tuning and teaching

[Ed Sutton]

Dear Kent,
    As always, your thoughts are very clear and well considered.
    When I was a salaried CAUT, I was amazed at how well the workload
formula described my responsibilities.  It really helped me get a handle on
the job, and to understand what I could, and could not accomplish.
    I am very thankful to all the CAUTs who have worked to develop it.
        Best regards,
        Ed Sutton

----------
>From: Kent Swafford <kswafford@earthlink.net>
>To: <caut@ptg.org>
>Subject: Re: tuning and teaching
>Date: Sun, Apr 28, 2002, 12:32 PM
>

> On 4/27/02 8:19 AM, "Wimblees@aol.com" <Wimblees@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> The concept that a piano tuner has to work full time to be considered a
>> "highly-skilled professionals", however, doesn't give credit to those
>> technicians who choose not to be full time, but have decided, for their own
>> benefit, or whatever other reason, to work part time as a piano
>> tuner/technician, and part time at another profession.  That's a choice an
>> individual makes.
>
> I said no such thing, Wim. You make your points; let me make mine.
>
> My comment was in regard to how the PTG as an organization should do
> promotion on behalf of its members. There is a clear problem among our
> members who are employed part-time in situations where the workload would
> actually call for full-time employment. And worse of course, there is also a
> problem of techs who are nominally employed full time but paid only
> part-time wages and expected to make up the difference in private business.
> This problem deserves PTG organizational attention, IMO.
>
>> Before accepting the position here at UA, I had always dreamed of someday
>> working for a university as a piano tech and as a teacher. I like doing both.
>> I am working full time as a piano tech, and am allowed, by university policy,
>> to only teach two classes per semester. How I spend my time is my decision.
If
>> I choose to work 37.5 hours a week as a piano tech, do 3 or 4 outside tuning
>> on top of that, and spend 8 hours a week as a teacher, does that make me less
>> of a professional at either job?
>
> I wish to make clear that I made no such suggestion and find it a bother to
> have to say so.
>
> You are happy with your situation; this means to me that your situation
> warrants no PTG promotional attention. We should concentrate on those areas
> which _are_ clearly problematic for our members.
>
> The endeavor of piano technology is of sufficient worth to society and
> requires skills high enough to warrant more fully employing its
> practitioners, lest the low rewards of developing these skills cause more
> and more to leave the field or never enter the field in the first place.
>
> The CAUT committee is doing good work with regard to the contract tech, and
> I believe that PTG should encourage the CAUT committee to continue its
> efforts to improve the situation of the contract tech. (So, as far as PTG
> promotional efforts are concerned, part-time techs _are_ covered. Techs are
> expected to have private businesses to "supplement" their institutional
> employment; perhaps it would be better for the tech to have the college
> simply be a customer to the tech's private business rather than be a
> part-time employer.)
>
> Soap box mode off.
>
> Kent
>