listening project
“You Were My Mom and Dad’s Music Teacher…” Peggy Krasin, WMEA State Co-Chair, Listening Project
Every time a student says to me “You were my mom and dad’s teacher” (and it’s quite often these days), it not only reminds me how old I am, but gives me a reason to think about my wonderful career.
I have been teaching in the River Falls School District for 38 years. This was my first teaching job, right out of college. Although I earned a comprehensive music education degree, being a trumpet major in college, I was all set to be a high school
band director. Imagine my surprise when the only positions open were in elementary schools. I had an interesting student teach- ing experience. Back then (as my children say “back in the day”) I did not have a music cooperating teacher. A classroom teacher and university supervisor tried to help me as much as they could. It was truly sink or swim and I was forced to rely on any music I could remember. Thank goodness for my methods class and Girl Scout training!
I did feel prepared to meet the challenges of elementary aged students in a music class; after all, I was bigger than them. Things went well my first few years. I loved my students (most of them anyway),
gave great concerts and had very few dis- cipline problems. I had the support of my principals and parents. Life was good.
Then we started a family – babies, house- work, homework, teaching! I must admit that there were many days when I would go to school at 8 a.m. and not have any idea what I was going to do at 8:30 a.m. when the students came. So, I got my teaching down to a system.
My students still loved music, still gave great concerts, were well disciplined and my principals said I was great. Life was still pretty good!
Then in 1984 I faced the biggest challenge of my career. I made up a resume and showed it to my principal to see what she thought of it. She promptly tore it up and threw it in the garbage can. I was shocked! She informed me that I had been teaching for 11 years and not taken one workshop or class, I hadn’t even gone to a conven- tion and if I was applying for a job in her school she wouldn’t even consider me worthy of an interview. I had two choices at this point: 1) tell her what to do with her opinion or 2) consider what she was telling me. It was a long weekend of soul searching, but I came to realize that maybe I was in a rut and it really wasn’t fair to my students or me.
String Division Faculty
UW-Eau Claire offers degrees in music education, performance (all band/orchestral instruments, piano, and voice), theory, and composition, and Bachelor of Arts and Science in music and music history degrees.
For more information, contact the UW-Eau Claire Department of Music and Theatre Arts at 715-836-4954 or visit our website at:
www.uwec.edu/mus-the.
Summer 2011
Total Percussion Camp • June 13-17 •
Dr. Jeffery Crowell, instructor
For more information:
www.uwec.edu/ce
Excellence. Our measure, our motto, our goal. 22 April 2011
I was told about a class offered that sum- mer by the author of the textbook series we were adopting. I decided to try taking a summer workshop (baby steps). It was the best decision of my teaching career. Dr. Mary Pautz taught the class and opened up a whole world of music education possibilities I didn’t know existed. I found myself EXCITED about teaching, wanting to share all the ideas I learned with my students and wanting more information. This class led me to work with Dr. Eunice
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