I have always been passionately interested in education, and within that, of course, music education.

I am a trained generalist primary school teacher, and have many ideas about the quality of training of classroom teachers in preparation for teaching what I believe to be the most difficult subject in the school curriculum – music. I say this because every child comes to school with an agenda about music, which certainly would rarely include musical literacy and classical music, so that a high school music teacher really has little hope of presenting music seriously from scratch.

Margaret Wright. Photograph © Kim Pham, University of Canberra

I believe music literacy should be taught quite early in primary schools, so that by the time the students reach secondary school, they can at least read and have a knowledge of some of the great composers and works.

I liken this to the teaching of reading – in secondary schools the English teachers don’t have to set about teaching the alphabet before embarking on their courses.

I am always astonished that music is lumped in with the Arts, and given a bit of a look-in if the teacher feels like it....