Cecil Adderley

"Teaching in the Music Education Department, you have to prepare people to do it all. Most state certificates for music educators are not area- and grade-specific like those for English or science. As a public school music teacher in Massachusetts, your certification will be K–12, all ages, all levels. So Berklee students who plan to enter public education need experiences that will help them become proficient in teaching brass, voice, strings, and woodwinds. Plus, if the school where they are teaching has a football team, nine times out of ten they will be responsible for the marching band. So they have to have all of these experiences."

"You have to love working with kids. If you don't truly love teaching, your students will be able to tell. K–12 learners want to know that you care. Hopefully, you're trying to teach the whole child and not just the subject matter. What happens at home and in the community comes into play."

"I attended W.J. Keenan High School in Columbia, South Carolina. It was a very supportive environment for the arts. A lot of good musicians came through that program and are now teaching music or playing professionally. Several have attended school here at Berklee. When I was in public school, we had music every day. Now, music instruction varies from state to state and district to district. If I had my way, students would have the opportunity to pursue all subjects every day, to have a balance every day."

"I think my teaching style has changed as I've aged. To strive for providing quality education—that hasn't changed. But the mechanism for how I deliver that information has changed. You have to keep up with policy changes, with new information, new technology, and what issues are affecting the students."