Why do I teach?

So a long time ago I claimed I would never be a teacher. My father is a high school teacher so I witnessed first hand how much he had to do when he was at home. I never understood why he had to bring work home with him since he was at work all day with the students. It looked stressful and complicated and I really didn’t want to have anything to do with it 

Later in life (around the 6th grade) I started volunteering with the kids ministry at my church. All the kids my age were helping in the kids ministry and I so desperately wanted to fit in so I decided to help out too. The only problem was… I hated it. I hated getting there early and having to correct the behavior and hearing the same lame lessons every week. I eventually hated church and would find any excuse to not go.

Leading up to my college years, I found that the only thing I was interested in was music. I would skip classes and lunch to hang out in the band hall and practice in hopes of “catching up.” It was then that I was informed that the only way to make a “decent living’ as a musician was to be a teacher. My heart dropped.

Musicians around me and teachers and my parents alike said things like “it’s smart to do music education” and “you are making a good decision” but I always knew that I was not a teacher. I eventually decided to go ahead and do music education and the experience only solidified my dread of teaching. When it was all over, my friends and family knew I struggled a lot with the teaching life. I loved the students and the music, but the lifestyle and the general atmosphere of being in school was draining on me to the point where I couldn’t do anything anymore. 

So if that’s how I feel about teaching… why do I teach?

Well first, I consider myself a private lessons instructor. Language is amazing and helps a lot when I talk about what I want to do and how I view myself. The second reason I do lessons is to use music to teach proper coping skills. Finally, most of my students are pre-teens and I feel that through music I can help build confidence in young musicians and students.