertheless, some teachers enjoy the opportunities which administration presents and they find creative outlets in enhancing the status of music, in building up the department, in the PR involved, in planning, and in developing syllabuses.

Music departments tend to be small and prospects of promotion are limited. Think particularly hard about this if you have ambitions of eventually attaining senior posts beyond head of department. You might want to be able to offer a second subject.

When departments consist of only one teacher, which is often the case in secondary schools, this can give rise to a sense of isolation, especially as there is less time to socialise with other staff because of the extra-curricular activities that take place during breaks and before and after school. Music teachers need to make sure that they do not cut themselves off from the rest of school life.

Am I Right for Teaching?

Having read this far and still feeling sure that teaching is right for you, how do you know whether you are right for teaching? Your first wish must be to educate through music - you will be a teacher first; a musician second. Our teachers were remarkably consistent about the personal qualities and skills they considered necessary for the job.

Personal Qualities
Enthusiasm, energy, mental and physical stamina and good health are essential. Also highly rated are patience, a sense of humour, commitment, perserverance and a capacity for hard work. Teachers need an approachable manner, sensitivity and an understanding of how children and young people feel and perceive things. They need to respect what pupils have to offer and to be able to encourage and inspire them. Imagination, creativity and natural musicianship are important for this. Teachers also need a high level of organising ability and self-discipline, flexibility and adaptability, confidence and self-esteem, cheerfulness and a good temper. It helps if you are willing to admit to mistakes, to learn from others and to seek help from experienced teachers when problems arise.

In secondary schools, it is important to be firm and consistent in maintaining discipline, to have an air of authority without being authoritarian, to keep a sense of proportion, to have presence and personality - some call it charisma - and to be self-critical. You need to have a broad view of what you are trying to achieve and of music's role in education and society.

All teachers need good social skills, an ability to get on with colleagues, tact, diplomacy and leadership qualities, as well as willingness to work as part of a team.

Skills
Even though some people are naturally more 'musical' than others, the art of teaching can be learnt. In order to help you make the best use of your training, here is a list of the skills that music teachers find they need:

Primary school teachers:

a good, basic knowledge of musical styles within Western and other cultures, of music theory, history and repertoire;
an ability to sing clearly, in tune and with confidence;
adequate accompanying skills on the piano/keyboards and/or guitar (being able to compose for the classroom and to improvise, are useful additional skills);
an ability to conduct;
a working knowledge of percussion and other classroom instruments;
an ability to use technology;
a knowledge of good teaching books;
a knowledge of the whole child.

Secondary school teachers:

know your subject 'inside out' - you will be perceived as the expert!
good all-round musicianship: an ability to play the piano/keyboards, sing, conduct, and an understanding of all voices and instruments;
excellence in one particular field, whether as an instrumentalist, singer, composer, etc.; pupils like to have a teacher who is a musician in practice, as well as a teacher;
administrative skills;
an ability to arrange, improvise, transpose, compose and accompany;
familiarity with technology, including amplification and recording.

Common to both sectors:

a willingness to listen to all types of music - to share pupils' favourites and to introduce yours;
good time management and an ability to prioritise;
good organisational skills and classroom management;
good sightreading and a high standard of aural perception - 'a good ear';
a good memory, the ability to absorb things quickly and to know where to find necessary information;
good communication skills including a clear speaking voice;
good lesson preparation and the ability to set differentiated tasks;
sound methodology and the ability to analyse the learning processes involved in whatever concept you are trying to teach;
a broad interest in the arts, and wide-ranging interests outside music;
the ability to be a bit of an actor - you need to enjoy being a 'front' for the school, and the ability helps in the classsroom too.

Still Interested. What Next?

To young people who want to become teachers, our teachers had this advice to give:

Go for a training course in a lively music department with a good reputation for imparting teaching skills as well as musical knowledge and skills.

Don't go directly into teaching from school /college/university. Teachers need maturity and experience of the world. Go out and do something else for at least a year - get your wanderlust out of your system! Learn as much as you can about the different ways people think and behave. Use the time to widen your range of musical and non-musical skills in preparation, and keep up your playing. Try working with groups of young people - coaching, workshops, voluntary work - to see how you respond to them and how they respond to you.

Talk to music teachers of all kinds, from heads of department in large schools to instrumental teachers in music centres. Find out what they think about teaching, schools, the 'red tape', their pupils. Ask student teachers about their experiences and about making relationships with children.

Visit a variety of schools to see how they work. Observe lessons, class control, record keeping, administration. Think about the type of school that suits you.

The advice offered especially to mature people who are thinking about a change of career is this:

Be sure you can take the pace. Teaching is physically, intellectually and emotionally demanding, with high frustration and stress levels. You will need great reserves of energy and stamina.

