Music

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katie117
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:48 am

Music

Post by katie117 »

I am a music educator (instrumental percussion specifically) and graduated college in December. That being said, I have been teaching sense then, and taught a lot during my college years. I am certified to teach music K-12.

I would love to teach music internationally, but reading through previous posts show that the opportunities for music teaching abroad are slim...

With my certification, would teaching English be an option for me?

Thanks,
Katie
Michelle
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:02 am

Re: Music

Post by Michelle »

Hi Katie117. I taught music in six different international schools over a period of 18 years. Music teachers are in demand. Many countries require that expat teachers have degrees in the subject they teach, otherwise they stipulate the schools should hire a local. My wife was an elementary teacher. We got each of our jobs because the schools needed a music teacher and one with a teaching credential and a music degree. You will do just fine.

By the way, I too am a percussionist but with a degree in Composition. At all of my schools the director purchased sets of conga drums, bongos, marimbas, etc. You will be surprised at the emphasis on music in International Schools. Performances are the key to success. They are well attended and in a way they are a highly visible representation of the quality of education at the school. Bring photos of performances to your interview.

Best of luck
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Music

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

It's not so much that music positions are so rare that will be difficult, it's more that you are a candidate with 0 years of experience since schools will generally not count any experience that occurred before you have graduated/certified and/or did not take place in a K-12 setting.

Music positions are relatively uncommon compared to many others since there would generally be only one per school or level (ES, MS, HS). Although this is also true for many specialists positions many schools seem to be willing hire locally for music positions (along with PE) which makes it even harder to obtain one.

Your background does not seem you to qualify you to teach English in an int'l school but you could probably find an ESL position if you were that eager to get overseas. You may also find a lower tier and/or smaller/newer int'l school that would consider a brand new teacher for a music position.

In truth, your best bet is to try and find a job in your home country (even if you have to relocate) and get at least two years of successful experience before you venture abroad. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for positions and fire off a CV. You never know.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

Music ITs arent in high demand. I agree with @WT123 its a position that ISs are more willing to hire a LT (along with PHE). Music ITs tend to stay longer than other ITs once they are comfortable. Music is an expensive program and a well resourced IS is harder to find.
ISs generally dont count experience before you are credentialed, but I doubt your teaching before you graduated and were credentialed was comparable to the experience in a DS/IS. Casual instruction is not the same as teaching.

What is your instrument range and other music skills. BSs tend more towards choral and ASs more towards instrumental. Percussion is not the highest in demand. You need to be highly proficient in wind instruments in a K-12 IS, as primary is essentially bells (lower primary) and recorders (upper primary), with a lot of interest in strings as you move into lower secondary. Yes youll have a couple guys that want to do drums but your going to have a lot of girls (or their parents) that want to do classic string (violin) and wood winds and guys that want to play guitar.
In addition you need to be pretty good at piano/keyboard, if your a whole school music IT you will be expected to produce at least one recital a year and assist the theater department with its music accompaniment, especially if the production is a musical.
Music is one of the teaching fields a good portfolio can really help with, especially a digital portfolio that incorporates video/audio.

Are you referring to English language or English literature? I dont see anything in your background that would prepare you or qualify you for either, unless you were desperate and interested in teaching ESOL at an ES. You will find a lot of EC/EYFS programs that want ITs who have musical and drama skills.

I further concur with @WT123, the bar to entry in IE is two years post certification, you could of course recruit anyway, but the ISs interested in you will likely be bottom tier 3 ISs that are a high probability of being a train wreck.

If you wish to pursue ESOL than I would recommend adding a state credential in ESOL. If you want to continue in IE, you should consider adding a primary credential and possibly Art and Drama/Theater.
mamava
Posts: 320
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 7:56 am

Re: Music

Post by mamava »

The opportunities are slim because there are not many music teachers hired at a school. At one of the schools I worked for, there were almost 2000 students--1 music for elementary, 1 choir teacher for MS/HS, 1 band director for MS/HS, 1 orchestra teacher for MS/HS. It's like learning support or EAL...schools don't have a lot of them. But heaps and heaps of schools have music programs, so once you have your experience, apply!
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