Professional Certification.

Across me country, both independent music teachers and college professors are integrating components of the MTNA Professional Certification Program n their pedagogy courses. They are enthusiastically promoting the Certification Proficiency Examinations and the Certification Examination and Certification Portfolio for their students. Here are reports from six music educators:

Samuel S. Holland, NCTM, professor of music and chair ad interim, Division of Music, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas:

"Ever since getting into collegiate-level piano and piano pedagogy teaching, I nave required my students to join MTNA. There s no discussion or argument about this. It is a basic professional association, and it carries a multitude of benefits even while the student is stuff in school. My students regularly attend national and state conventions and benefit in more ways than I could ever measure. MTNA Professional Certification is the next logical step.

"I have heard it argued that the most highly qualified teachers don't need to be certified. This may be true for their personal careers. But it is a very limited and narrow view. The entire field of piano teaching suffers from the weakness of its professional image. Certification represents at least a baseline standard. I believe that even the most highly qualified individuals need to be certified as a gesture of solidarity with the profession as a whole.

"Thus, I always strongly encourage them to become certified. We discuss the merits in classes, and they often interact with certified professionals in the community. Fortunately, most of them take up the standard."

Sigrid Luther, NCTM, professor of music, Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee:

"As a collegiate chapter advisor, I have always talked about MTNA Professional Certification with my collegiate members. It is included on the list of membership opportunities that I explain as I orient students to MTNA each fall.

"To be honest, I never thought about encouraging my college students to work toward MTNA Professional Certification before graduation. An awakening to this possibility came to me during the National Conference in Kansas City I was thrilled that our chapter president, Mary Tomyn, was able to attend the conference and personally accept the award for our chapter, Chattanooga Area Student Chapter, as the 2004 MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year.

"As Mary and I sat in on the Certification Open Meeting and heard details of the application process, we realized she had already met many of the requirements for certification I was challenged to not only assist her with the remaining requirements, but also to work toward incorporating assignments into our pedagogy curriculum that would assist future students in seeking MTNA Professional Certification. Some of our present assignments would already apply to this process.

"Mary and I perused a sample certification portfolio, and it was clear to me that any student who elected the portfolio option to the exam would be assembling materials that would be most helpful for the studio of a new teacher. I hope that established MTNA teachers will not only value certification for themselves and their colleagues, but will remember that our college students can also be striving to meet this level of competence as professionals in training["

Thomas Lanners, NCTM, associate professor of piano, Department of Music, Oklahoma State University:

"I encourage all my collegiate piano students who currently teach lessons or plan to do so in the future to become Nationally Certified Teachers of Music, and I make it a point to explain certification's importance to them and to the entire field of music teaching.

"Like most students at colleges and universities, mine are required to take pedagogy courses as part of their degree programs, yet these introduce them only to the tip of the pedagogy iceberg. We, as instructors, merely whet their appetites, hoping they will delve ever deeper into the art of teaching in the future.

"Those who join MTNA and pursue National Certification are more likely to grow as effective teachers by becoming actively involved in the activities of the organization at the local through national levels, thereby developing sound professional habits that will help them thrive throughout their careers. The upholding of professional standards in the areas of performing, teaching practices and preparation, continuing education, business management and the forging of partnerships is at the heart of the certification process, and also at the heart of any successful piano studio.

"Another reason I recommend pursuing certification to college-age students is that they may initially have difficulty establishing 'credibility' in the field without tangible documentation attesting to their teaching abilities and ongoing training. These young musicians do not have the benefit of gray hair to suggest accrued wisdom and unquestioned authority, so many parents of prospective students may be skeptical of their qualifications. A young teacher's endeavor to complete the certification process successfully speaks well of his or her high level of commitment to the profession.

"One more practical advantage of certification is that many conscientious parents or adult beginners may consult the listing of NCTMs on the MTNA website when seeking a teacher. This potential means of attracting students is especially valuable to those at the outset of their careers, since they have not yet had time to generate the invaluable 'word-of-mouth' referrals that sustain studios over the long haul."

Brent Hugh, NCTM, assistant professor and coordinator of piano pedagogy, Missouri Western State College, St. Joseph, Missouri:

"Recently, we created a Piano Pedagogy Certificate program at Missouri Western State College. This was a way of formally recognizing me work of our music majors who take piano pedagogy classes. Participate a supervised teaching experience and spend two or three years teaching community music students during their undergraduate years.

"As we were developing this program, we realized that our students were already doing everything they needed to do to be ready for MTNA certification--except filling out the paperwork and taking the test.

"So we wrote MTNA Professional Certification into our Pedagogy Certificate program. During their senior year, students must complete the application for MTNA Certification and, if possible, take the Certification Examination.

"As we launched the Pedagogy Certificate program, we clarified mat music majors who teach in our community arts school are expected to join the St Joseph Area Music Teachers Association, participate in its meetings, enter their students in sponsored events and participate in pedagogy-related e-mail lists or chat groups.

