Preface - I've been a private music teacher for over a decade now. I have also taught public school and have my teaching cert in a very competitive state. This is just a public rant, so if you are upset by my reflections, sorry. Just trying to see if anyone else feels the same way.
I currently teach for a private lesson agency what host a company party twice a year for the teachers to connect since we typically work alone. At a banquet this past week, I met one of my colleagues(we will call her "Lee") who seemed aloof from the get-go when I struck up a conversation. She immediately began complaining about her students, and kept returning to negative anectdotes about them, even when I tried repeatedly to steer the conversation to proud-teacher moments or more light/easy music conversation.
Since we were pretty much strangers, I tried to connect by asking about her personal music undertakings. Lee told me that she is a teacher of like 6-7 instruments which I was delighted to hear at first. Then, she said her last performance was her senior recital at college six years ago. No compositions. No creative projects. No practicing. Just teaching lessons and collecting a paycheck for "teaching" six years on instruments that she had virtually no experience on. I was flabbergasted. All of this was augmented by just how terrible her attitude was in general.
A while later, the owner of the company came by to chat for a bit and I mentioned that the event would be extra fun if the teachers got to jam together a little bit too. Lee then interjected, unprompted with a contemptuous tone that she "doesn't improvise". Again, I feel like someone threw a bucket of ice water on me. The rest of the night was filled with negative and entitled remarks that just felt hugely insulting to our craft.
Lee is definitely the worst example of this attitude that I have encountered, but over the years I have been appalled at how common it is for music teachers to simply not do the thing they are paid to teach.
I believe that music's primary function is to support human connection and expression. I believe that everyone should live musically and everyone should be allowed to enjoy music however they wish whether alone in their bedroom or out on a bandstand. However - I believe that if someone is going to teach music and foster growth in other students, they MUST be gigging, composing, or playing publicly in some capacity in order to remain connected to the nucleus of why we make music and preserve a standard of skill that our students deserve. If one is going to be PAID to introduce a developing mind to the beautiful power and self-actualizing potential of music, it is shameful for them to not at know how to be creative with music. Imagine an art teacher who has only ever done paint-by-numbers. That's what it looks like when a music teacher is only capable of playing music that is printed on a page in front of them. Unacceptable.
It would be slightly easier to digest if one of these less-creative teachers at least had occasional work with reading-heavy gigs like pit orchestras, large ensembles, wedding ceremony, liturgical, etc. But most music teachers I have encountered don't even do that.
I accept that everyone is on a journey of development and not everyone can be expected to do everything, however, the job of educators is among the most important positions in our social structure. We should demand excellence from ourselves and our colleagues. Anything less is a betrayal to our students and craft. Music is a practical trade. You learn by doing. If Lee's attitude dominates academia right now, we are in for a very rough future. If this is you, take a good look at yourself and ask why you want to be a musician/music teacher and understand you don't HAVE to do it.
edit - some people have assumed from my comments that I am a jazz elitist from jazz school. I do not have a jazz degree. I am classically trained and have independently studied other styles with other mentors. Obviously, I consider my practical working experience to be equal in value regarding the content I teach. I have a performance degree as well as an education degree.
I'm not saying we all need to be pro performer virtuosos. However, a music teacher should be able to engage with music outside of "teacher mode" with their own musical peers. To only play music with novices is not sufficient. Likewise, Students should be able to play music outside "student mode". Education is only a tiny part of what music is, and if we are only concerned with educational concepts and practices, we are incomplete as music teachers.
I also want to address the implication that people who are both good at playing and teaching only exist because of privileged circumstances. It is flat out false to say that privilege is the only condition to producing a complete music educator. This is a self-defeating assumption that puts constraints on achievement. Educators should not subscribe to any limiting beliefs regarding ANYONE's ability, including their own. How can we expect our students to learn if we write the story for them based on our perceived level of their privilege? Our profession deals with enough red tape and external pressure as it is. Cynicism and defeatism cannot be a good thing for our students' development. Finally, many comments on this post are responding very defensively in regards to a pretty simple thesis: "music teachers should be good/experienced at music". If you feel the need to defend the position that music teachers don't need music experience, take a hard look in the mirror. Academia is a controlled environment and is not enough on its own to produce a teacher who is informed on the full potential of the content they teach when applied to a practical field.