Teaching is a very different way of life from a nine-to-five desk job, for example. The hours are long and the work makes in-roads on weekends and holidays. Discuss your plans with your family as the demands of the job will affect those around you, particularly in the first few terms. Think carefully about all your other commitments and consider the financial implications, especially if your change of career will mean a drop in salary.

Draw up a list of the disadvantages and advantages of your present job and of teaching. Balance them carefully. Be open to advice and be clear about the reasons why you want to change to teaching. Teaching is not an easy option and is certainly not for someone who is feeling 'defeated' or unsure. Be aware of the difficulties that mature people can have in finding teaching jobs.

Schools will have changed considerably from your own school days. Children are much more open and school life much less 'starchy'. Before you finally decide, try and get at least a week of classroom experience, shadowing a music teacher. Evaluate carefully what you observe as you change from seeing teaching from the outside to seeing it from the inside. Do you feel you can cope with today's young people? You will have an advantage if you are a parent in that you will know how young people think. Music is a much more practical curriculum subject than it was. Can you stand the noise? How do you feel about the different sorts of music now covered by the curriculum: rock, pop, ethnic, electronic - and the influence of technology and the media? Talk to teachers about how they feel about their jobs and see if this applies to you.

If you do find yourself happily convinced that teaching is the life, then go for it! Your previous experiences will prove valuable and you will have a lot to offer. Young people need the support and stability that maturer people can give them. Shop around for available training and bring yourself up to date with educational philosophies. Beware the danger of falling into patterns of teaching as you were taught, and be prepared to find that teaching requires a youthful outlook at any age!

First Impressions

Choose your first school carefully. Try to start in one with good discipline and a good head of music, where you stand the chance of having supportive and friendly colleagues.

A good relationship with pupils is an important aim from the start. If you love your subject and genuinely care about your pupils, they will sense this and be a lot more receptive. This will help eliminate tension and you will find it easier to assert yourself in the school as a whole and win the respect of colleagues. Your involvement in the school should not be limited to the classroom. Socially, school can be great fun.

Every lesson is a performance which must be meticulously prepared. It is the right of each child to expect the very best from the teacher every time the teacher stands in front of the class. Teachers should remember that their voice is their first instrument and their appearance is their first visual aid.

And Later...

Credibility is important for both full and part-time music staff. Music cannot be taught in a vacuum or for the elite few. Teachers must be willing to give as much to average and disadvantaged pupils as to the able high-fliers. For music to flourish in a school, music teachers need to fit in well and respect all other subjects and activities. Music is rarely pupils' top priority so it pays to show that you value everything else they do and to be encouraging: go to their plays, debates, matches etc. to watch them, and they will be more willing to come to choir, orchestra and so on. Cultivate the staff - adopt a high profile in the staffroom, but avoid getting drawn into cliques and never gossip about colleagues.

'Begin as you intend to go on' is good advice but needs to be thought about well in advance of the day you find yourself standing in front of a class. Respect has to be earned and some young people can be difficult. How are you going to start? These points might help you to plan:

Never address a class unless there is silence. This develops as part of class discipline - stick rigidly to it in the first few months. Get them used to listening - if they know you will say things once only, this will help your silence rule.

Develop a system for learning names quickly. This helps with relationships and control.

Always be prepared for a lesson. Pupils know if you are not and discipline problems can arise.

At the same time be flexible enough to alter or reorganise lesson content in order to allow pupils to give you their ideas, and to accommodate their responses.

Know what you are doing and don't waste a minute of your time. When doing practical work have everything out ready to begin immediately. Keep them busy - boredom is death to a music lesson.

Never lose your temper in front of pupils or show signs of being upset.

Praise often and encourage always.

It is not a teacher's job to be popular but to educate. Trying to be too friendly does not earn pupils' respect and it encourages them to have a casual attitude to their studies. Inevitably, class discipline deteriorates.

Be fair and consistent. Keeping discipline can be learnt: remember, each new year group is a new chance to get it right.

You need to plan for yourself as well. Make sure you keep up a life outside school, even though in the early years you might not have time for much social life during the week. Don't allow the job to take you over. Keep up all your musical skills - join local choirs, orchestras etc. Never stop learning about music: take lessons, go on holiday courses, keep up to date.

Finally

It will be clear that teaching is not for those who are unsure that it is what they want to do. It is a demanding calling and you must be able to take the rough with the smooth. On the other hand, if you feel it is the right choice for you, you can expect a full and rewarding professional life. As one of our teachers put it: "Teaching is the best career anyone could hope to have. It is what you make of it. Aim for the satisfaction of knowing, at the end, that you have done your very best."

We hope you enjoy your chosen career. Good luck!

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