“The first year of teaching can be a shock to music teachers who are expecting an extension of the student-teaching experience,” says Gary Mortenson. After beginning their first teaching job, music teachers soon learn that they have a new set of responsibilities that may not have been addressed in college.

Mortenson shares various “situations for discussion” with his music education students. “This activity helps educators think through the handling of real-life situations or problems. In addition, it can give younger teachers a head start in formulating ways of addressing broader issues,” say Mortenson.

How would you react in the following scenarios?

Teacher-Student Relationships

Scenario #1

You’re on tour with your top high school choir. It’s after curfew, and all your students should be in their rooms observing rules about noise levels. As you walk down the hall, loud, boisterous sounds emanate from a room. You discover the room is occupied by your students. Upon your knocking, the door is opened to reveal a party complete with smoking and alcohol. Many of the students involved are section leaders. How do you handle the situation? What could you have done to prevent it from happening?

Scenario #2

A student in your fifth-grade general music class is extremely unpopular, bearing the brunt of every cruel joke and being ridiculed continuously by other students. Her actions and clumsiness seem to encourage abusive treatment. It’s almost as if the student has decided that if she can’t be popular in the usual sense, then she’ll be popular in an unusual way. How do you help raise this student’s self-esteem? Once you begin to help, how do you deal with the other students’ attitudes toward this person?

Share your thoughts about these scenarios on the future teacher forum or e-mail your responses to Shauna Leavitt.

Stay tuned for part 2 that shares scenarios about teacher-parent relationships.

Resources

Advice for New Teachers: Part 1

Advice for New Teachers: Part 2

Da Capo: Starting the First Year: Part 1

Da Capo: Starting the First Year: Part 2

Gary C. Mortenson is professor of trumpet and head of the music department at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. He also serves as Publications Editor and as a member of the Board of Directors for the International Trumpet Guild.

This article is adapted from “Reality 101,” by Gary C. Mortenson in Music Educators Journal (December 1991): 45-49

--Shauna Leavitt, September 30, 2009, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education