Music Teachers have a very busy schedule. Possibly music teachers have the busiest life of all teachers
Of course, many would disagree with that supposition. Physics, Chemistry and History teachers of course work very hard and no-one would say they don’t work extremely hard to bring excellent lessons to our children.
Music Teachers however have to do a lot of extra tasks that other teachers don’t have to – like running marching band and ensemble programs, preparing student concerts, co-ordinating private music teachers and communicating with parents about rehearsals and raising funds for instruments.
With all these duties consuming the teachers time, it is vital that they be extremely organized to make sure that their lessons are both fun for students and stress free for themselves.
Here are a few solutions that can help music teachers every day
A diary. This simple thing can save you all sorts of problems from double scheduling events if it is well managed. It is so easy to double schedule school events with personal events, as most teachers would well understand! You can use a modern personal digital assistant or Mobile Phone, or use the old fashioned paper diary for just a few dollars.
A plan for the organization of equipment. Even if your music room has one old Recorder and a battered guitar with half the strings missing it is vital that those two instruments have their place, and that your students come to appreciate that when in your classroom. When you are seeing lots of children every week and sometimes thousands of dollars worth of equipment it is vital that it is put away with respect. Make a plan, commit it to paper and put it up near the equipment. Vigilance over this for a few weeks will make your life a lot easier in the long run!
A personal blog – What if you could have a website where you place information for band members, music parts for practice and tests so they can complete without you even being there? Its as simple as setting up a personal blog on blogger and getting started. Just think – if you put resources there that you ask children to access for homework… once its done this year you will never have to do it again!
Computer and Technology tools. The latest music software often has inbuilt test and work sheet building tools, so you can write your own music lesson plan in minutes.
Ready Made Lesson plans downloading ready made worksheets and lesson plans from the internet can save you lots of preparation, and there are many brilliant sources of material available now.
Music teaching can be such a rewarding career path, as it is sharing the love of music and teaching – and it should be enjoyable for all!
