Student Teachers

If you don't already know, I am a band director. I teach sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at the local junior high school. I've only been there for a little over a year but before that, I taught music at the elementary level for 15 years. My job is not my life, but it's a pretty good job to have.

One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is the opportunity to work with college students preparing to become teachers themselves. Over the years, I have had about 45 student teachers. I lost count at some point but I made a quick mental count then rounded up a bit since I probably missed a few. These young people have been as diverse as the students I teach in my classroom. Some of them have needed help in their development as educators and others came to me ready for employment.

My very first student teacher was one of those people that never got a B in his entire life. He was the most type A person I have ever met. He hated shopping so he figured out exactly how much ham and cheese he needed to get him through one loaf of bread in order to cut down on superfluous trips to the grocery store. And he ate the same thing for lunch every day - ham and cheese on white bread.

When he graduated, he went to mortuary school. Not a great track record as a cooperating teacher to have my very first student teacher decide to become a mortician.

There was the girl who needed light therapy to be able to get through a day. The young man who was a non-traditional student and was older than me when he student taught. The young woman who graduated, got married, and stayed in the area. She is still looking for something permanent and so she substitute teaches for me occasionally and does an excellent job. There were those who went on to get performance degrees at grad school and others that couldn't wait to get into the classroom.

But I'd like to focus on one particular student teacher. Amy Bensinger was student teaching with me a few years ago. She actually shared her time with another student teacher named Greg and the three of us had a really fun time together. Besides being excellent teachers with a great rapport with kids, they both had a great sense of humor and our days were filled with fun. That was when I was at the elementary schools and the little ones called her Miss B and were very sorry to see her go. This is Amy:

Like most of my student teachers, Miss B went on to other things and we didn't stay in touch on a regular basis. Thanks to facebook, I've been vaguely aware of the goings-on in Amy's life. But a few days ago, she posted something that surprised me. She asked her facebook friends to send her photos so that she could practice sketching portraits. I had no idea that she had visual art talent. She posted a picture she had drawn and it was pretty good.

Then she messaged me. She said that she has been reading the blog and would like to draw Hugo if we would give her permission. I sent her a few pictures and waited to see what would come of her offer.

That was just a few days ago and she has it finished already. Now Amy, if you are reading this, please don't be offended by what I'm going to say next. I've seen lots of portraits of people who look nothing like themselves. It is particularly disturbing when these not-quite-right likenesses are tattooed on someone's arm. I never knew you to be a visual artist (or perhaps I just forgot) and so I had no idea what to expect and I was a little worried about what to say when I saw the final product.

But then I saw the final product.

Holy cow! It's totally him. We love it and you are an amazing artist! You captured his eyes perfectly and even the little bit of fuzz on his head.

This is such a fantastic gift and it's made even better by the fact that it was completely unexpected.

Thank you. God bless you.