Elementary music had been cut back in Matt’s district,and he (like Tammy) felt like his students’ skills were behind where they should be. When his groups did not achieve 1s at festival, he found himself waking up at night worrying:One of the big stresses for me is I don’t want to make excuses. I get nervous about making excuses. “Well, they don’t start music until 6th grade.” It’s true. But is that a reason or an excuse? And the answer is I don’t know …I’m not sure. Maybe that shouldn’t matter. Maybe I should be such a good teacher that I can transcend it.