Teacher Interview I have decided to interview my old high school teacher Ms. Jung. She was by far the most influential teacher out of all three of the music teachers at my high school. Ms. Jung studied at the university of Toronto. She was always a great example and she always knew how to help the students in her classroom. When I was in her class she was always encouraging me to keep on trying no matter how many times I failed. I remember talking to her and she said I had a certain aptitude for the trumpet. The jazz band that was led by her was the most skilled band in the school. She constantly told me to audition. Even though I didn't make it in my 2nd and 3rd year. She never stopped to encourage me. I remember all I wanted to be was the lead trumpet in the jazz band. The very last year I had, I made it and even when I was in the band she kept on pushing me to break my limits. Ms. Jung was such an amazing teacher. On our last exam day in grade 12 she talked to all the grade 12s, and she would tell us her favourite memory of us. Her favourite memory of her and I was when I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled just a week before the Humber Jazz Festival. I told her I would be “A Ok” for the performance next week. I ended up being moved off of first trumpet for that week. She says that was her favourite memory of me because I thought I had superhuman healing powers. In relation to the interview we had, I had asked her why she got involved in music education. She replied to me saying that her high school teachers were her biggest influence. She said that they had influenced her in such a way that she wanted to influence others that way. Thinking about that I now see my teacher a similar way she saw her teachers. I see the way that Ms. Jung has influenced me and the students around her. I never really thought about why I decided to go into music education. But now I think about the way Ms. Jung influenced me to follow my passion. Thinking about the influence she had on me, I want to influence people to do what they want to do. I want to be the person that can help people find what it is they are passionate about. I remember Ms Jung told me, she never knew she wanted to be a teacher. She originally wanted to go into the sciences. But when that didn't work out she thought about music and the way she was taught. I asked about the way she teaches. She told me she teaches the same way she was taught. Now when I think back to the times where I was able to teach music. I see that I too, teach the same way I was taught. Through this short interview I had with Ms. Jung, I can already see some reasons why I might go into music education myself. Now that I think of the way I was influenced in pursuing what it is I’m passionate about. Even if I may have a hard time finding work, I’ll be happy knowing that I’m doing what I love to do. I’m doing what makes me happy. All thanks to a teacher I had back in high school. With that being said I thank Ms. Jung for all she has done for me and all that she still continues to do to this day.
The process of interviewing students and teachers was a great experience. I had interviewed two students from here (Claire and Ryan) and my teacher back home Ms. Jung. Both Claire and Ryan had some similar answers. Both stated that music was a great part of their life and said that it was a great skill to have growing up. I asked my teacher about her teachers and the way she was taught. She described her teachers in a way that made them seem like very good and fun people. I think that the teachers we have and the way that they teach is very important to our growth as musicians. I figure if Ms. Jung had such great teachers and ended up enjoying music as much as she does, perhaps Claire and Ryan had great teachers as well who made music such an enjoyable experience. I had also asked about the level of stress that the students felt while performing. Both said in the beginning they were stressed, but as time went by they were able to cope and deal with the stress much easier. My teacher had a similar insight. To this day Ms. Jung always gets a little nervous before a performance. I remember when I was in jazz band Ms. Jung would always get nervous before our competitions. She was the conductor and the leader and even she gets nervous. Looking back at my interviews I see that both students and teachers are very similar in many ways. Students and teachers share similar experiences because both have experienced the same thing in similar and different ways. I think one thing we can take away from this is the fact that students and teachers both go through the same thing. Whether it's a teacher's first class or a student's first performance, we all experience the same feelings and emotions. One thing to think of as well is the fact that in order to become a teacher one must first be a student and I don’t think that students such as myself tend to think of that often. I know that when my teacher tells me to work on something, they mean it in the best way. I remember my personal teacher Aaron Hodgson telling me “I can’t teach you how to play the horn. You’re playing it perfectly fine. Right now I think you need to work on your reading, that's the only thing holding you back.” When I read that now, I see that Aaron means the best for me and I can see that as a teacher he genuinely cares about me and my growth as a musician. I can see how he wants me to succeed and grow similar to how Ms. Jung would do the same for me. As for Claire and Ryan I can see that both of them still make time for practice and honing their skills as musicians. Even though they don’t have private teachers now, they still work on their music without anyone telling them they have to. I think that is due to the influence that their teacher has left on them. With all that being said I think that this whole process was a great experience for me as I got to learn about other musicians like myself as well as the way my teachers view me as their student. This has been a great experience for me and I want to give a quick vote of thanks to Claire, Ryan and Ms. Jung for taking time out of their busy schedules and helping with this project.