OK, this one DEFINITELY qualifies as meandering...

This post has been festering for a few days.  I'm not much for bold statements, but I feel like I need to quantify exactly where I am right now in this constant redefinition that is my life.  So here goes; as things stand, I don't see a place for myself in public education, and I'm OK with that.

That doesn't mean I don't see myself as a music educator.  That's a big part of what I do.  Between my two private studios and after-school classes, I've got about 24 students with post-holiday recruiting just starting to gear up.  I AM a music teacher, and a damn good one.  Principals just seem to have a hard time seeing a 57-year-old male in front of their music class.  All the elementary jobs seem to go to perky 22 year old girls, and all the band jobs go to 22 year old euphonium players (which is a good thing for them, since their instrument doesn't even exist outside of a band room).

I'll still look at the school job boards every now and then, but not in the obsessive way I did this past spring and summer.  If something happens, something happens.  But if the universe is telling me to be a guitar teacher, I'm going to be the best damn one I can be.  

I am a musician, and part of that gift means passing it on to others.  Deal with it.