Labor Market and Career Information

Choir Teacher
Jessica Bynum

	Introduction Imagine that your job is to help kids discover their own voices. Imagine that every day you help kids face and overcome their fears and express themselves artistically. Imagine that what you teach them not only sharpens their brains but strengthens their souls. Imagine shaping and improving the lives of more than 200 adolescents every year. That's what Fine Arts teachers like Jessica Bynum get paid to do. Jessica has taught middle school choir for the past three years and to her it's not just a job, it's a gift to her students. Some people see Fine Arts as "extras," not as important as "Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmatic" but study after study has shown that artistic intelligence is just as real as "book" intelligence and that studying music improves your thinking skills. Jessica is carrying that message to her students and their parents. She's also sharing the gift of music, without which the world would be a much emptier place. If you love music and want to share that love with others, becoming a choir director might be the right step for you.

	What exactly do you do? I'm a middle school choir director. I teach over 200 students ranging from kids who've never sung before to kids who've been soloists since they were 3 years old. In all, I currently teach six classes each day: two for beginners, two for intermediates and two for advanced students. At my school, choir (like band and orchestra) is a year-long elective and we meet for 50 minutes daily. In seventh and eighth grade, the students audition and I place them into one of our choirs based on their own ability. The top level group meets with me after school for rehearsals and we compete and go on trips. We also do a lot of singing in the community. At Christmas time, we do a tour of area businesses and sing seasonal songs. I also lead a gospel choir here at school. I select music for all the students and help them organize fundraisers so that we can buy the music. Our budget isn't big enough to purchase sheet music for every student and we can't just copy it because it's against the law, so the kids have to raise the money themselves. And of course, I teach my students to read music from day one. I also teach them to sing in parts, meaning they sing one line while people around them sing different notes and/or words. It's a complex skill that requires students to use both sides of their brains.

	What's the coolest part of your job? Being able to work with kids the way I do. Other teachers are envious because the kids choose us [the electives teachers]. They want to be in the choir and they want to progress to the next level. That makes it a joy. I think music really impacts children in a positive way. It gives them a break from their regular classes. It also gives them an opportunity to express themselves and use higher order thinking and analyzing skills.

	What's your favorite part? Building relationships with the kids. Singing is such a personal thing. Sharing your voice means being more vulnerable than you would in a regular class, so I get to know my students really well. I see them as my children.

	How do people react when they learn what you do? A lot of times they don't know how much work it is. They think "Oh, you work 8-3 and get the summers off." In reality, my usual day is 11 hours long. I have to keep track of 200 kids and their parents. I think about my kids long into the night sometimes. Actually, people think it's an easy job until they hear I teach middle school students. Then they say "bless you!" Middle school kids are going through adolescence and they're constantly pushing the limits, so they need lots of patience, discipline and understanding from the adults in their lives.

	Describe a funny or unusual incident that happened at work. One time we were rehearsing to do a song from the movie "Sister Act II." My kids asked if I would wear a nun's outfit when we performed it. I said I would if they brought the outfit, never dreaming they would actually do it. Well, they brought the costume and I wore it on stage. I even did a Whoopi Goldberg dance, moving like she did in the movie. It was very funny.

	What's the part you like least about your job and how do you handle it? The stress level is enormous. I cope with it by reminding myself why I'm here. When I have to call a parent about a child who's acting up or giving up, when I need to get grades in for 200 kids by 6pm or when I learn that a student who's waiting to be adopted ends up in the state hospital instead, I have to remember that I'm here to make a difference and to let kids know there's someone at school who cares for them. I think I'll get better at dealing with the stress as I get more experienced. This is just my third year of teaching. A smaller class-load would help, too. Most Fine Arts teachers have 170 students. I have over 200 this year and next year I'll have 250. Because of budget cuts, I don't have an assistant either. I hope that will change.

	How did you become a choir teacher? During my senior year in high school, I'd already been accepted at college and knew I'd study liberal arts, but I wasn't sure what I'd major in. Then one day I was on a choir field trip. On the bus, I watched my choir director laughing and interacting with the other students. I knew what a difference he had made in my life and I suddenly realized what I wanted to be. I leaned over to my mom, who was on the trip, and said "I know what I want to do when I grow up." "What?" she asked. I said, "I want to be Mr. Hosny!" She was very supportive but she did remind me that choir directors don't make a lot of money. But that was OK with me. It still is. I've definitely found the right work for myself.

