Teacher Appreciation week is the first full week of May, but since I think celebrating teachers for only a week is ridiculous, we’re devoting the whole month of May to teachers. (Yeah, yeah, and because I totally missed the first week of May somehow. I’m way behind on EVERYTHING this month.)

I always knew that I didn’t want to be my children’s music teacher. Am I qualified to teach them violin? Yes. But do I want to? Hell no. From the beginning, I knew I was going to find someone else to teach my kids, and here’s why:

1. I wanted the accountability of a weekly lesson with someone else. It would be too easy for me to take days off practicing, or procrastinate daunting skills. I need someone to keep me on task!
2. Watching another teacher is the best teacher development I’ve ever done. I’ve learned so much from watching my kids’ lessons, I can’t even tell you. It’s made me a better teacher.
3. I learn more about my kids by observing their interactions and relationships with their teachers. I get much-needed perspective about how wonderful my kids actually are when I watch them at lesson.
4. I need an outside authority. Despite my undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, my kids don’t listen to me. I need to be able to say, “Well, your teacher said to do it this way.” It’s not wonderful, but them’s the facts.
   

If you’ve stuck with me this far, thank you! Here’s the point:

I am so grateful for my kids’ music teachers. They are wonderful musicians, and more important, wonderful human beings and I’m so glad my kids have the opportunity to learn from them.

My eleven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter take violin lessons from Jenny Wadsworth. Mrs. Wadsworth is such an inspiration to me. I am constantly impressed by her patience, curiosity, and creativity. She is continually innovating and experimenting new teaching strategies to best suit the child in front of her. And she is unfailingly compassionate and patient when students are struggling. I could go on and on about what a masterful teacher she is. Her loving acceptance of each child exactly as they are, and her confidence in their potential, make her a truly astounding teacher and human being. I wish every child could have a Mrs. Wadsworth in their life.

My nine-year-old cellist’s teacher situation is a little less traditional. He is so lucky to have Steven Farr and Colin Mitchell as his teachers. We see Mr. Farr each week for private lessons, and we see Mr. Mitchell a couple times a month for a slightly less formal lesson. Mr. Farr has taught him so much about persistence and dedication, and has helped him build his self-confidence. G has developed an identity as a cellist and a vision of what he can achieve from his work with Steven. Mr. Mitchell has taught G to be curious and engaged in the learning process. I’m always impressed by Mr. Mitchell’s ability to get G laughing and excited about what looks like hard work! He always has a funny story or helpful visualization to simplify complex concepts and skills. I’ve adapted many things I’ve observed in their lessons to use with my violin students.

It’s difficult for me to be concise about how grateful I am for these individuals. I could write pages and pages about the wonderful things they do, and all the things my children and I have learned from them. I am so glad my children get to have these amazing teachers as supportive and encouraging role models in their lives. We really are amazingly lucky.

Is there a teacher in your or your child’s life that you want to celebrate? Let us know in the comments!