Third year music education majors participate in practicum.
Part of this course involves observing a variety of different music educators in the field.
Over the years, I was fortunate to have some incredible University of Delaware and West Chester State practicum students observe me teach in a variety of educational settings.
With each batch of students, I got my fair share of “You’re amazing!”, “How are you able to get so much done?”, “Is there a trick to it?” and my favorite, “You make it look easy!”
While I don’t work with practicum students anymore, should you be reading this and are a bit of a “newbie”, let me elucidate a few basics.
If a music teacher you observe in the field “makes it look easy”, realize that whatever they are doing, you are not watching them do it for the first time.
Or their second or third time.
Nor did they excel in an undergrad class entitled “Make It Look Easy 401”.
And as far as “tricks” go, what these effective teachers are doing is only a trick in as much as it behooves a magician to put the rabbit in the hat before the audience shows up if they intend to pull it out during the show.
Here’s the deal.
After a music teacher has confidently faced classes thousands of times, scripted and edited their presentation on hundreds of legal pads, prepared for every possible student/principal action and reaction, and learned how to be professional, musical, funny, unflappable, and, yes, comfortable in their own skin, “making it look easy” is something that rarely, if ever, enters their mind while teaching – but it is always front of mind for observers.
Conversly, when you watch an indecisive, struggling teacher who has a lot of years under their belt, you probably ARE seeing them do something for the first time. For whatever reason, they haven’t ascribed to the idea doing the same techniques over and over with serious analysis and modifying. They are continually trying things for the first time with little connection to anything they’ve tried in the past.
They’re looking for that “golden” trick that doesn’t exist.
Sort of like “Groundhog’s Day” with instruments.
For them, every day is a new opportunity to furtively try something new and go down in flames.
Curiously, these struggling teachers are often the first to repeatedly tell you how “professional” they are or trot out their references. They have to resort to this strategy because you are sure as hell not going to see any expertise while they are teaching.
It’s a variation of Richard Pryor's line: “Who you gonna believe – my CV or your lyin’ eyes?”
“Making it look easy” is a symptom of a teacher who constantly recoils from trying to re-invent the wheel. They choose instead to build a larger wheel and let it roll forward under its own impetus and weight.
These teachers never take professional momentum for granted. They are always exploring ways to build on their successes.
Find what works with your students and make sure it’s in alignment with your goals - and in the words of Little Feet, "Let it Roll"!
So maybe you're saying "Yo, Holmes! How about that young, fresh teacher who makes it look easy? How is it that they make it look so easy so early in their teaching careers?"
You can “make it look easy” early in your career if you commit yourself at the outset to self-critique and what can sometimes feel like brutal honesty.
The sooner you embrace editing of class presentations, the better off you’ll be.
The other thing these terrific tyro teachers sometimes have going for them is that they have, in a short period of teaching gestation, worked in a wider variety of settings with a broader population spectrum than the average teacher.
In short, they have seen more in a shorter period of time.
They don’t hyper-define themselves as “an elementary general music teacher who does vocal and chorus” or a “middle school instrumental teacher who does concert and marching band”.
They see themselves as a musician first, a teacher second – and possess a willingness to embrace any new assignment because they know that in both the short and long run, it will make them a stronger teacher.
The more you observe and teach in a variety of settings early in your career, you will create teaching capital that you can invest and compound with every following teaching gig - and the sooner you’ll be one of those teachers “making it look easy”.
Hint: take every music teaching gig you can.
You’ll realize that those teachers have a few things in common.
While “making it look easy” might have once been a component of their lesson plans stacks of yellow legal pads ago, for all of them it has now morphed into a mindset for them.
Before you ever observe one of these accomplished teachers, they’ve studied their scripts and dress rehearsed their lessons so many times that “making it look easy” is now part of who they are.
It’s in their DNA.
By the way, once you master the “make it look easy" look, you are just as adept at the “making it look hard” show, too.
“Making it look hard” can be utilized for effect – but know that it will be an act.
When music teachers make it look hard and pull it off, they usually only do it to make a point, like because of a specific student (or principal) needs to observe an amplified level of professional grit, tenacity, or effort.
But “making it look hard” is always temporary: they always subconsciously revert to relaxed nonchalance.
Why?
It’s who they are.
The real reason that “making it look easy” never enters the head of an accomplished music teacher while they’re teaching is because when they’re teaching, they’re having too much fun.
