Professional Certification

American Music Teacher, Oct-Nov, 2004 by Deborah Hadfield

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.