wisconsin music educators association president


The (In)Visible Work: Iceberg Right Ahead? Will Janssen, WMEA President


In the 1997 block- buster movie Ti- tanic, the pivotal moment happens when a crew mem- ber calls the bridge and shouts, “Is there anyone there?” An officer asks, “Yes, what do you see?”


The reply: “Iceberg right ahead!” Panic ensues above and below decks as efforts are made to avoid hitting the iceberg, and then the effects of the now unavoidable collision begin to take hold. If you haven’t seen the movie, this clip captures the moment.


Do our classrooms ever feel like that? We’re cruising along when we suddenly realize something we hadn’t planned for shows up, and we move into panic mode. This might be as simple as forgetting to make copies of something needed for today’s rehearsal. Maybe I didn’t secure the right administrative permissions for tomorrow’s field trip.


It might feel bigger, such as not communi- cating with teaching peers about how you will be scheduling beginners for instrument tests. The annual budget is due, but you neglected to get bids.


The iceberg is hit and the now unavoidable collision begins to take hold. We want to yell out, “Is anybody there?”


Work Seen and Unseen


The “(In)Visible Work” of being a music educator can often feel like an iceberg. The part above water, the part everyone can see, is clear enough. Students perform concerts, present their learning at solo and ensemble festivals, march at a game or share music with senior citizens. The part below water, the unseen part, can feel like an iceberg in that it can be much bigger than you expected. It can feel large enough that you can’t visualize the whole of it.


For those who see only above the water, the work of a music educator appears fun or beautiful. It can be overwhelming to


those needing to manage what lies under the surface.


A change in perspective is needed if we are to be successful and enjoy our careers. What if instead of seeing an iceberg, your mind’s eye saw a beautiful building instead. That building would necessarily sit on a well-designed foundation. Foundations are usually not seen; we don’t go to someone’s house to admire the foundation – we notice the view or the furnishings or the artwork. The foundation made all of those possible.


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The work we do that others don’t perhaps see, that invisible work, is the foundation we lay for the meaningful work happening in our classrooms. It is what makes signifi- cant growth possible, or when ignored, lim- its the potential for what could have been.


I asked several colleagues for their perspec- tive on the invisible work they handle. I asked them what made the invisible work of music educators different from anyone else in school. There are the obvious things – public demonstrations of student learning (concerts) and the desire for music to be part of other elements of school and com- munity life (athletic events, Veterans’ Day, school assemblies) in a way other academic subjects aren’t. Music teachers often have significant student loads (many sections or large ensembles or both).


There are the less obvious elements – struc- turing small group instruction in a way colleagues can support, planning recruit-


April 2025


“The ‘(In)Visible Work’ of being a music educator can often feel like an iceberg.”


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