WHO IS A TEACHER?

"I touch the future; I teach." Christa McAuliffe

When we think of teachers, many people come to mind. I remember my seventh and eighth grade band director who inspired me to make music education my life's career. I remember my first grade teacher who dashed my interest in art because "a person cannot be bigger than a tree," even though I was looking at a photo of a child in the foreground with a tree in the distance. I think it is called ... perspective. I remember my eighth grade English teacher who, through the tumultuous junior high years, would urge me to "keep the faith". I remember the teacher who lived next door who would always call me Joey in class......... even though I was a junior in high school. I remember my math teachers...... kind of. I remember the chemistry teacher (the one everyone feared) who asked how I arrived at the correct answer.

"I copied the formula in the book and used the numbers from the experiment" was my reply.

As the rest of the class chuckled, he explained that was exactly how we were to do the problem. I felt great! I remember the teacher who said I did not have the talent to be a successful music teacher because I strayed from standard teaching practices. 33 years later, I would beg to differ. I remember the teacher who taught me how long fifth grade could really be. I remember the teacher who showed every student how much she cared for all of us. It was the shortest year of school I had.

And as I think of all of my teachers, the ones who stand out are not because they taught a particular subject, I think of what they taught me.

We all have teachers who, thinking back, we loved and some...... not so much. But one thing they had in common. They taught us.

Orchestra was the last class of the day. The room was a large carpeted, tiered rehearsal room with acoustic foam (which looked like mold) sprayed on the back wall. Students would come into class with the frustrations and ordeals of the five previous class periods weighing on them. They looked forward to the chance to pour their heart and soul into their music. They could, even if it was only for an hour, escape the nuisances and challenges of their school life. They would enter the room, deposit their backpacks by my office door, retrieve their instruments from the storage room, find their music, arrange their chair, tune and await the opportunity to make music.

One day in orchestra class I posed the question, "Who is a teacher?"

Almost every student had the same reply. ... "You are". All except the cellist seated to my right. The one who always tries to find the "angle" to every question.

"Everyone is" he chimed in, expecting to get my best teacher look.

I turned to him, looked him square in the eye and said, "Right!" I think he was surprised and a tad disappointed his answer did not elicit his expected response, but he soon joined the others in the class by nodding his head in understanding. We proceeded to talk about teachers, good and bad. We talked about lessons learned, whether curricular or life lessons. We talked how we can learn from each other if we pay attention.

My angle-seeking cellist then asked, "Why aren't we playing? Why are we talking about teachers?"

"What do you think?" was my reply

"You don't want to listen to us today."

"Nothing could be farther from the truth" I replied. "I enjoy listening to students make music. Back to the question. What do you think the reason is for talking about teachers?"

"So we realize we all can learn from each other, and when we pay attention to one another we can achieve even more......... now can we play some music?"

I responded, "Absolutely!" and class began.

Put the word teacher in a search engine and you will get a huge number of images. We all have stereo-typed images of teachers. We think teachers are the persons in front of a group instructing us. We assume they have all the knowledge and can answer all of our questions. The dictionary defines teacher as "one who teaches". Based on that simple, but accurate definition, almost everyone in our every day life can be a teacher and that same every day life is our classroom. When you stop to think about it, as you drive down the highway, go to the store, talk on the phone, observe or talk to children, or put yourself in the view of the general public, you are a teacher. Your actions, good or bad teach others lessons about you, themselves, or life in general. They teach proper (or not) responses to a situation. They instill lessons in people's memories which are more permanent than we may realize.

Let's look at a real life lesson. You are late leaving for work and need to drop your child off at school on your way. As you speed across town you are pulled over by a policeman. Frustrated, you let out a moan, pull over, and ready all pertinent documents for the officer. The officer, in a professional but pleasant tone of voice, informs you of your speeding violation and asks for license and proof of insurance.

Your reaction to the situation, as well as the policeman's, will be lessons not only for each other, but for your child as well. Your child will watch you to see how you handle the situation, and that reaction will be your teaching moment. The same is true for the policeman. His demeanor and presentation will define his moment. Whether we think about it or not, eyes are almost constantly on us. As parents we set examples for our children. As teachers we set examples for our students.

When your child asks why were you speeding, and why you got so upset, you have the perfect opportunity to be a teacher. The most effective way to use the moment is with total honesty and sincerity. You take the time to answer their questions and make sure your child understands the lesson they observed.

We face a large number of teachers every day. But do we really listen and learn?

In today's culture we are visible to the public practically all of the time. Where ever we go, cameras are present watching our ever move. With this exposure to others, we must remember that what we teach speaks volumes about who we are. Our actions and every day deeds, good or bad, are our most prevalent teaching tools. Daily we witness numbers of people who exist in their own private cocoon. They have no regard for the people around them and little regard for themselves. They will not look you in the eye, notice if you are trying to pass in the aisle at the store, or listen if you are trying to tell them something important. We all get a little tunnel vision from time to time, but hopefully we realize there are other people around us, and how we respond to them is what makes us good teachers. Cussing at the driver who just cut us off, yelling at the television during the "news", or just a loud sigh when talking to a loved one are teaching moments. Not necessarily good ones. Ponder this. The...