Music Teacher For Young Children
Career review from a person working in the job
How I Got The Job
My Education: Arkansas Tech University, Teacher, Music Education
My Prior Experience: I was a substitute for a year before I began teaching full-time.
My Job Profile
My Company: I work for a school district in rural Arkansas.
Job/Career Overview: My job as a music teacher is to teach general music to children in the K-2 age group. In a typical day I have 8 classes per day and see around 150 students. When the students arrive, we start with a song, move on to the topic or main idea of the day, then sing songs that reinforce that main idea, and then we sing a good bye song.
When I was a student, I never realized how emotionally difficult this job could be. There are so many children that don't have the love and support that they need at home. Many children are abused and I have found myself in desperate situations where I could do nothing more than be a good listener for that child.
Teachers are constantly expected to continue educating. We are very overburdened and keep having unrealistic expectations placed on us. Overall, though, teaching is a very rewarding career and worth the time and effort.
More Insights: Most people think that becoming a teacher is a cushy job with summers off. It's really not! The time you spend planning and stressing during the school year makes up for that little bit of time off.
Love It? Hate It?
I rate this career 6 out of 10.
What I Love or Hate
The best part of my career is seeing children grow and develop. When they come into Kindergarten they are so small and lack a lot of motor skills. I get to see them gain a lot of these skills over the years.
The worse part of my job is when I find out that a child is being abused. It is especially hard when there is nothing you can do to help the child get out of the situation except by being a great listener.
My Career Tips
When starting a career as a teacher, I think it is important to find a job where you feel comfortable and that has a family-oriented, friendly atmosphere.
It's also important to realize that the first year is all about survival. It's not going to be the best year you have ever had, but it's not going to be the worse either!
It's also important to create a support structure with other faculty in your building.
