Teaching is one of the most challenging, but also one of the most meaningful, rewarding, and important professions. Teachers must be prepared at the highest level in their own discipline, while also finding multiple ways to pass that knowledge and skill on, along with countless life lessons to a diverse population of students. An outstanding teacher must develop relationships and communicate with their students to foster trust in order to teach. They must show authenticity and passion for what they are teaching. They must hold students to rigorous standards, ensuring that all students are improving. They must commit themselves to lifelong learning and improvement, and they must be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of their students day to day and year to year. 

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Before teaching anyone, there must be trust. In order to build trust, an outstanding teacher must develop positive and honest relationships with their students and with the families they serve. One way to do this is to communicate with students frequently as a class, especially when developing goals and expectations for the classroom. Each year, I put giant sticky notes on the walls with each of my three classroom expectations: “Be respectful”, “Be responsible,” and “Be Ready to Learn.” I have students work in groups traveling to each sticky note and each student gives an example or a strategy for meeting that expectation. As the day progresses, more and more examples are added, and by the end of the day, each paper is full of wonderful examples and strategies. I keep those sticky notes up the whole year and reference them when students need to remember what they themselves said about our classroom expectations. 

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In a music classroom trust is paramount, because much of what we do, while very technical and skill-based, is also very personal and emotional for the student. Music is an extremely personal art form, and it takes a lot of courage to perform for others. As their teacher, I strive to find something positive in each student’s performance and praise it as much as I can - this helps them to know that their performance is valued, and helps them be in the proper mindset to process the constructive feedback I give them. I teach them that perfection is not the goal, improvement is the goal. I even show them areas where I can improve as a performer and what I am working on currently. 

Teaching must always be authentic, and teachers must show passion for what they do. An outstanding teacher is able to model passion for their subject while relating their discipline to the student so the student can see the value of what they are learning. As a musician, it is important for me to practice and perform, so my students can see that there are ways to continue playing after school has ended. I perform with two professional orchestras and also lead a chamber music ensemble, often inviting students to attend my concerts and in some cases, inviting them to perform. 

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An authentic teacher shows their humanity. As teachers, we often make mistakes. I think it is important to admit those mistakes and model for students that humility, and how to learn from mistakes. When lessons fail, I come back the next day and first admit, “Yesterday didn’t work quite right. Let’s try this a different way today and we will find a better solution together.” My aim is to show students that our classroom is a laboratory, one where mistakes are allowed and even expected, and that the growth that comes from those mistakes is our ultimate goal.

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Great teachers are lifelong learners, and instill that desire in their students. It is important for teachers to constantly modify and improve what they do. Sometimes, this is done by attending conferences or conducting research; often, it is less formal. I learn a lot from my colleagues, both in music, and in other disciplines. I like to observe colleagues and see how they approach challenging subject matter or techniques. I recently learned of a great way that an English teacher uses a “meta-rubric” to help students learn how to revise and edit their essays over a period of time by reaching certain benchmarks in their work. I was able to adapt the meta-rubric concept into how we prepare musical pieces, finding similar milestones as students practice and rehearse. Outstanding teachers also freely share the hard-won skills they have gained from experience. I enjoy the relationships I build serving as a mentor-teacher at Longfellow and having student teachers work in my classroom. 

Along with, and possibly above all of these other qualities, great teachers are flexible and adaptable. They meet students where they are, but never leave them there. They teach them to be comfortable being “good frustrated,” for being frustrated is the first step to improving and learning. One of my favorite lessons that I repeat often in my classes happens after we record or perform. I have students listen to the recording and think of at least one positive aspect and one area for improvement within the performance. As a class, we summarize their findings on the board, and then the students develop strategies for rehearsing both individually and collectively to improve our performance. This gives the students a sense of confidence in their own ability to work through problems and grow. This skill will serve them beyond the music classroom, and develops strength and diligence that will serve them later on in life. 

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The rewards of teaching are many, but are quite different from many other professions. I often refer to the “bug” that catches teachers. Watching a student finally accomplish something, through hard work and determination, that moments earlier they said, “I cannot do,” is one of the greatest rewards of teaching. The indescribable sparkle in their eyes when you can sense their feeling of accomplishment keeps me motivated each day. Secondly, the long-term reward of knowing you had an impact in a student’s life is satisfying. I can speak from experience that students do value the work of their teachers, even while they don’t always show it; I am proud to teach alongside many of my former teachers, and now count them among my friends. I look forward to the day that some of my students reach out later in life to reconnect with me and amaze me with all they have done. Lastly, teaching offers the intrinsic reward of knowing that what we do is meaningful and helpful to furthering the progress of our communities and the larger society. 

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My mother, an amazing teacher, taught me at an early age that teaching is the only “gold-collar” profession because we are the ones who make all the other professions possible. The skills and lessons we teach reach far beyond assignments and grades in our own classrooms. When done well, our individual disciplines are the tools we use to teach the larger lessons in life: determination, diligence, resilience, and a passion for improvement and lifelong learning. I do not think that being an outstanding teacher is an end goal, but rather an ideal that we all must strive for each and every day we walk through the classroom doors.