Influential Teacher Assignment Throughout my musical education, I have had many teachers that have pushed me to the next level and made me the musician I am today. Although each of these teachers have positively impacted my development, I have had one that has stood out amongst the rest - my high school teacher, Angela Southern. Southern provides her students with an inviting environment that encourages them to explore music, free of imposed values of what is ‘real’ or ‘the best’ music. Her style opens up space in her classroom for all students to thrive, regardless of their previous musical experience, cultural experience, or socio-economic background. Southern puts a twist on traditional music education: she is able to share her passion with the students, introduce them to music that deviates from the education tradition, and create an accepting and fulfilling environment for all. Southern grew up in London, Ontario. She attended Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School where she was heavily involved in their music program. She became an ARCT pianist and was involved with London’s music theatre scene. Later she was accepted into Western’s voice major program as a dramatic soprano. She lasted one year in the Faculty of Music, and then quit school. She felt like an outcast in her program, mostly because of her socio-economic status. She describes her family as ‘blue-collar’, money was limited. This led her to conclude that formal music education wasn’t for her. She started working full time, while maintaining a busy schedule with music theatre in London and Huron County - once she even had a rehearsal in Stratford. Through theatre connections, she joined forces with the drama teacher at Parkside Collegiate and started directing musicals at Parkside. Their theatre program was just getting off the ground, but the music teacher (at that time) was not open to the vision and style that the drama teacher and Southern were pursuing. Eventually Southern was encouraged by her peers to go back to school, and she finished her degree at King’s, completing her Bachelor of Arts with an English and Music concentration, as a part-time student. Southern wanted to be a high school music teacher. She was thrilled when a friend, who worked for the (former) Middlesex County Board of Education, asked her to teach the music class in his high school on a letter of permission. With her extensive background in music, and this experience in music education, Southern applied to Althouse - five times. She never got accepted, and eventually gave up. She remained heavily involved in music, and took on a new challenge. She created a children’s theatre company. Without any formal planning, she jumped in and “just went for it”, and waited to see where she’d land with it. It made her aware of how much she liked working with youth. Not long after, she had the opportunity to attend D’Youville in Buffalo, New York, in there education program. D’Youville’s acceptance criteria was based predominantly on experience, something she had plenty of. She graduated from their Professional Program in Education. While attending D’Youville she was a student teacher at Parkside Collegiate Institute. The following year she was a graduate, the music teacher at Parkside retired, and she became their music teacher. It was two years later that she obtained her senior music education qualification through the additional qualification program for teachers. Until then her education qualification in Ontario was English. As her student, this seems bizarre to me. How does such a musically gifted person have to work so hard to access kids to teach them music? Although Southern says the biggest influence on her teaching philosophy is her own high school teachers, her background, experiences and optimism are also reflected in her excellent teaching. Southern said that what she learned from her experience is “...things happen when they are supposed to, I was able to come into this music program at a point where it needed to be built again - and it’s not very often in a music program where you can build it from the ground up to be what you think it should be. These are the kids I have, here’s what their skills are, hey, let’s do it this way. All the times along the way where I didn’t get what I wanted at any specific time, was for the best, it just didn’t seem that way at the moment.” The additional experience that Southern gained during the years she tried to get into Alt House built her capacity to be an excellent music teacher. Her varied background influences her teaching philosophy and how she teaches music to her high school students. Her optimism also influences the quality of her music education program, she knows she took the long road, but she simply moved forward to be a great educator. The idea of analyzing concepts in music education is new to me, but being taught through these basic concepts is not. Southern incorporated many of these concepts into my high school music classes; learning through creative pedagogy, attending to the invisible student, and being vulnerable just to name a few. Southern’s style of teaching was influential in many of my schoolmates’ decision to pursue music at the postsecondary level, and through performance opportunities. Southern philosophy is simple, she is “...here to help students be the best human beings they can be. Is everyone going to be a concert bassoon player? No, is everyone going to be a first chair flute? Absolutely not.” She was tired of hearing from kids, and even adults, “...saying that they had this music teacher, and they hated them, and the teacher made them hate music.” She believes that learning doesn’t has to be that way - learning doesn’t have to be a bootcamp, learning doesn’t have to be arduous. She points out that this doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard, working hard does not mean something can’t be enjoyable. She added that “Some of the most enjoyable things in life are things that you have to work hard to do - that’s when we see growth in people.” Another method of her teaching that I found inspiring, is her perspective that you can’t mark talent. This is where the equality of students enters in. She pointed out that every student comes in her program with a different level of natural ability, versus training from music lessons and exposure to live performances. Some parents simply aren’t able to provide their kids with these resources. You cannot penalize a kid with marks because they haven’t had a chance to nurture their natural talent. What she looks for is that the student has the willingness to open their mind to things they don’t know. She said “You don’t have to like the piece of music, but you do have to respect the work that went into the production”. She believes her job is to “...open students’ brains to possibilities, the students bring in something I haven’t heard before, produce that cyclical energy swap. Be current, it will make you a better educator, it makes connections in the professional work that I can then share with them.” Southern notes that “...obviously, you have to teach theory, you still need to teach them how to play their instrument,” but her style of teaching introduces people skills, collaborating, and the ability to work with everyone all of the time. In her classroom she creates an open, accepting environment where students’ passion and work is expressed. This environment decreases the anxiety level of performing, which has been a growing issue in high schools. She points out that “...you (students) have to perform, this is a performing arts course. The problem with education, is we are not allowing people to have exposure to things that challenge them - but you have to give them the tools to get through it.” Southern says that the classroom is the safest place students will ever be in, it has to be safe, it has to be encouraging. Teachers have to know how to give constructive criticism, and know how to give it so students’ self esteem is not crushed, yet they (students) are clear they have things to work on. “No one is perfect, no one in the arts, or anything, is ever at the point where you’re the best. There is always something you can learn, and you have to enjoy the journey in the process.” In my opinion, this is how all education should be taught. A willingness to create an opening, accepting environment, where students are encouraged to excel to the next level though a more creative process that tends to all learning styles and interests. Angela Southern’s music classroom does exactly this, and this is why she has been an influential teacher in my education.