Part of this course involves observing a variety of different music educators in the field.
Over the years, I was fortunate to have some incredible University of Delaware and West Chester State practicum students observe me teach in a variety of educational settings.
With each batch of students, I got my fair share of “You’re amazing!”, “How are you able to get so much done?”, “Is there a trick to it?” and my favorite, “You make it look easy!”
While I don’t work with practicum students anymore, should you be reading this and are a bit of a “newbie”, let me elucidate a few basics.
If a music teacher you observe in the field “makes it look easy”, realize that whatever they are doing, you are not watching them do it for the first time.
Or their second or third time.
Nor did they excel in an undergrad class entitled “Make It Look Easy 401”.
And as far as “tricks” go, what these effective teachers are doing is only a trick in as much as it behooves a magician to put the rabbit in the hat before the audience shows up if they intend to pull it out during the show.
Here’s the deal.
After a music teacher has confidently faced classes thousands of times, scripted and edited their presentation on hundreds of legal pads, prepared for every possible student/principal action and reaction, and learned how to be professional, musical, funny, unflappable, and, yes, comfortable in their own skin, “making it look easy” is something that rarely, if ever, enters their mind while teaching – but it is always front of mind for observers.
Conversly, when you watch an indecisive, struggling teacher who has a lot of years under their belt, you probably ARE seeing them do something for the first time. For whatever reason, they haven’t ascribed to the idea doing the same techniques over and over with serious analysis and modifying. They are continually trying things for the first time with little connection to anything they’ve tried in the past.
They’re looking for that “golden” trick that doesn’t exist.
Sort of like “Groundhog’s Day” with instruments.
For them, every day is a new opportunity to furtively try something new and go down in flames.
Curiously, these struggling teachers are often the first to repeatedly tell you how “professional” they are or trot out their references. They have to resort to this strategy because you are sure as hell not going to see any expertise while they are teaching.
It’s a variation of Richard Pryor's line: “Who you gonna believe – my CV or your lyin’ eyes?”
“Making it look easy” is a symptom of a teacher who constantly recoils from trying to re-invent the wheel. They choose instead to build a larger wheel and let it roll forward under its own impetus and weight.
These teachers never take professional momentum for granted. They are always exploring ways to build on their successes.
Find what works with your students and make sure it’s in alignment with your goals - and in the words of Little Feet, "Let it Roll"!
So maybe you're saying "Yo, Holmes! How about that young, fresh teacher who makes it look easy? How is it that they make it look so easy so early in their teaching careers?"
You can “make it look easy” early in your career if you commit yourself at the outset to self-critique and what can sometimes feel like brutal honesty.
The sooner you embrace editing of class presentations, the better off you’ll be.
The other thing these terrific tyro teachers sometimes have going for them is that they have, in a short period of teaching gestation, worked in a wider variety of settings with a broader population spectrum than the average teacher.
In short, they have seen more in a shorter period of time.
They don’t hyper-define themselves as “an elementary general music teacher who does vocal and chorus” or a “middle school instrumental teacher who does concert and marching band”.
They see themselves as a musician first, a teacher second – and possess a willingness to embrace any new assignment because they know that in both the short and long run, it will make them a stronger teacher.
The more you observe and teach in a variety of settings early in your career, you will create teaching capital that you can invest and compound with every following teaching gig - and the sooner you’ll be one of those teachers “making it look easy”.
Hint: take every music teaching gig you can.
You’ll realize that those teachers have a few things in common.
While “making it look easy” might have once been a component of their lesson plans stacks of yellow legal pads ago, for all of them it has now morphed into a mindset for them.
Before you ever observe one of these accomplished teachers, they’ve studied their scripts and dress rehearsed their lessons so many times that “making it look easy” is now part of who they are.
It’s in their DNA.
By the way, once you master the “make it look easy" look, you are just as adept at the “making it look hard” show, too.
“Making it look hard” can be utilized for effect – but know that it will be an act.
When music teachers make it look hard and pull it off, they usually only do it to make a point, like because of a specific student (or principal) needs to observe an amplified level of professional grit, tenacity, or effort.
But “making it look hard” is always temporary: they always subconsciously revert to relaxed nonchalance.
Why?
It’s who they are.
The real reason that “making it look easy” never enters the head of an accomplished music teacher while they’re teaching is because when they’re teaching, they’re having too much fun.
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