Dangerous Silence: How Arkansas Failed Me in My First Year of Teaching
When I started teaching orchestra at Arkansas Arts Academy High School last fall, I didn’t know much at all about the state of public education in Arkansas. Professionally, I had spent my entire career as a professional violinist, having spent time in roles including as concertmaster of the Fort Smith Symphony, concertmaster and principal viola with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, composer/director of Storybook Strings, and a freelancer with touring groups like “Book of Mormon” and Harry Connick, Jr. I also had a long history of teaching private violin lessons in the Suzuki method.
When I made the change into education, everything was new for me: I did not have an Arkansas teacher’s license or any previous training teaching in a school setting. “That’s okay!” the principal of Arkansas Arts Academy assured me. “We’re a charter school. We have waivers from teacher licensure requirements, as long as you have a bachelor’s degree and relevant professional experience!”
That sounded like it could work. I know music. I teach music. I figured that I can learn anything else the job may require. So I signed up to teach part-time, trusting in the experience and good faith of the school administration, and my fellow teachers, to help me learn the ropes.
