Wim,
Even if it only helps a small percentage of techs I think it would be worth it. My gut feeling is that it will. I just don’t want to look at the “warts” before they even have a chance to appear.
Jim
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of wimblees at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 12:40 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification (was Re: Steinway or Forgery? now CAUT Certification
Eric
As I have I said, I am not opposed to the proposal. In all honesty, had I been able to take courses on the subjects you mentioned, especially dealing with faculty and administrators, I might still be at Alabama. My experience, however, shows that being an RPT did not get me the job. 90% of the faculty, including the piano faculty, didn't even know that there is a PTG. The fact that I was an RPT didn't impress the administration either, because the person they hired to place me, ( the same guy I replaced 6 years earlier), has never even attended a seminar of any kind, and is one of those techs with one year of experience repeated 30 times.
I just wonder how many other colleges and universities are like UA? Will this certification really make a difference in who the universities will hire? Will it really reaise the salaries for CAUTs? Or will this only serve a handful of schools, with salaries remaining basically the same? I guess only time will tell.
BTW, even if the certification proposal doesn't make it through Council, I hope the classes will still be offered, not just ot CAUT's, but to everyone.
Wim
--Original Message-----
From: Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel) <WOLFLEEL at UCMAIL.UC.EDU>
To: 'caut at ptg.org' <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Thu, Jun 18, 2009 6:01 am
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification (was Re: Steinway or Forgery? now CAUT Certification
Hi Wim,
What if?....20 years ago (just a guess) when you had just gotten your RPT and were considering getting into institutional work, there was a program you could plug into that would give you the opportunity to get specific knowledge about managing inventories and databases, humidity control systems in institutional buildings, tuning and voicing concert instruments, dealing with faculty and administrators, maintaining harpsichords and fortepianos, tuning historic temperaments, using proven methods for longevity of work on pianos that are played hard 18 hours a day, and a longer list of CAUT-specific skills we will be offering? All of us who have been working in this environment for many years have gradually picked up these skills at the school of hard knock s but I’ll tell you right now that if there was such a program available to me 20 years ago my life would have been a lot easier and my work would have been more effective at an earlier date. Everybody complains about the salary levels CAUT technicians make…Our premise is that if administrators perceive that there is a technician who has made the effort to further qualify him or herself in this specialized field it will be worth it to them to pay a better salary for a proven higher skill level. Credentials do matter in the academic world. As an example, I don’t know of any other situation in the piano world where RPT is required for employment other than at a college or university. Back during the Reagan recession in the early 90’s when I decided I wanted to work at a college job, it was clear to me that I had to join the PTG and get my RPT before I would be considered for any of the jobs I wanted. I think this is even more so now and the CAUT Committee has been working very hard for many years to improve the lot of college technicians by publishing and revising the Guidelines , offering classes at conventions and seminars and now by establishing a curriculum, the certification and accompanying academy. We (the CAUT Committee) believe that in time the benefits of this endeavor will be threefold: The institutions will benefit by getting better service, we technicians will benefit by getting better salaries, and the musicians will benefit bec ause the pianos will be better cared for.
Eric
Eric Wolfley, RPT
Director of Piano Services
College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org<mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org> [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org<mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org?>] On Behalf Of wimblees @aol.com<mailto:wimblees at aol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:37 PM
To: caut at ptg.org<mailto:caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification (was Re: Steinway or Forgery? now CAUT Certification
I'm not necessarily opposed to the concept. But what will the designation hope to accomplish? Is it the intent that sometime down the road school administrators will pay attention to the new designation? Right now, only a handful are actually looking for RPT's. Won't the additional designation muddy the waters?
Wim
-----Original Message-----
From: A440A at aol.com<mailto:A440A at aol.com>
To: caut at ptg.org<mailto:caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Wed, Jun 17, 2009 3:52 pm
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification (was Re: Steinway or Forgery? now CAUT Certification
Fred writes:
<< In any case, the proposal is based on a series of four intensive
training sessions, each to be three days in length, under the name
"CAUT Academy." >>
I will have to be convinced that 12 days of training, ($4,800 worth
of time) can be recovered by having the "diploma". And who is going to
determine the qualifications for those that will be teaching these training
sessions?
Ed Foote RPT
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html<http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html>
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