| Why won't Tennessee let me be a Classroom | | | | remain friends to this day.As a piano teacher at |
| Music Teacher?I applied for the Teach Tennessee | | | | Belmont Academy, many diverse types of |
| program and was turned down. What the | | | | learners enter my studio. One unique young man |
| massive bureaucracy of the Dept. of Education | | | | who came to me recently has Asperger's |
| fails to see is that licensure merely means | | | | Syndrome, a mild form of autism. He graduated |
| persons have successfully jumped through a | | | | high school with honors, but is not pursuing college |
| series of hoops. It no more guarantees that a | | | | at present. His mother, a therapist, screened me |
| teacher knows how to teach, has a gift to teach, | | | | before bringing Casey for lessons, since he had |
| likes to teach, or even wants to teach than an | | | | been kicked out of various classes for behavioral |
| M.D. guarantees a doctor will compassionately care | | | | reasons, including a negative encounter with a |
| for his patients.My life experience is worth more | | | | music teacher. I assured her I had the patience to |
| than 12 credit hours of teacher education and one | | | | handle him, being myself the father of a mentally |
| year of internship. I work for an enzymologist in | | | | retarded adult. Casey and I hit it off right away, |
| the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Recently | | | | and it was not hard to find what he responded to. |
| the American Chemical Society appointed my | | | | I tailored our lessons to fit his taste in music and |
| boss Editor-in-Chief for the science journal | | | | his uncanny ability to learn by imitation. I've |
| Biochemistry. He assigned me to train a new hire | | | | learned to sense when he tires of the academic |
| to be the office supervisor. I had to familiarize her | | | | approach using a text method, and at that point |
| with all aspects of my job as an editorial assistant, | | | | switch gears to focus on playing by ear, or |
| from manuscript receipt through each step of the | | | | exchanging stories (he is a wealth of trivia), or |
| peer review process to final disposition | | | | taking a look at a downloaded video game theme. |
| (acceptance/rejection). I sat with her for several | | | | He is continuing with me into the summer session, |
| weeks at the computer and took her through all | | | | and I expect will do so beyond that.During an |
| the motions of utilizing the multiple databases | | | | 8-year position as a choir director for an Anglican |
| involved while she took notes and asked | | | | congregation in Franklin, I held weekly rehearsals |
| questions. For every new concept, I made sure | | | | with an adult choir that included high schoolers. It |
| she got hands on experience at the computer, | | | | was my duty to teach them a large volume of |
| repeating the task until she felt confident. In turn, | | | | hymns, anthems and responsorial chants every |
| when another editorial assistant was added to the | | | | week in accordance with the lectionary in the |
| staff, she was able to teach him.At a previous | | | | orthodox tradition. About two dozen persons of |
| post, for the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, | | | | widely disparate ability were under my charge. |
| housed in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, I | | | | Hymns and chants were reinforced on a weekly |
| worked alongside a young black woman with a | | | | basis for each Sunday. Anthems, however, |
| degree in psychology from MTSU. I was the | | | | required about six weeks of preparation from |
| editorial assistant and she was the journal | | | | introduction to performance. I devised a teaching |
| secretary. We came from very different social, | | | | plan for mid-week rehearsals and taught each |
| educational, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Her | | | | piece in a sequential manner, incorporating more |
| pattern of learning was to carry on the patterns | | | | refined elements each week until the product was |
| handed down to her by predecessors. Mine was | | | | polished. The greatest advance I made with this |
| to find new and better ways to accomplish the | | | | group in the areas of critical thinking, problem |
| task at hand. On this point we clashed mildly, | | | | solving and performance skills, was to teach them |
| although we learned to respect and accept each | | | | to read music. |
| other's differences in order to work together. We | | | | |