I learned many songs of American immigrants--American Folk Music--when I was in school in the 60's. When I taught music in the 80's, the Music textbooks had little or none of the wonderful songs I learned. Therefore I taught the songs, anyway. However, due to all of the above and many more things which make it almost impossible to teach in these modern times, not to mention the aforementioned fact that music is not considered at all important since "Jonny Can't Read" came out, I did not remain in teaching for long. Put simply, I was not allowed to actually teach Music--i.e., give a proper Music education to the students. Therefore, I had no desire to remain in the field of so-called "teaching."
   What can we do? I am quite active in Traditional American & other Folk Acoustic Music in my little corner of the world. I am in an organization in which the purpose is to educate others, promote interest in, & perform Traditional American Music on Folk instruments. We perform Traditional American Music at a variety of venues, give demonstrations in schools and many other places, offer educational workshops monthly, and we support & participate in the regional (& some far away) Traditional Music Festivals. In the state of Kansas, where I live, there are several annual Traditional Music festivals and many opportunities to hear & play our kind of Music. If you look around, you may find that there are such things in your corner of the world. You can always get together with others interested in Traditional Folk Music & start doing something to keep it alive & well!