Ep. 77: Zooming In on Elementary Music with John Coffey
How to reach John
Heights Elementary School Website - Staff Directory - you can email John Coffey from here
Other episodes of The Teacher As… with music educators:
The Teacher As Inspiration with Lester Fleishman
Episode 13: The Teacher As Musician with Nico de Villiers
Episode 14: The Teacher As Conductor with Dr. Robyn L. Bell
Episode 15: The Teacher As Music Educator
Episode 55: An Educator Who Made an Impact: Lester Fleishman
Transcript
Melissa Milner 0:08
Welcome to The Teacher As... podcast. I'm your host Melissa Milner, a teacher who is painfully curious and very easily inspired. This podcast is ever changing. And I hope with each season, you find episodes that speak to you in your work as an educator. This is the fourth season of The Teacher As... and it's exciting to see the growth in how many educators are listening. Episodes are released every other week. If you enjoy The Teacher As..., please rate it on Apple podcasts and leave a review. It helps the podcast reach more educators. Thanks for listening.
Melissa Milner 0:41
This episode has a short story attached to it. I met John Coffey at my high school's band and chorus... and musicals reunion. It was an amazing night to get together with all the band, chorus, musical peeps from the 60s 70s and 80s. Mostly the 70s and 80s were there. John did not go to my high school, but he was there as the drummer of the amazing jazz band performing for the cocktail hour. He introduced himself and explained that he got to observe my dad during his pre practicum. So my dad was band director for Sharon High School. And he was the Director of Music for Sharon Public Schools for many years. So I had to have him on since he's a music educator, and I love talking to music educators, but also because he knew my dad. If you like to listen to music educators talking about education, then you can absolutely check out the following episodes. And I will put links on this episode webpage. So if you go to theteacheras.com and you find the John Coffey episode, those links will be on that... on that episode page. But you can also just go to theteacheras.com and just scroll around and find them. So the first one was not a numbered episode. It was just called Zooming In: My Dad, Lester Fleishman. And that was the original interview that I did with him. I then did an encore. I played that again for Father's Day one year. And then I did a quick little tribute, it was about 14 minutes, to my dad when he passed away that you can also check out I'll link those on the page. There was also Episode 13, The Teacher As Musician, Episode 14, The Teacher As Conductor, and then one of my favorites, Episode 15, which was The Teacher As Music Educator and in that one, I had three different music educators, but they were from... one was from a rural area, one was from a city, and one was from a suburb. So that was kind of an interesting compare/contrast. So I hope you enjoy those episodes, and I know you're going to enjoy John Coffey.
John Coffey 2:49
My name is John Coffey. I've been teaching music in the Sharon Public Schools since 1998. Prior to that, I taught in the public schools of Littleton and Wayland. And at one point when I was in between jobs at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro. I got my undergrad at Berklee College of Music and I got my masters at Cambridge College in integrated studies. And I did my thesis on jazz improvisation using the pentatonic scale, which is a five note scale, where people can just play random notes. without the worry of playing wrong scale tones. When you get into the technicalities of music theory with the modes and the minor scales, and the...so forth.
Melissa Milner 3:39
The pentatonic scale allows someone to improvise as long as they like stay within that kind of range of notes. Is that what you're saying?
John Coffey 3:48
Absolutely. Yep. Right. So for example, when I do this activity with the kids on the xylophones, I will actually remove the bars of notes that are not in the scale. So no matter what tone they hit, it sounds musical. The challenge is, I tell the kids, okay, play music, we don't just sing away like a toddler. Just you know, play a few tones, stop, you know, follow your heart and make it sound musical. Don't just clang away, and a lot of them get the gist of it. And I've actually tried that with the band students. But in that case, I have to deal with the transpositions with the B flat instruments, the E flat instruments.
Melissa Milner 4:31
So you teach music, from what grade to what grade?
