Here is an article I wrote a year ago for another blog. I thought I'd pull it out again because it was something I struggled with when I first starting teaching...

As a music teacher, I am often bombarded with questions regarding the purpose of general music often to the tune of “when am I ever going to use this in life; I don’t want to be a musician?” At first, I didn’t know how to answer that question appropriately. Sure, I had heard it asked about other subjects before but as a music lover, it had never crossed my mind that someone would think the same thing about my precious subject. So in a pinch, my usual response was either to ignore them or to create some dumb answer regarding how they need it to graduate. It wasn’t until recently that I figured out a good way to answer them.

To students, general music class is a required class that has no purpose outside of the classroom, but many don’t see the underlying life-application to the subject matter. Some students may have a small interest in music but don’t really care about the intricate details while some don’t care to learn anything about it. What these students don’t understand is that there is much more to learning about music than the superficial. Previously, I had stumbled across a PDF of a document stating why we (music teachers) teach music. It had many interesting concepts on there that while I knew it, I didn’t know how to put it into words. Today, I found the document on the PMEA website. While those reasons are solid, I cannot give those as an answer to those annoying questions of “why.” Those reasons are argued too easily and result in discussions off-topic, but there is one concept cannot be argued easily.

The answer I give the students is that while they may never need to know what a triad is, or the scientific reasons why sound works the way it does, we study music because it allows us to take something that is abstract and build structure around it and gain a certain mastery of it. Music is more than just notes on a page, it is more than just an outlet for creativity and expression, but it is a course in hard work and learning about something that is out of the ordinary. Students respond to this answer in a variety of ways, but the most common response is neither they, nor anyone in the class, asks that question again.

In life, we as adults have to do things we don’t like to do or haven't any interest. Some approach those things with reluctance, and some try their best. Sometimes the experiences we have only result in the knowledge that we have no interest in that area, but sometimes, the result is that we find something that we never knew about and become better because of it.

**Update: It has been one year since I was asked this question. It seems that the students didn't like the fact that I actually had an answer.

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Taking a new job can be overwhelming from the start, but nothing is more overwhelming than walking into an unorganized mess. When I had taken the grand tour during my interview, I noticed that the band room needed some major reorganization and so one of the first things I did when I was hired was to grab a friend of mine and head up for some major house cleaning: the first stop was the music library. Just to give you an idea of what I was working with, the music library consists of a small 9' x 6’ room that holds seven filing cabinets that are full of music. At this point, the tops of the filing cabinets were nowhere to be seen and there were piles of miscellaneous music that was left lying around. The music folder racks for the students were full of music, and, throughout the room, music was haphazardly tossed. So I did what any normal person would do and I pulled EVERYTHING out of the room and began sorting it.

I made a database program (with a lot of help) to inventory the music and then began the process of reading the composition information to my friend, who typed it into the database. Once the information was in the computer, we assigned it a number and put it back into the filing cabinets. 536 files later and we were done with the concert band music but still had the jazz and marching music left. Several long 8-hour days later, we were done. As I stood staring at how nice the music library looked, I thought I heard a noise...I turned around and looming before me was the (cue scary music) instrument room. Oh boy...

Using a different database, I began to inventory the instruments (serial number, make, model, and condition) and put them back into storage. Those instruments that needed repair were set aside so I could take to the music store. When the instrument room was finished, I went and tackled the uniform room. I was busy for weeks just reorganizing what I had but it was well worth it.

Reorganizing can be a time-consuming process and it may get frustrating at times, but it is very much worth it. Since I took the time to do all that before any rehearsals began, I was able to find music, instruments, and uniforms very quickly to be distributed. I was able to keep track of what was going where or to whom it was going. The music library initially had two different systems going on (maybe the result of two previous directors?) numerically and then alphabetically, while the uniform and instrument storage rooms has no apparent organizational structure. Structure is different for every individual, but here is how I organized the different areas and why:

1. Music Library - I adopted a numerical filing system. Trying to keep things alphabetically can hypothetically work, but you'll be moving files from one cabinet to the next when you happen to get just a few more A's than the B's in the cabinet can handle. The idea of moving files around when I purchased new music wasn't very exciting. By using a numerical system, new music is filed with the next number and you never have to move files around. How do you find music if you're looking for a certain title? That's what the database is for! Information I would include in the database is Band (concert, jazz, marching, etc.), the assigned number, Title, Composer, Arranger, Publisher, Copyright, and Difficulty Level.
2. Uniforms - Once again, I used a numerical system for the same reasons. I could organize by size but the database inventory would be a lot harder to keep and what happens if a uniform gets moved two places down the rack accidentally? I organized each uniform part separately and gave each a number; the jackets, the pants, the sash, and the hats each had a number 1 - 59. In the database I included the Item (jacket, hat, etc.) the number, size, and condition. I also created a column for assignments when I handed them out to students. This made it easier to find the right uniform and size for the students and during my second year, they were able to try on their previous uniform to see if it still fit.
3. Instruments - I didn't structure these numerically or anything of the sort, but I did take an inventory of the Serial Number, Make, Model, and condition of each instrument. When I passed them out to the students, I also had a checkout form that the students and parents had to sign that contained all this information for record purposes.

