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Go teach or pursue Master's first?Date: April 26, 2013 by Timothy wise  Views: 1655
I am currently debating going to teach for a few years before I begin my master's work on a conducting degree. Any thoughts? Should I go try my hand at teaching first or go ahead and get the Master's of Music in Choral Condcuting??? Thoughts? Your advicve would be appreciated.
John Howell on April 26, 2013 7:28am
Hi, Timothy. This question has come up before, and the concensus, if I rember correctly, is to spend a few years teaching. The reason is purely practical. A majority of college choral jobs include responsibility for supervising student teachers and teaching Choral Methods classes, for which you will need that background and experience.
All the best,
John
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on April 27, 2013 3:29am
I'm a big advocate of teaching for at least three years before pursuing a master's degree. The teaching will show you where your weaknesses are and you can hone in on improving those during your studies. It also helps to answer some of those "how I am going to use this?" questions that often come up in our course of studies.
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on April 27, 2013 4:18am
Hi Timothy:
I'm with John. You will learn many things in just your first year of teaching, things that might change the direction you wish to go in your graduate studies.
Is it possible to do some of your course work during Summer sessions? Back in the dark ages when I was in graduate school at Illinois, almost all of our course work- and the real professors- were available during Summer sessions. I'm sure there are still many such programs still.
Good luck!
Tom Seniow
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on April 28, 2013 7:57am
Hey Tim,
I have often heard advice from my professors to go out into the field and teach for a few years before pursuing Graduate studies: for experience and such. One advantage if you stay and teach in MS is that the DoE in the state will provide you with scholarships and may cover your tuition. Hope this is helpful.
Carter L. Collins,
Music Education--Voice, K-12
Mississippi College
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on April 28, 2013 9:00am
Definitely go get some teaching experience first. You will get so much more out of your Master's program after some experience teaching and you will have a better idea of what you are trying to accomplish with your graduate program as well. Good luck!
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on April 28, 2013 10:23am
Hi, Timothy.
I agree with the others, and would add that many universities now offer "teacher-friendly" masters programs where most of the course work, if not all, can be done in the summer. This is due in part to the fact that some states now require credits beyond the bachelors to receive permanent certification. In my state (Mich.) it's 18 credits, which is more than half way to a masters anyway, and completing a masters puts you on a higher pay scale in most school districts.
My own personal view is that getting practical teaching experience helps you to better understand and focus upon what skills you want to develop in your next degree. Without the practical teaching experience, I just don't think that focus can be as sharp.
Good luck in whichever you choose.
Chuck Livesay
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on April 28, 2013 10:13pm
In addition to all the wise comments above, if you have been in "starving student" mode for several years, it is nice have even an underpaid teacher's salary for awhile. If you are overdrawn at the National Bank of Mom and Dad, they will probably appreciate a respite. If you have been putting yourself through school, your problems will not be over, but at least it will be a change of pace. And it is also a change of pace to get away from hours in the library, term papers, and the grind of classes.
on April 29, 2013 3:35am
I am a teacher who really loves to conduct - and I am very glad I decided to teach first. I have 2 years under my belt, now, and I'm starting a Master's in Kodaly Education at Loyola University in MD this year. It's a four-summer program, so I can keep teaching and actually afford to pay the tuition! I did not think I would pursue anything but conducting for my master's, but I love my current job so much (general music Preschool-8th grade) that I wanted a program that did conducting and education methods at the same time.
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on May 1, 2013 7:15am
Timothy,
I would not have been hired at my first teaching position without the master's degree. Having said that, I was very fortunate while working on the master's degree, I was able to conduct several ensembles at the university I was attending. With the master's degree I was hired by one of the larger school systems in the state. What I would strongly recommend against is pursuing the doctorate without some classroom experience.
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on May 2, 2013 9:38am
I tend to agree with Michael. Because of the experiences I gained obtaining a MM, I was able to get a better quality job. Additionally, I think there is a lot to be said for doing grad work while you are still in "scholar mode" as the transition back could be a challenge. This also gives you an opportunity to firm up your fundamentals in methods and conducting before putting them to use.
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on May 3, 2013 8:36am
Definitely teach. Depending on the major professor and/or degree, some schools may require it before entry into the masters program. Our experience has been that our stronger students tend to be those who have been 'in the field' (certainly there are rare exceptions). They also seem more focused and motivated than those who are 'continuing on'. The students with experience are more likely to get the 'plum' graduate assistantship positions as well.
Certainly one can succeed under either circumstance. However, my experience is that, for the large majority, having had your own ensembles to conduct/teach will be great preparation for the graduate program in performance (conducting) or music education. Best of luck in whichever direction you select.
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on May 3, 2013 2:14pm
In my opinion, if one has conducting and organizational experiences already (at undergraduate level, church, other local community chorus, orchestra, band etc), and/or going to the master where s/he did undergrad and s/he already knows teachers and how things works at school, going straight into master would be a good choice considering job market etc.
If not, teaching first is a better choice.
on May 4, 2013 3:51am
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this part. Many schools will not hire someone who is a beginning teacher who has a masters degree, as they would have to pay a beginning teacher more money. I understand that you're looking into conducting, and that you probably want to get away from education, but give it a few years. It'll be worth it in the long run, you'll get experiences galore. I could always tell which if my professors had education degrees and taught for a while because it showed in their rehearsal/classroom management. The education majors who taught first knew how to run an organized rehearsal.
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on May 5, 2013 5:37am
Teach first. Teaching choir involves SO MUCH MORE than just conducting that will make you a better conductor. Those management, communication and analysis skills are critical. Hone those skills in the classroom prior to more indepth conducting study.
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on May 22, 2013 8:06am
I went straight to grad school. Depends on what you feel you need. I felt I needed to learn a few more things before I headed off to the "real-world." Do you feel confident and ready to take on your own program? Masters programs will accept you without experience, DMAs - forget about it.
on May 23, 2013 4:25am
Hi Timothy,
It can work both ways, but I think it is generally better to teach first. You know that you don't just love music, but you love teaching also (it is sad, but some musicians start teaching before they realize they don't like teaching - hopefully with only a bachelors not a masters). You also have some ideas about where you want to improve as a musician/teacher. Here's a piece of potentially controversial advice. When get your masters, look for a quality school that has no doctoral program, as you will tend to get more conducting time and more focused energy put into you as one of the top students. However, you can find excellent programs that have doctoral programs. Anyway, God bless you in your decision. Michael Sandvik Applauded by an audience of 1
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