Hey Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone!

I hated that song, I really hated that song. Let me explain why.

 It was 1979 and I was 4 years into what would be a 9 year career as an instrumental music teacher in small town Iowa public schools. I got into teaching for several reasons:

1.  I loved music and thought it would rewarding and  fun to teach music.
2. I had great teachers in my educational journey and they inspired me to want to be a great teacher.
3. Teachers were in demand and thus, job prospects and job security seemed good.
4. I really didn't want to be anything else.

So imagine my consternation when I heard those lyrics on the radio (we still played the radio back then) or worse yet, caught some of my better students singing along to them on MY turntable in MY bandroom before school.

"We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Teacher leave them kids alone.
Hey, teacher! Leave them kids alone!"

Were they talking about me? Thought control? I don't understand. And if they didn't "need no education', why were they hanging around in the bandroom before school?

Let me put some context around this for those who are unfamiliar with the song, "Another Brick In the Wall" by Pink Floyd.  I was aware of Pink Floyd, but not a fan or follower of their music. This song, and this part of the song, in particular, is an outcry against the British educational system. The concept album, "The Wall", where this song resides, is a highly acclaimed piece of modern rock music history.

So what? My reality was that the students in my bandroom and the school I was teaching at in  Parkersburg, Iowa ( pop.1650) were singing it and they thought it was cool. I didn't think it was cool. I told them they couldn't play that record in my room. They muttered under their breath. The moment passed.

Which brings us to today and last year. Today, I don't hate that song, but I remember that song. I remember it for what it taught me about me. It challenged my concept of who I thought I was and why I did what I did as a teacher. It taught me not to take myself so seriously, for that moment at least. It taught me to remember that not every student I came across liked school as much as I did. It taught me to continue to strive to be as good as the teachers that inspired me. Which brings us to last year, 2012.

2012 was The Year of the Teacher  for me. I had the opportunity through a series of planned and unplanned moments and events, to meet, recognize and honor some of the most influential and revered teachers from my lifetime. I will describe those events and moments in my upcoming posts, but let me say this about that- I am eternally grateful that those teachers didn't leave me alone. Rather, they left me for  the better.

I leave you today with the lyrics of a song from the musical "Wicked" that reflects a different expression than the Pink Floyd lyrics that began this post.


"For Good"

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

 Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

 To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

 But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you...

 Like a comet pulled from orbit

As it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

Halfway through the wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

 But because I knew you

I have been changed for good