Everyone is different and there is no right or wrong way to organize your music and equipment, so make sure you organize according to your own preferences. Even though it may get frustrating and you want to just leave it for later DON'T. You will never have as much time as you have during the summer before your band rehearsals begin; just get it done, you'll thank yourself later!

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Funding is a big issue as a first year teacher and can often be an intimidating process. When I first walked into my first teaching job, I was thrown a budget analysis form that I had to fill out the following items: purpose of the budget proposal, what expenses I was going to have, what fund-raising I would be doing, and what my current account already had in it. I just stared at this proposal wondering what I was really supposed to do with it and so I set it aside. I had no idea what I wanted to do for fund-raising, let alone knowing how much things would cost or what kind of money the fund-raisers would make! As I was getting things organized around the band room, I discovered some old budget forms and decided to use them as templates. In order to better prepare you for such an event here are some suggestions that I have for getting through more gracefully than I did.

1. Try to find records of purchases and incoming money from the year before. You can do this either through records that the last director had or through the school's treasurer.
2. Look at the equipment you have and make sure everything is in working order. If something needs fixed try to figure out the cost of fixing it or you can call your local instrument repairman and have him come out to give you some estimates.
3. Is there anything that you feel you may need to have during your first year that the school does not already have? Many times you think you need something until school actually starts and you find you’re not even near the place you'll need that equipment but it is okay to start planning ahead of time.
4. Once you figure out repair costs and what new equipment you will want, try to figure out what kind of money you receive from the school. In my situation, I did not get any money from the school and all money that the band had was from fundraising. If you are a lucky one and get school money, find the difference between said money and the cost of repair/purchases.
5. Plan fundraisers for the money that you still need plus another $500-$1000 for repairs that will inevitably crop up as the year progresses. Fundraisers can really be anything and are only limited to your imagination and resources. Some good ideas for fundraisers can be found with a simple Google search. I try to avoid fundraisers where the profit to amount of work required ratio is small or where you buy something to sell (candybars is a prime example: lots of work, not much profit). The sale of services is an easy fundraiser (car wash, spaghetti dinner) or selling items that have been donated (auctions, 50-50). Also, do not be afraid to ask for donations from time-to-time as long as you specify what the money is going towards (it is also tax-deductible!)

The nice thing about this plan is that if you do not spend all the money you fund-raise, you have some extra for next year. If you save up enough, you can replace those ratty uniforms or buy nicer stands or chairs. It is always better to overestimate and have extra money than to under-estimate and not be able to make the repairs you need.

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Teaching is an interesting profession. We are responsible for the education and development of our students; we see them every day from the hours of 7:30 am until 2:30 pm or later, while trying to maintain discipline and fostering a learning environment. What prepares us for such an undertaking? Many think that college prepares us for teaching, and it does to some degree, but a lot of it is trial and error. During my first year of teaching, I walked into my new office with several crates full of textbooks and notebooks full of information on various aspects of being a music teacher. I had high expectations and lofty goals. I created a checklist of things I needed to accomplish before marching band season began.

Armed with my clipboard and checklist I marched towards the goals set forth. I met secretaries, administrators, janitors, coaches, the athletic director; I reorganized the music library, inventoried the marching band uniforms and instruments, selected the music for the marching show, compiled a list of band students, sent out letters and called a seniors-only meeting to get a feel for the traditions of the program...and then it happened. The first day of summer band rehearsals had finally arrived and in walked my...13 students?!?! Talk about a shock to the system! I knew when I accepted the job that it was a small program, but I was expecting around 20 students. Now it may not seem like a big difference but when a group is that small to begin with, a drop of seven musicians is a big deal. It was then I realized that not everything I was planning was going to happen this year.

It has been two years later and my high school band currently has six students. They are the hardest working students I have ever met and strive to excel on their individual parts and despite the small high school numbers, the future of this program looks bright. Four of the six students are freshman; I have two eighth graders, five seventh graders, 14 sixth graders and nine 5th graders! If things continue to work as they currently are, we will have around 20 students in marching band at two more years and around 30 students at three more years! Things never work as quite as we expect, but we usually turn out for the better because of it!

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