Professional Certification.

My journey towards certification began in 1998. At that time, I was president-elect of the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association and was beginning to understand the depth and scope of the influence of MTNA. As MMTA president-elect, I attended the second annual National Summit for MTNA Leadership in Cincinnati, where I heard some remarkable presentations regarding National Certification. I got the impression that certification was very important to me as a teacher, and I wanted to be able to say and prove I was well-qualified to teach piano, and present a professional image to my students and the community. I began to look into certification.

I do not hold a degree but had some college credits in music theory and pedagogy. I had enough credits in music theory, but I knew I either would have to take courses in music history and pedagogy or test out of them. I began looking into classes, but with two young children I couldn't find time in my schedule to commit to day classes at our local university. That's when I found out about the College of St. Scholastica and its video course program. I contacted LeAnn House, NCTM, from the college, and she supplied me with course information. I also got in touch with my former piano teacher and began lessons again to prepare for a recital I planned to give for my students to fulfill the Performance requirement of the Certification Application. Then, the issue of money came up, and I needed to find a way to pay for the courses and lessons. That's when I found out about the Teacher Enrichment Grants awarded to teachers from the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND. I completed the application forms, and, amazingly, sent them in on time. To my great surprise, I was awarded the Amanda Ward Penick Endowment Fund Teacher Enrichment Grant for 1999, for $1,000. I used this for classes at the College of St. Scholastica and for private piano lessons in preparation for MTNA certification.

The video courses took quite a while to complete, and I did not complete the entire music history sequence of courses. But I knew I could study the rest on my own and take the test. I read books recommended on the Certification section of the MTNA website and attended presentations on great composers at local, state and national conferences, along with finding lots of music history resources on the Web. To prepare for the pedagogy test, I attended every lecture on teaching piano I could at local, state and national conferences. I read books from the recommended list for Pedagogy/Teacher Education on the Certification section of the MTNA website. I also entered students in master classes, non-competitive evaluations sponsored by our local MMTA association and the MTNA Festival Program in order to solicit feedback from judges regarding my students, which I could use to refine my teach.

In April of 2003, I gave a recital for my students to fulfill the performance requirement. That was a lot of work, but it was fun as well. And it was great hearing all the compliments! By July of 2003 I had completed my three years of MMTA presidency, and I decided it seriously was time to get back on the certification track. By now, many changes had been made to the Certification Program, and I was eager to complete the process. First, I talked to an NCTM friend who had taken the Certification Exam at the 2003 National Conference in Salt Lake City, and she agreed to be my mentor, even though neither of us really knew what that meant in any working sense. Then, I downloaded the application from the Internet. The first thing I wanted to do was file the application, and for that I needed three letters of recommendation. The three people I asked to write a letter for me were able to download the letter of recommendation form from the MTNA website, and within four weeks had mailed the requested recommendations back to me in sealed envelopes with their signatures. During this time, I received official transcripts of all my course work at the University of Massachusetts. I then sent a signed program from the recital I had given for my students in April and printed copies of my student lists with days and times of lessons to validate my teaching experience. That done, I put it all together, made two copies and sent one to MTNA with my check. At that time, I also mailed fees for the music history/literature and pedagogy exams I planned to take. That actually was the most paperwork required.

Next, I contacted my state certification chairperson to be sure I could take the pedagogy exam at our MMTA Quad State Conference in October. She contacted MTNA and had the exam sent to her, and I took it during our Quad State Conference. It only took two weeks to find out I had passed. Then I felt I was ready for the history exam. I again contacted our chairperson, and she scheduled the exam at her studio. I took the exam in November and again received the results very quickly. I was as ready as I ever would be to take the final exam in December. We set it up as before, and I took the exam on a very chilly December 13. I heard back from MTNA on January 21. I displayed the certificate in my studio that evening.

At first, I was quite intimidated about the testing. But I read and studied many books about pedagogy (recommended on the MTNA website) and had attended pedagogical lectures on state, national and local levels for many years. When I couldn't stand to pick up another pedagogy book, I knew it was time for the exam. The exam was very thorough and specific to the topic. I remember telling my mentor that if I had taken the exam six years ago, I probably wouldn't have passed. You do really need to study for this. As far as the history exam went, all the material was covered in the video course I took and the extra studying I did, both online on various music history sites and from books I read (again recommended on the MTNA website). The test was comprehensive and not very surprising. I would suggest that everyone study the MTNA Competitions "Composer Classification List" published in the April/May issues of American Music Teacher (as recommended on the website). As far as the final exam went, I really didn't know how to study for it--I either knew enough to take it or I didn't. When I took it, I really felt that instead of giving me pencil and paper, they should have just been able to connect a computer cable to my brain and download all knowledge I had of music, piano and teaching. It is a very intense test. But I felt the questions were quite fair. I thought that perhaps college and university professors would have quite an edge on me, but the test was composed in such a way that there were questions specific to independent teachers, and to the university people as well. The test helped me clearly define what I knew and forced me to narrate it in an intelligent way. Bring lots of sharp pencils--I was writing for the entire three hours.

My mentor helped me in this process by listening to me carry on about how I was sure I didn't pass the tests because they were so hard and I hadn't taken tests like that in so many years. She also helped by quizzing me--every once in a while I would receive an e-mail from her with a pedagogical or music history question she had made up. I would take time and answer it as completely as I could. I think this helped me begin to focus on my own teaching and helped me prepare to write intelligently for the final exam. She was there for me to cry on her shoulder and to rejoice with when I got passing grades. She helped motivate me and kept me from getting depressed. It was great to have a mentor, and I hope I can mentor another teacher some day.

I plan to include some mention of MTNA certification in all my parent newsletters from now on. Since I get most of my new students through word-of-mouth, I hope to circulate the phrase "Nationally Certified Teacher of Music" the same way. I think we need to educate parents and students regarding NCTM status and not be shy.

I am not a different teacher today because I have the initials NCTM after my name, but I am a more self-confident teacher, feel more professional, feel part of an elite group of teachers and feel justified in telling parents that their child is getting the best piano education they can. I feel proud. I feel empowered. I feel honored to have shared this with all of you.

Michelle Gordon, NCTM, is a private piano instructor in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. She has had articles related to music technology published in Keyboard Companion, and presented music technology sessions at both the MTNA National Conference in Salt Lake Oily in 2003 and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in August 2003. She recently has become a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.