ABSTRACT
Writing this book has been a challenge, personally and professionally. Like most of the readers of this book, I started my teaching career as a subject specialist (in my case, a music teacher) working in a couple of high schools in East Anglia. I taught music to the various classes throughout each school and really enjoyed the associated challenges of creating what I considered to be an interesting music curriculum that related to, and drew inspiration from, the National Curriculum. Music can be an isolated subject within schools. Most music teachers work in a
small department, often on their own or with a small team of visiting instrumental teachers. The music room is often geographically isolated (it can be noisy!) and, in terms of the educational processes and knowledge that underpin the subject, it can be something that appears distinct and separate from the work of other teachers. Music is often referred to as a ‘Cinderella’ subject; a ‘shop window’ for the school; something that can be wheeled out for special occasions (e.g. concerts, assemblies or open evenings) but otherwise is left alone to do its own thing. For all these reasons, teaching music can be a lonely experience and one that is not conducive to collaborative approaches to teaching.
