MONDAY BYTES — February 22, 2016
“Why do you love to teach?” is not an interview question designed to trip you up.
It’s a reasonable question: employers want to hire people who love the work and who are excellent and motivated educators.
And we musicians should know why we are doing the work we’ve chosen, right?
Theoretically.
Having an effective and compelling answer to the question of why you love to teach is core to writing a compelling teaching philosophy statement and to acing a job interview.
Philosophy statements are typically required for college level teaching job applications as well as for applications for teaching at secondary schools and community music schools. An effective teaching statements can also be a terrific component to your private teaching studio website.
Unfortunately, most musicians don’t have well-written teaching philosophy statements.
Musicians who are products of doctoral programs often end up writing statements that read like term papers: in canned academic-ese, as though trying to win points on a GPA. What’s the alternative?
First tip: forget about writing what you think the search committee wants or what you have been told is the “correct” way to write a statement—and please don’t read the horrible examples you can find on the interwebs. Most of these supposedly “exemplary” statements I find are deadly.
Instead, try this: in a room by yourself, answer the question out loud as though a neighbor or family friend has asked you, why do you love to teach?
Be honest.
Write down notes or record your answer as you talk.
Next, think back over your teaching experience to a specific instance, an example of you teaching at your best. A time that reminds you of why you love to teach. It might be you working one on one with a student, or coaching a group, or in either a classroom or master class situation.
Write it down. But write it as a story, what the actual situation was.
Write down the challenge the student(s) were having, what your intervention was, and what the outcome was. So this should read something like: “I was coaching a string quartet that was struggling with . . . so I had them try . . . and in the end they . . .”
Tip: Stories are essential to illustrate what your teaching is actually like. Stories make us memorable.
Through narrative we can make palpable how we operate in the studio and classroom: how our spirit, approach, and perspective play out in the actual teaching. We need stories in order to come alive on the page so that the committee gets a real sense of who we are.
So the rule is SHOW DON’T TELL. Instead of writing that you are a motivated and innovative educator, tell the story that illustrates that you are in fact that teacher.
Those tips—answering why you love to teach and identifying one or two stories about your teaching—these are examples of how I work with coaching clients on teaching philosophy statements. We go over multiple drafts and edits over a series of coaching sessions and it’s a fascinating but time consuming process.
I’ve always wondered if there couldn’t be a more efficient way of doing this work that would allow more musicians to get the help they deserve. I wanted to develop a format where I could work with musicians in a group setting so that they could learn from and help each other hone their individual stories and missions.
So I’m thrilled to be announcing a special Boston area event: a workshop on how to write Your Teaching Philosophy Statement. This will be in Somerville, MA on Sat. March 19.
Develop your teaching philosophy statement in a supportive think tank environment: you’ll identify and practice communicating your core strengths and motivations for teaching. Through engaging small group work you’ll gain valuable feedback to authentically capture the distinct qualities and spirit of your teaching.
You’ll Learn How to
♦ Mine your past for stories
♦ Reveal the authentic you
♦ Identify your core message
♦ Convey both your vulnerability and your strengths
♦ Edit like a pro
Spaces are limited: check the details and register HERE.
Challenge for the week: Answer these prompts (handwriting is best for reflective thinking, so put your device away):
1. Why do you love to teach?
2. To illustrate your teaching, tell a story of a particular instance of working with an individual student, or group, or class that for you describes you teaching at your best? (Should be a specific instance or exercise/assignment you have used that reminds you of why you love to teach.)
PS: Next week I’ll have some statement excerpts to analyze and more stories from the coaching trenches!
PPS: Chronicle of Higher Education article: 4 Steps to a Memorable Teaching Philosophy by James M. Lang.
Plus: Other blog posts on this topic HERE and HERE.
Dream Big, Plan Smart, Live Well
