On a brand-new Teachers’ Lounge, John Gelasi! He’s the director of music at Stillman Valley High School, where he recently won the Rockford Symphony Orchestra’s Outstanding Music Educator Award.
We had a fantastic, wide-ranging conversation covering everything from the magic of high school band to actual magic. John also talks about why band can be so important to students figuring out how to express themselves.
“Even today, kids tell me ‘The only reason I was able to get up and go to school this morning is because I knew I had band today,’” he said.
Later on, we talk about how hard learning music is and how to keep students excited even when they’re frustrated by not being really good right away in our instant gratification era.
Speaking of eras, we also have a fun Taylor Swift tangent near the end.
SHOW NOTES
Educators in this episode:
John Gelasi
Stories featured in this episode:
Behind the scenes at DeKalb's new Mitchell Elementary School
Music: Our show's theme music is from the northern Illinois-based band "Kindoves" and their songs "Popn," "Origins" and "Quiche." You can find more of their music on their Soundcloud page. You can also listen to the episode of WNIJ's Sessions from Studio A where they were featured.
Teachers! People who know teachers! People with stories about teachers! Send us an email and be part of the show!
