We decided on some standards for the teachers who wanted to join The Musicality Network.

  • They must be friendly, outgoing, mature, clean, personable and likable. (this might seem obvious, however, a lot of music teachers fail on this point)
  • They must understand music to the extent that they can communicate it in language understandable to someone who has never studied music (or is 4 years old). (again, a significant number of failures – one applicant was unable to describe to me in non-technical words what a “note” was – that’s an automatic fail)
  • They must have several years of experience teaching exclusively children. Our network is geared towards younger kids (3-15 years), although older people are welcome as well. 🙂
  • They must pass a yearly Comprehensive 50-state Criminal/Sex Offender Background Check. Here’s what an actual background check looks like.

One student’s mom asked me; “why is a background check necessary if I’m going to be in the next room during the whole lesson and it’s in my own home?” To which I replied, “it’s great that you are intentional about keeping an eye on your kids, but we aren’t sending ANY teachers into anyone’s home until they’ve passed this background check!” The background check is standard issue for all teachers now. A copy of the teachers background check will be emailed to you before you meet the teacher.