Posted by Paul Eschelbach on August 26, 1999 at 06:40:58:
In Reply to: Performance vs. Education posted by John Visel on August 25, 1999 at 21:58:47:
When I was in school the rationale was, "You can always play with an education degree, but you can't teach with a playing degree." The flip side to that is that if you set your sights towards teaching when you actually have playing in your heart you could feel like "I could'a been a contender." There is safety in an Ed degree, and teachers have relatively good pension and health care packages. It is also something to fall back on later in lafe, or if you want a second job as a part time music teacher. Now however many states have "alternate route" programs to certification, but these are very time consuming in your first few years as a teacher. My advice is to play as much as you can in college, get the certification and keep it in your pocket, but don't lose sight of your dreams.