Chapter 18

1. Is music education a profession? Why or why not?
Music education is indeed a profession. The book states that there are four factors to determine if a certain type of work is a profession, and music education fills all four of those factors:
The job requires extensive education and preparation, usually a college degree and often additional study---Music teachers must complete their college degree to be hired. Also, they must be well prepared for each class period and seek additional outside information if needed.
The job involves the responsibility of making decisions---Music teachers have to sit down and decided what they are going to teach in each lesson; they may even have to write out an entire music curriculum for their school. They must decide what they are going to teach each day, and figure out how they will use their class time as well.
Members of a profession have a sense of commitment to their work---As we have talked about in class many times already, this job is definitely a labor of love; we know that as music teachers we must be willing to give our students and our classrooms our all and really commit to the job at hand.
A profession has an organization that is primarily concerned with the advancement of the profession, not with the welfare of its members---I think we all realize that MENC does a great job of fulfilling this factor. With conferences, workshops, and publications, MENC has taken great steps to help further the career of music education by giving its members opportunities to learn and grow in their profession.

5. What do you see as the greatest challenges before us in music education?
I personally think that the greatest obstacle we will have come across as music educators is if we will have support or not in whichever school setting we find work. We have all become aware that the support for the music program in many school systems seems to be dwindling. We must have the support of our administration behind us to know that we are effectively do our jobs to teach the students.