What I noticed during the interview with my high school music teacher, Margot, was that the common theme behind almost all of her answers was making connections with students and with other musicians. What I learned from the interview was that making connections was a very important part of teaching. When I asked Margot how to deal with quote-on-quote “problem students”, meaning students who had a tendency to act out and disrupt the class, she told me that it all came down to knowing where the student came from and why they were acting out. Because students have wildly differing home lives, their outbursts could just be calls for attention in the case of students with not-so-great parents. Another tidbit she gave me is that a good chunk of the time it just boils down to the student being hungry and acting out for that one simple reason. Prior to asking her how to deal with problem students, I asked Margot what advice she had for potential teachers, to which she said to know your students. Knowing how they think and act gives you the information you need to make lessons that can help every student get the most out of their time in class. I also asked Margot how she marks students, and she said it was all based on a student’s individual progress. Since high schools do not divide music classes by skill level, you could have one student who has been taking private lessons for their instrument and another who has not even touched a single instrument in their life coming into the same class, so it would be unfair to judge them both on the exact same criteria. Using the connections she made, Margot was able to understand how each individual student acted and why they acted that way, and used that in her work to make her classroom a welcoming and inviting place, even if some students of hers did not necessarily come from a welcoming or inviting home.

        When I asked her what inspired her to start teaching music, she responded that it was the comradery that she saw in the music program that inspired her to get into music and the first place. The idea that music programs are so closely knit and are generally on a first-name basis appealed to her greatly, and music was already one of her passions after watching the high school band come to her elementary school. When I asked Margot what her favourite thing about teaching was, she responded that it was making connections with and getting to know the students she taught. This idea of comradery and inclusion is her first and foremost principle of teaching, and it shows in how she teaches and talks to students.

         I asked Margot what advice she had, specifically, for potential music teachers. She told me that the advice she had was, do not try to be the hero, do not be afraid to get help from other teachers, be it using assignments they have made for their class, and that there is a fine line between taking things personally and taking something as proper criticism. For the do not try to be the hero part, what Margot meant was that when she started teaching, she would take home assignments the day they were handed in, and they would just sit on the table to be taken back the next day unmarked. By trying to make more work for herself after already being burnt out at the end of the day, nothing got done, and she learned to separate class time and spare time, knowing that rest is just as important. This also ties into the not being afraid to get help from other teachers, as taking on creating a whole semester of assignments multiplied by however many courses you are teaching can quickly become a heavy task. Because Margot had already made connections with many other music teachers, she was able to help and get help from those other teachers and save herself and other teachers from thinking and writing up so many assignments. Finally, the fine line between taking things personally and taking them as proper criticism. A few times Margot had given out assignments and got comments from a select few students saying something akin to “this assignment sucks”. Sometimes the student was just in a poor mood, other times the student had an actual reason to dislike the assignment. Knowing to differentiate the two can help to make better assignments. The main takeaway from the advice given by Margot is to not only know your students, but also know yourself and your limits when it comes to teaching.

        The main themes of the interview were making connections and knowing yourself.  The connections and friendships you make can help to make life easier not only in teaching but in many areas of life, because you can reach out to help or receive help from others. And knowing yourself means knowing your limits and not burning yourself out, which also means knowing when to reach out to others.