Posted by Doug Whitten (long) on August 14, 2002 at 22:37:25:
In Reply to: Future for me posted by Chris on August 14, 2002 at 16:32:57:
I understand you concerns about entering music education as a career. Most (if not all) of them are valid concerns. As a music educator myself, I share your concerns.
Pay: I worked in Idaho, which has the some of the lowest salaries in the nation. Starting teacher pay (Bachelors, no experience) is $25000 a year... which is low by any standards. But, band directors make much more than just the base pay. You usually always get some sort of stipend for all the extra concerts you do, marching band, and all of the other stuff. In my second year of teaching (with a masters) I was making about $38000 after all the stipends, etc. Not getting rich, but not too bad either.
Music programs being cut: This has happened in the past, especially in Oregon and some conservative school didtricts in California. In recent years, most all of the "cut" programs have been brought back (not all). In the time since the late 1980s and early 1990s when so many programs were being threatened, MENC has developed a fairly solid researched-based defense for music education. There will allways be financial grumblings about cutting music programs, but is far less likely to happen now than at any time in the past. In fact, in little old Idaho the Music Educators were even able to get a school's accredidation dependent on whether they affer music and art classes. Currently, PE teachers are far more at-risk of losing their programs than band directors.
Music classes are not as important as math, english, etc.: I gotta say that this is true. Music is important for our culture and personal well being, but it would be self defeating for a music teacher to say that band, choir, or orchestra is more important than reading or math. Music, however, can be very complimentary to the three Rs and it has been shown that the skills needed to be successful in music also enhance other academic areas. Whereas it may not be as important to be proficient in music as it may be to read, that by no means makes music irrelevant or not important in the curriculum.
Are you crazy for majoring in music education: If caring about students and the arts is crazy, then yes. Personally, I came into education after serving in the Army and a few years working in the music industry. I was hesitant to ender teaching, but do not regret it for a second. It is a profession that is sometimes very difficult and there are many days that you don't feel as many warm fuzzies as you may like, but it feels good to know that I am bettering my students, the world and myself everytime I go to work.
As for wanting to teach in Korea: It is unlikely that you can be hired by a school district in Asia. Your best bet is to teach english (or music)privately. Private tutoring (in addisition to regular school)is a large part of many Asian cultures. Generally, they seek tutoring to get an edge on the competitive standardized tests that they take for advancement into a more prestigious College or high school, but it is also common to seek english lessons from a native english speaker.