29 Ways to Know You're a Music Teacher
1. You know you’re a music teacher if it’s totally normal to play Christmas music in October.
2. You know you’re a music teacher if you more often find yourself humming Yankee Doodle than Taylor Swift.
3. You know you’re a music teacher if you have to explain to everyone that yes, this is your real job.
4. You know you’re a music teacher if you find yourself trying to correct bad television performances. (out-of-tune national anthem broadcasts, anyone?)
5. You know you’re a music teacher if your favorite stores are Staples and the local music shop.
6. You know you’re a music teacher if your internet browser homepage is IMSLP.
7. You know you’re a music teacher if you have
an instrument repair technician on speed dial.
8. You know you’re a music teacher if you can tell stories about students and almost any kind of “bodily function”…
9. You know you’re a music teacher if everybody you meet tells you, “I regret quitting music lessons.”
10. You know you’re a music teacher if you own multiple items of clothing with music notation all over them.
11. You know you’re a music teacher if a student has hugged you after they started to cry.
12. You know you’re a music teacher if your holiday bonus comes in the form of chocolate, coffee mugs, and gift cards.
13. You know you’re a music teacher if you feel absolutely no shame about jumping around or making funny noises in front of just about anyone.
14. You know you’re a music teacher if playing with toys is a just a normal part of your work day.
15. You know you’re a music teacher if you can tell a student hasn’t practiced before he/she even begins to play.
16. You know you’re a music teacher if you have nightmares about long fingernails, sprained wrists, and braces.
17. You know you’re a music teacher if there’s no such thing as a day off.
18. You know you’re a music teacher if you don’t ever leave home unshowered and in sweats… just in case you run into a student or parent!
19. You know you’re a music teacher if you tell jokes that nobody else understands. (A C, an E-flat, and a G walk into a bar…)
20. You know you’re a music teacher if you can easily redirect any of your student’s tangential comments into the lesson plan.
21. You know you’re a music teacher if you understand the value of discipline and hard work, and you like to reward discipline and hard work with stickers!
22. You know you’re a music teacher if you realize that mistakes don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things… but go back and try it again, slower this time.
23. You know you’re a music teacher if you’ve counted to four more times than you’ve done anything else. Ever.
24. You know you are a music teacher if “early dinner” means eating at 8PM.
25. You know you are a music teacher if you get excited to see new colors of “Post-it Notes.”
26. You know you are a music teacher if you dislike “Heart and Soul,” “Pachelbel’s Canon,” and “Fur Elise.”
27. You know you are a music teacher if you have to explain that there is a college degree for teaching music.
28. You know you're a music teacher if you harmonize with the vacuum cleaner!
29. You know you’re a music teacher if you love your job and can’t imagine yourself doing anything else!
