I just finished my fifth year as a general elementary music teacher. During my music ed program, I remember hearing that it takes five years to become a great teacher, and I wondered what my teaching would look like in five years. I felt well prepared to enter the profession--I had a masters degree from a top school, two levels of Kodaly, and ten+ years of teaching privately behind me--but I also recognized that I still had a lot of learning to do.
Well, here I am.
I've learned a lot in five years, and I truly hope that I grow as much in the next five years as I did in the first five. Here's my list of ten tips for those of you just beginning your journey into teaching:
1. Get your Kodaly levels. Nothing will better prepare you to develop your curriculum and teach music concepts than Kodaly.
2. Read up on classroom management. I teach at a Title 1 school and was wholly unprepared for some of the behaviors I encountered when I first arrived. 44% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years, and I think a huge piece of that is classroom management--it doesn't matter how cute your manipulativea are, if you can't keep students from throwing them at each other, you're not going to have much success using them effectively.
Nearly every classroom teacher has read Henry Wong's The First Day of School, and while it's a fine resource, it's not my top choice. Instead, go pick up Responsive Classroom for Music Art PE and Other Special Areas. The strategies specific to special area teaching are transformative.
3. Learn a bunch of music games for all grade levels to have at your disposal for when you need to fill time, or when you have to scrap a lesson because it's not working. My first year, most of what I did was play games with my students. Look for future posts on some of my favorite music games!
4. Join a bunch of music educator facebook groups. For ideas, and support, few things have been as helpful (and free) as these groups have been to me.
5. If you can, start building up your resource library. Get method books, picture books, folk dance books, and song collections. (More to come in a later post)
6. Don't be afraid to try new things. If something doesn't work, be honest with your students and move on (see #3).
7. Get out of your comfort zone and get to know the other teachers/ staff in your building. There can be such a disconnect between classroom teachers and special area teachers. Close the gap. Collaborate with them, talk to them about the students, and ask them for advice.
8. Learn the names of your students. This was so daunting to me as a first year teacher, but the good news is, it gets better--after your first year, you'll only have to learn the kindergartner's names! This is step one in building relationships.
9. Simplify. Don't worry about doing a winter and spring program for every grade level. That's insane. One of the greatest things I did for myself was not go overboard on programs in my first five years. I do a Veteran's Day program and two choir concerts. That's it.
10. Use your summers to get rest, and do professional development--don't stop learning ever!
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