"These programs have always been available for our student teachers. But when we clearly articulated our expectation that student teachers and their students participate, participation skyrocketed, with predictably positive results.

"Music majors earn a lot about performing and teaching music from their classes and experiences in school. But we feel that among the most important things they learn are not facts, out attitudes: a professional attitude towards music teaching, a dedication To high standards in both performance and teaching, a willingness to explore new ideas and different viewpoints, an interest in associating with colleagues, a positive relationship with the greater community and a dedication to life-long learning.

"Belonging to MTNA and preparing for MTNA Professional Certification are among the most important tools we have to help students foster these important attitudes."

Diane Delk, NCTM, adjunct instructor of piano, Montgomery College, Conroe, Texas:

"Montgomery College in Conroe, Texas, is adopting a new program to promote higher quality in piano instruction and to advocate MTNA Professional Certification. The course will be presented through the Continuing Education Department and will follow certain guidelines for Texas courses that are considered to be postgraduate continuing education courses.

"Teachers can earn CEUs from some organizations for courses of this type, and the goal of the course is to reinforce certification renewals by making workshops that are enjoyable and helpful to teachers readily available and to promote certification by including the Certification Examination preparation materials in the second half of the course. We are hoping that those students enrolled in the two sessions of the course will be ready for the certification exams.

"The course is designed to consist of two sessions. The first will cover many issues in piano pedagogy and studio management in a sixteen class-hour seminar format. Students will be presented with a number of teaching strategies, discuss their own teaching practices and develop lists of materials and resources to use in their own teaching. The students will be encouraged to learn from each other as well as from the class presenters.

"The second session will also be sixteen actual class hours and will delve into the teaching issues in greater depth with role playing, sample teaching and 'what-if' sessions designed to give hands-on experience in a variety of situations. In addition, students needing to take the proficiency exams will be provided with and guided through the materials needed to pass these exams.

"In the community college setting, we have students of a wide variety of ages and life experiences. We have a new MTNA collegiate chapter on campus, and through the collegiate chapter and the community education courses, the goal is that each person who graduates from this college and becomes an independent music teacher will become nationally certified.

"This is a great adventure--what MTNA teacher would not relish the opportunity to meet with other dedicated teachers of various levels of experience and exchange ideas! As in many teaching situations, I expect that the teachers and presenters will also learn and grow in this setting."

Scott McBride Smith, NCTM, President, International Institute for Young Musicians, Irvine, California:

"I'll never forget buying my first condominium. A self-employed independent piano teacher, I had been scrimping and saving for several years. This was back in the bad old days of high interest rates, so I had to prepare carefully. The down payment was ready, I was pre-approved for a mortgage loan, and after several weeks of looking, I had found the place of my dreams--or at least one I could afford.

"Imagine my chagrin when, after a full-price offer, I was turned down. Why? The sellers didn't believe that an independent piano teacher could make enough money to make the monthly payments. 'It's really more of a hobby, isn't it?' the husband asked, then added, 'I don't think people are very serious about music study any more.'

"Luckily, most Americans today don't agree with him. In a recent Gallup poll, sponsored by the National Association of Music Merchants, 80 percent agreed that music making improves intelligence. A whopping 96 percent believe that participating in a school band is a good way to develop teamwork skills. Americans want music in their communities.

"We independent music teachers are proud of our contributions to our neighborhoods. We teach the choir accompanists and band players who make school music programs a success. We instruct the soloists who play in church or temple talent shows. We mentor the prodigies whose accomplishments bring pride and recognition to everyone--and we do it without raising taxes one red cent!

"Are our efforts appreciated? Not always. Often, they are not even recognized outside of our own circle. 'I had no idea something like this was going on,' the mayor of my own city told me after a successful piano concert--an event that took thirteen phone calls from me to get him to attend! 'I'm going to announce it at the city council meeting!', he told me.

"Announcements are great. Even more important is the image of professionalism that independent teachers project in our daily activities. That is why I am a strong supporter of MTNA Professional Certification. Certification sends the message that independent teachers are trained and qualified professionals, whose contributions to their communities deserved respect.

"I encourage all my students who are considering a career in music to Become certified. I am even developing instructional materials to help them prepare.

"All music educators in the United States have some work to do. Despite Americans' overwhelming support for music study, 28 million American students do not receive an adequate music education. Cuts in education funding are pending, or have been enacted, in over half the states. Certified independent music teachers play a crucial role in Keeping music alive. If you're not already certified, please join us. We need your help!"

Deborah Hadfield, NCTM, is the South Central Certification commissioner. She is an independent music teacher in Piano, Texas, teaching students of aft ages in private and group lessons, An honors graduate of Brigham Young University, she is a frequent adjudicator and workshop presenter.