Hey, man. I think you've got it better than you might think. You're a music teacher, and you should be the most creative guy in the whole school.

When I was a kid I hated music class because we had to play squeaky plastic-flutes (i.e. the aforementioned 'recorders') and had recordings of classical music squeaking out of a dilapidated speaker cabinet. As a side note, there was a jar of disinfectant (formaldehyde I believe) and students who did not bring their recorders were force to play on one from the jar. Yeh, I made sure I never forgot mine.

If you really want to quit, I think you should give it one more year and make music the most enjoyable class that these kids have ever attended. You may need to say to heck with the curriculum, and you might get terminated, but I guarantee you'd walk out of there with your head held high!! If you encourage your students to think freely, then you will no longer need to worry about points 3, 4, 5, and 6 (quoted below). The last thing I ever wanted to do in music class was play an instrument, but now I play guitar every day -- I only wish I had been encouraged to play it as a child -- and I don't mean 'Turkey in the Straw' or 'Buffalo Girls' or something like that, I mean something COOL!

Heck I'm not even a kid, but I'd sure be interested in discussing:

- How music has progressed over the years (e.g. where did rap music originate? Was Elvis _really_ the king of rock n' roll?)

- How does music influence popular culture (e.g. Woodstock, gangstaz)

- What is it about classical music that will make it appreciated for centuries to come?

- Do chirping birds have any patterns in their tunes?

I think you can have a lot of fun just by incorporating some of this free thought into your class!

Best luck,
EvilCats

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3. I hated school all my life, and the same things that bothered me as a kid, bother me more as an adult! The insistance on uniformity, the compartmentalized learning, I could go on but I won't here!
4. I need to feel I'm being more creative in my work.
5. I'm tired of being tired every day.
6. I need to be in a job where I feel I'm helping people but it would be great if it was something more flexible, and where I was working one on one or in small groups.

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