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Health & Fitness

You Never Know Where Your Seeds Will Grow

The wonderful cycle of the teaching profession.

I have known since the fourth grade that my profession would be teaching. The only detour to this plan was the type of teacher I would be. I wanted to be a teacher of handicapped children.

In my childish mind anyone could teach "normal" children -- I believed I had that special gift to teach special children. The name of the detour was Hampton Institute, now Hampton University.

I saw the Hampton Institute Concert Choir perform while I was in the later grades of high school. One concert, and I was in love. I wanted to be on that stage one day in the worst way. The only problem was Hampton did not have a special education major. Thus, my plans were changed and I majored in music. Vocal music to be exact, and it was everything I wanted it to be.

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I loved chorus in high school (La Guardia High School of Music and Arts) and Hampton, under the direction of Roland Carter, took my love to a new level.

Upon the completion of four years, I was standing in front of my own music class. I was told: "We got rid of three teachers already, how long you gonna be here?" Not exactly the greeting I was expecting. Not one to be defeated, I stayed in that school for 13 years, and things did get better.

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In the second school, things got even better. Here when you told a child to sit down, they really did it. The first time this happened I was in shock, but that subject is for another blog.

Recently I opened my old tweets and noticed one that I did not think I had responded to. I took a chance since it was more than six months old and was delighted to receive a quick response.

The tweeter was a former student from the second school. He informed me that not only had my influence had an impact on this life, but that he had become a very successful vocal music teacher in his own right. Of course that was one of the best tweets I had ever received.

I estimate that over a 35-year career, I have taught about 10,000 students. To each one I hoped to bring a love of music. I tried to let them know that there is a world of music beyond what they hear on the radio or at the local club or at a party.

I am more than gratified to know that I made a small difference in the life of at least one of my students. This particular former student is a junior high school chorus teacher with a chorus that has been rated superior by the state in which he teaches. This old retired teacher is mighty proud. You just never know where your seeds will spread and take root. The fact that I spread them is enough.

As a postscript, I would like to add that within the past year, I made contact with my former junior high school music teacher. She seemed a little disappointed that I was a teacher -- she was also a former opera diva and thought that I should have had a career on a stage. What she failed to realize was I was on a stage for 35 years with the best audience a person could have. To teach a child is to change the world.

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