Music Teachers have a very busy schedule. Possibly music teachers have the busiest life of all teachers
Of course, many would disagree with that statement. Maths, Chemistry and English teachers of course work very hard and no-one would say they don’t work extremely hard to bring brilliant lessons to their students.
Music Teachers however have to do a lot of extra tasks that other teachers don‚’t have to – like running choir and ensemble programs, preparing student recitals, coordinating private music teachers and talking with parents about practices and fund raising for equipment.
WIth all these tasks consuming the teachers energy, it is vital that they be extremely organized to ensure that their music sessions are both enjoyable for children and trouble free for themselves.
Here are a few solutions that can help music teachers every day
A planner. 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 Palm Computer or Mobile Organizer, or use the old fashioned bound planner for just a couple of bucks.
A location plan for all the school equipment. Even if your music room has one old Recorder and a battered guitar with half the strings missing it is important that those two instruments have a specific home, and that your students come to appreciate that when in the music classroom. When you are seeing hundreds of students every week and sometimes many hundreds of dollars worth of equipment it is important that it is put away carefully. Draw a diagram, commit it to paper and stick it on all the walls near the equipment. Being careful about this for a few weeks will make your life a lot easier in the long run!
The author of this article, Kevin Tuck is a former teacher and editor for the Fun Music Company, who create simple and complete Music Lesson Plans for music teachers everywhere.
A personal blog – What if you could have a place on the internet where you place news for band members, music parts for practice and assessments so they can get it done without you even being present? Its as simple as setting up a personal page on blogger or wordpress, and getting going. Just think – if you put materials there that you ask students to access for additional work… once its completed this teaching year you will never have to do it again!
Computer and Technology tools. The latest music software often has inbuilt test and work sheet creation tools, so you can create your own teaching materials in minutes.
Prepared Lesson plans accessing ready made work sheets and lesson plans from the world wide web can save you many hours preparation, and there are many excellent sources of material available now.
Teaching Music can be a very rewarding and enjoyable choice of career, and with the right tools it is even easier.
