Is the glass half full or half empty? (Dear Reader).

As you know, there is no right or wrong answer to the question--just differing views. And there are those who will go on to say that those views are pessimistic, optimistic or realistic. That is the case with an e-mail I received regarding the December/January 2001/2002 issue of AMT:

      To the Editor,

      The December/January 2001/2002 edition of American Music Teacher was a
   real blockbuster--or should I say teacher-buster!

      To ease the glut of wanna-bes in our profession ("It's Supply and
   Demand, Stupid"), college counselors can now just give this issue to all
   prospective music majors. Their career path will be redirected in good time
   once they see:

      --"Teachers are not Criminals"--and find out just how nasty their future
   neighbors will be when they attempt to set up a studio in their homes

      --"Shaping Perceptions"--and find out their position on the income
   ladder will be below that of a janitor and

      --"Sued for Malpractice" and find out they'd better run as fast as
   possible toward pre-Law so they can represent their former classmates when
   they are sued for being mediocre teachers.

      Phew! Give us a break! Our profession is difficult enough without this
   doom and gloom ringing in our New Year.

     I hope you will resume your usual balance in your articles--soon!

While this member believes the December/January issue presented "doom and gloom," others have praised the articles and, in fact, we've had more requests for reprints of articles from that issue than we have from any other in recent history. Was that issue of AMT pessimistic or merely realistic?

AMT is a peer-reviewed journal--each manuscript submitted for publication consideration is read and scrutinized by three MTNA members who serve on the AMT Editorial Committee. They are asked to answer three basic questions when reviewing a manuscript: Is the article well-written and informative? Is the article well-suited to AMT and a substantial number of AMT readers? Should the article be published as is, published with revisions or rejected?

The Editorial Committee decided the information presented in those articles was important enough to pass along to MTNA members to inform them of the current music-teaching climate. Like it or not, there are zoning issues with in-home studios, teachers are being sued and the perception of music teachers may be less than favorable.

MTNA's Executive Director Dr. Gary L. Ingle, who serves as AMT's publisher, and I decided to group these articles in one issue taking a look at the "other" side of music teaching. At one time, AMT presented articles on a variety of topics in each issue; currently, we are presenting articles of similar topics together in one issue. Is is good; is it bad? Is the glass half full or half empty?

Although AMT does not print letters to the editor, we welcome your input--we do want to hear from you--whether you think the glass is half full or half empty.

-- Marcie Gerrietts Lindsey MTNA Director of Communications American Music Teacher Managing Editor