On Specialists, Part 2

During my many conversations with administrators and teachers around the country at the Montessori refresher course in Los Angeles this past weekend, I frequently heard these six words: "We already have a music specialist." In spite of all the contradictions and logistical challenges specialists present, they are highly trained, gifted professionals who make a marked contribution to our children's musical education, especially when it comes to areas that require musical expertise, such as private violin lessons, choir, or band. Classroom Guides can enthuse the children about music, encourage musical follow up, and fuel the children's interest in musical research, and specialists can add in the details. Plus, when teachers learn musical skills, they are more likely, and more able, to share musical ideas with their specialists.

Employing a specialist doesn't mean teachers can't do music in their classrooms; in fact, the fear that employing a specialist sends the message that only certain people are musical is only a concern when teachers defer all musical education to the specialist. When teachers at schools that employ specialists present music in their environments, however, children get an altogether more nuanced message: that everyone is musical to varying degrees. Some people find joy in a casual, relaxed experience with music, and others prefer a cultivated, focused experience. Teachers and specialists can and should work together.

So there is no need for specialists to feel insecure or carry the notion that Montessori teachers are anti-specialist. At the ideal school, musical cooperation and sharing happens between the classroom guide, an enlightened generalist who has just enough musical knowledge to get his children fired up about music, and the music specialist, whose expertise in her field provides the children refined, tailored, and detailed musical instruction. When both of these individuals share knowledge and ideas, children witness firsthand how music brings us all together.