The Unseen Tasks of a Music Teacher
A music teacher's responsibilities are vast and varied throughout the academic year. These include planning lessons, analysing results, organising extra-curricular programs, running concerts, rehearsing with students, attending parents' evenings, and participating in open evenings. The list often seems endless. While many of these tasks are shared with other departments, some are unique to music teachers, such as organising musical productions that require extensive evening and weekend rehearsals. Despite the challenges, many of these tasks are incredibly rewarding. Some of my fondest memories from my 10 years of teaching music—and even from my earlier years as an instrumentalist—are of working on school musical productions and witnessing students excel on stage. One particularly memorable example involves a Year 11 student in our latest musical production. She had been quietly working as a stagehand in previous productions, preferring backstage tasks over performing. This time...