I've taught at Marshall Music Co. in Lansing for about 34 years. Currently I see about 35-40 students each week over a 4 day period. I'm only one of about 20 or so teachers there and we had a meeting Saturday morning with management. I knew that enrollment was down some and assumed that would be a focal point of the meeting. So I mentally prepared to share the benefit of my experience and wisdom.
I've always referred to these moments as the arrogance of ignorance. It seems that I'm not really that wise and these folks are pretty smart. As it turns out I was the only teacher there without an advanced degree in my instrument. And most of these fine folks had been teaching long enough to accumulate a solid body of experience. I wasn't even "wise" enough to keep this information to myself. I actually opened my mouth to say something and suddenly everyone knew.
A part of me is proud of this moment though. There was a time when being a "music store teacher" was pretty low on the food chain. As an adjunct at a couple of different colleges I was often treated as necessary evil. My accomplishments were often overlooked because of my lack of degree and my work as a music store teacher.
So Saturday morning I was a respected member of a unique faculty. I heard two people with Doctorate degrees express their pleasure at being there. I feel honored to be included in this group.
As for the meeting itself, it seems that enrollment is higher than I thought and the focus was more on how to improve the experience for the students we already have. I like that. That's a different approach than some of the faculty meetings I've attended at colleges. I think the dividends will be huge and everyone will win. If done correctly the enrollment will increase without any artificial push. The only thing that could have made this meeting better is if a certain "senior" guitar teacher had kept his mouth shut.