A moment of silence
Early last week one of my high school teachers passed away. I had a lot of different teachers but a small handful did make me better. This was one. The alert came from one of my siblings who knew of the man without ever having had him had as a teacher. And then on Facebook where I go less often one of my former classmates pointed out that the obituary was online. Based on the comments this man was very well respected. I did meet with him long after graduation but only for a short while. However the skills that he planted for me musically have stayed with me for a lifetime. Most teachers avoid allowing students a place to discover what skills they can achieve. In the music room we were all part of the band. When I asked to take home a different instrument just to try it out I met with no opposition. This was a place to learn not to pigeonhole. And so over a three-year. I did get to try most of the instruments in the band room and that ability stayed with me for the rest of my life. If you are a teacher and you want to be remembered years after the fact; let your students discover things. Avoid putting a break on the ability to learn. If someone wants to try a new skill set allow them to do so. After all we have already removed most of the danger from our school system. Allowing someone like me to take a clarinet home did not make the world a better place other than for certain sonic moments. Probably you would not have heard them because sound does not carry that well. So to my former teacher I salute you. You did things properly. And to my former classmates who also are taking the time to give a salute I hear you. A pity we can’t get together for practice. And yes I realized there are ways to do things over distance but that will not happen biggest band director will not be there. And that is when a band is at its best. Instead let us have a moment of silence to recognize that a good one is no longer here.
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