	What will choir directors be doing ten years from now? It's hard to say. The educational funding decisions being made are scary. I wish politicians would change their priorities and provide enough financing so that teachers can do their best work. My principal just gave me a job evaluation and she kept saying how impressed she was with me but I tried to explain that I could be a better teacher and do so much more if I had fewer students to keep up with and/or more assistance. So funding issues will determine what choir directors will be doing--if anything--in the future.

	What disappointed you? The lack of involvement of some parents. Many parents don't attend a single concert and I sit with their child afterward, waiting for over an hour for the student to be picked up. Sometimes I'll ask where their parents are and the kid will say "They stayed at home." It's heartbreaking. I've also been shocked when I've had to talk to parents about their kid's misbehavior and the parents have argued with me, saying something didn't happen when they weren't there and I was. In my family, my parents had more respect for teachers.

	How has your job changed over time? Things always get better. During your first year, the staff, students and parents are feeling you out, getting to know you. Eventually, though, everyone knows what to expect. I've gone through that process twice because I changed schools after my second year of teaching. My first school didn't think the Arts were as important as other classes. They only allowed 35 minutes for choir while other classes were 1.5 hours daily. So I came to a district that gives equal time to Fine Arts.

	What pleasantly surprised you about your job when you first started? The thrill a child receives after performing--after being terrified but singing anyway and then hearing the audience roar out in applause. The look on their faces is more than I ever imagined.

	What are some of the most important skills and abilities needed for this job? You need to know music and how to teach it. You need to be able to relate to students and know what's going on in their lives but stay distant enough to remain an authority that they can respect. You can't let things get to you; you have to be able to roll with the punches. And you need to know how to have fun--to just relax and enjoy your time with the students.

	How much of that is learned and how much has to be natural aptitude? I truly believe middle school teachers are created by God. I couldn't handle a group of four-year-olds well. I'm really comfortable with young teenagers.

	What information do you need to keep up in your field and where do you get it? We have an excellent resource called the Texas Music Education Association which holds an annual conference with experts from all over the country. It comes at the time of year when you're running out of ideas and it really jumpstarts you for the rest of the year. I also attend three weeks of KODAY methodology training every summer. In my first KODAY session, I learned more applicable information--ideas I could really use--in those three weeks than I learned in all of my years of college.

	What advice do you have for people who want to enter this field? Try it! Visit a classroom. Observe and see if you enjoy it. I love having visitors and the students love showing off. Just don't get a degree until you've tried being in the classroom. I've known people who've gotten a master's degree in education before they realized that they didn't like to teach. Also, you don't need to have been in choir yourself to be a choir director. A big part of any musical ability is the desire to learn. Anyone can learn--even tone deaf kids get better--if the desire's there.

	What do you wish someone had told you before you left high school that would've helped you with your career? That the respect that my family gave teachers was not always the norm. In other societies, such as Asia, teachers are revered. They have the same status as doctors. If a teacher gets on a bus, people stand up so the teacher can have their seat. In the U.S., teachers are often treated more as slaves--they have an enormous work load and low pay. And they have to deal with parents who have the attitude that teachers work FOR them, not WITH them on the same team. I still would've gone into teaching if I'd realized this but I'd have been better prepared.

	Quick Facts
	The Job in Brief
	Title:	Choir teacher
	Description:	Teach singing, music reading and performance to middle school choir members.
	Education level required:	Bachelor's degree; Teaching certification
	Equipment used:	Piano, high quality audio recording equipment (I play the piano proficiently but it's not required)
	Workload steady or fluctuating:	It's pretty steady but gets really busy a couple of weeks before a concert
	Dress code:	Casual
	Work environment:	My average class has 35 middle school students on risers. I have my own office.

	Demands on Worker
	Works hours (time and duration):	Officially it's 7:45 to 3:30 but I usually work 7:30am-6:00pm 5 days week with only a 25 minute lunch break.
	Travel involved:	Score: 3 (Every other month we go on a field trip.) (1=never; 5=very often)
	Average stress level:	Score: 4 (1=none; 5=a lot)
	Amount of teamwork needed:	Score: 3 (1=none; 5=a lot)
	Level of self-motivation required:	Score: 5 (We're given a lot of freedom, which is good!) (1=none; 5=a lot)

	Labor Market Information
	Employment outlook:	The Art, Drama and Music Teacher occupation is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2008.
	Typical Texas salary:	$37,252 - $45,531 a year