As we sit here wrapping up the last two days of the school year, I received my daily email from Accomplished Teacher from National Board Certification for Teachers.  I click on the email to see what education and NBCT articles they were sharing today.  As I’m scrolling through, I can’t help but think how insane it is that I spent three years working towards this certification, the first two while I was completing my masters full-time and teaching full-time, and the last year during my first year at teaching high school in a new county.  Now, a year later after completing the entire process and six months after being certified, I can’t help but think if it even mattered at all.

I am certified Music-Ages 11-18+: Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood-Band and yet I spend one-third of my days teaching a visual art class entitled “Crafts.”  Yes, it is a high school level class that counts as a fine arts credit entitled “Crafts.”  Originally designed for special ed students, a while back the class was opened up to the entire school population across the district.  It hurts me so much that I relocated my entire life, left my family and friends, and uprooted to here for the incredible band program that I was offered to teach and now as I finish my second year, I think about how hard it is to teach one-third of my day outside of my content and the stress that adds to my already overloaded band program responsbilities.

People have said to me “you’re never happy; you’ll never be happy unless everything is exactly how you want it to be.”  To an extent, I can see how someone could have that perspective, BUT, did they spend $125,000 on an education to get tossed around and not be valued, both in their content and as an educator?  All I want to do is teach music all day.  All day every day.  That’s what fulfills me as an educator and as a human being.  It’s what fuels my fire every single day.  The whole idea of “it’s about the kids,” is great and all, especially because that is the very reason most teachers join the profession, but when does it become a cop out?  When do we, the educators of the fine arts, stand up for ourselves? Where do we find that immensely fine line?  May I also add that I am one of two NBCT music teachers in the entire district and the only one at the high school level.  Why did I put all of that time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into this if at the end of the day it truly doesn’t make a difference?

Do teachers outside of Fine Arts experience this?  Or should I say outside of the “core content?”  How is it that we are just brushed aside on the regular?  Why are my degrees and certifications not at worthy as those in say math?  Yes, these are rhetorical questions for an arts educator perspective, but honestly, when is it our turn to be valued?

At the end of the day, we all want to be valued and appreciated for what we do AND do our best and what is best for our students.  Is it so much to ask to have that day filled with just music classes?  To want to constantly fuel our fires?  Do we matter…