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Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Stories on 10/15/2024, 12:08 pm

What are some of your proudest moments as a band director? Did you have a difficult student that ended up being your top kid? Did someone tell you how much they loved your class? Did you build a program up from when it was at its lowest?

With upcoming contests making us beat ourselves and our self worth up I think it'd be nice to recall some good memories.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Quaked on 10/19/2024, 6:42 am, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

"Did you have a difficult student that ended up being your top kid?"

Everyone 4th bander or bottom beginner that turns it around (even if a little), always fills my bucket

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Me on 10/23/2024, 3:02 pm, in reply to "Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher"

I was a mid-second to top of third band kid (out of four, sometimes five) that wound up becoming a band director.

TBF, it's hard to crack the top band's section when they were an Honor Band one year of middle school, they all stayed in band, and more than one of them made all-state more than once.

But I know your point. I had a kid that was the absolute worst trumpet player in my entire program. I switched her to tuba of all things and she blossomed - became two-year drum major, and is now finishing up a music degree herself.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by FW24 on 10/16/2024, 3:12 pm, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

Years ago I had a kid that would bring her lunch to the band hall and eat, hang out, play card games, etc. If I remember correctly, she didn't have a good home life. She called me years later and thanked me for taking that time with her because that kept her from going down a dark path with drugs and alcohol. She's now an accomplished middle school director.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by My experience... on 10/16/2024, 8:37 am, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

I received an e-mail from a parent many years after I had her child as a middle school student.

She spent a lot of time seeking me out since I moved on a number of years later.

Her son wanted to let me know that if anything happened to him while he was deployed during the Iraq war, my Band he was a member of was a very special and important class to him.

No rating, trophy, or other award comes near to the emotional impact this left on me.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Nick on 10/16/2024, 8:36 am, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

I love the perserverance piece of band. When we get to the competition portion of the season and things get tough I often hear, "so and so is going to quit band." I almost never go and talk to a kid like that because I have always believed that someone will step up and take the place of that kid and most of the time it's just an attention seeking kind of situation. I remember one day there was a kid coming back to my band after he had quit. When that kid quit I didn't think much about it because they were a below average alto saxophone player and I honestly didn't need anymore saxophones. =) When the kid came back he came back determined and wound up being one of my best kids in the program his senior year. That kid is now a band director. My point from this is that we have to give the students growth opportunities and sometimes that growth can be really hard and even amazing kids can quit because of stuff. It's part of the process. Us having expectations of our students is a sign of love and respect for them. Whether they take it that was is up to them. It is harder today than ever to give students a structured environment that pushes growth. But, it's possible. And, we don't have to be "mean" but we do have to be demanding.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Mine on 10/15/2024, 4:58 pm, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

9th grade J became a music teacher and educator for some troubled students! Who would have thought!

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Jim Lemmond on 10/15/2024, 4:06 pm, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

Summer of 1977, I attended a conducting seminar with Donald Hunsberger. One afternoon another attendee asked Dr. Hunsberger how to become a professional conductor. Dr. Hunsberger described a student of the school that took his portfolio of compositions to New York City and meet Pierre Boulez. The student showed his music and expressed his interest in conducting. Boulez invited the student back the next for a reading of his music and a conducting lesson with the New York Philharmonic.

I am listening to this story and becoming somewhat embarrassed because this student did the same thing to me when he was my student in junior high ten years before. What a proud moment to hear about a former student from such a prominent musician.

Re: Proud Moments as a Teacher

Posted by Warhawk on 10/15/2024, 2:53 pm, in reply to "Proud Moments as a Teacher"

I had a kid reach out to me a couple of years ago for teaching him perseverance. He ended up being the Sousa award winner because he was my utility brass player. He's married, has a kid, and has his own HVAC truck/business.

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