John Coffey 4:36
Yep. Kindergarten through grade five. And most of my assignment for the last 20 years was doing the elementary band program due to the pandemic. While during the pandemic rather we we put the band program on hold and the teachers who were traveling from building to building such as myself, all the principals in the entire school district in fact all over the world when you think about it, they met and just ripped apart the master schedule, and went right back to scratch. And they basically organized it so most of the teachers had very minimal or no travel time at all. So I was in one building at the Heights Elementary School during the when we went back with the hybrid classes. And then eventually, when we got back to normal, they started giving teachers back the assignments they had previously. And I requested to my principal, I said, "Look, you know, for years, I've been working in multiple buildings during the band program, and I'd like to change." So now my main assignment is doing general music and chorus. Okay, which is actually easier than I thought, because I think all those years teaching the band instruments gave me an advantage. Because in my classroom, I have a table with all my instruments that I've collected through the years that are playable. And each week I'll use a different instrument to teach the kids a song. And that's a kick, and the kids are pretty wowed by all the instruments I can play.
Melissa Milner 6:08
That's so cool. That's like my dad, oh, my gosh, my dad could play anything. That's great. Yeah.
John Coffey 6:15
However, I say to the kids, I say, "Thank you for the compliment, but if I were to take my clarinet or my trumpet, and go play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Keith Lockhart would say, ""You're good, but you got to go home and practice more.""
Melissa Milner 6:28
Yeah.
John Coffey 6:28
So basically, I can take any instrument and take a song like Twinkle Little Star, Three Blind Mice, and play a jazz version, or a funk version or a disco version, just kind of jazz it up a bit, add some bottom end.
Melissa Milner 6:42
Yeah.
John Coffey 6:42
And it's funny with the kindergarteners the way they start kinda bebopping away.
Melissa Milner 6:48
So you like the younger kids and the older kids, you're comfortable with all that, that range of age?
John Coffey 6:54
Yeah, it's funny, because originally, I wanted to be a high school band director, doing the marching band and all that stuff. And most of my student teaching that I did in Mansfield, which is where I've lived the last 20 years was at the secondary level, but my advisor at Berkeley told me, you know, you might want to be licensed at the elementary level as well, because you never know what jobs are out there. And I remember talking with your dad, when I met him years ago, he said something like, I don't remember exactly, he said, "Okay, if you want to teach at the high school level, you might want to get an elementary position, and kind of relearn the instruments. Do that for a couple of years, and then work your way up to the middle school, and then the high school level. That way, all the instruments that you teach will be more easily understood. And the results much more rewarding when you present to the kids. Okay, this is how it should sound and you take a clarinet and kind of play the example to give them the idea." And that was a good move. So my first job was teaching elementary and I thought to myself, I like the little ones.
Melissa Milner 8:00
They're super cute, right?
John Coffey 8:02
They really are. Yep, they basically yeah. And I mean, the kindergarten is the first grade. I mean, they're like a box of kittens that are constantly, you know, crawling away, and have to keep picking them up and putting them back.
Melissa Milner 8:14
Oh, my gosh, are your class sizes okay?
John Coffey 8:18
They're manageable. Yeah, the most is 25.
Melissa Milner 8:20
Oh, wow.
John Coffey 8:22
It's yeah, I mean, unlike us, when we were kids, before proposition two and a half, it was probably 16 to 18. Kids.
Melissa Milner 8:30
Yeah.
John Coffey 8:30
But one thing I do with the young ones, when you think about it, their brains, they're running a mile a minute. So a fifth grade class, I'll do maybe three 10 minute activities, whereas the kindergarteners I'll do 10 to 15 five minute activities, just go from one to another. If you stay on one subject too long, you'll lose them.
Melissa Milner 8:52
They're gone.
John Coffey 8:52
Right.
Melissa Milner 8:53
And you do a lot of movement as well with the kids.
John Coffey 8:56
Oh, yes, absolutely. The more the better, because I don't think kids get enough recess time like we had growing up.
Melissa Milner 9:03
They don't.
John Coffey 9:04
I remember. Yeah. I remember when I was a kid. I remember this very clearly. We had a morning recess around 1030. And it was for about 15 minutes. And I remember it well. It was great because we get outside, we ran around and jumped on the swings. Just to get that energy out from being sitting from sitting at our desks for two hours in the morning. And it was great for the teachers. They could go get a cup of coffee, make a phone call, correct a few papers. And then after lunch we had a good for we had a good 30 minute recess.
Melissa Milner 9:38
Yeah, I do remember two recesses.
John Coffey 9:41
Yeah.
Melissa Milner 9:42
Yeah. I agree. Because I live in Sharon. And yeah. So...
Melissa Milner 9:47
It was very similar. Yeah.
Melissa Milner 9:50
Yeah. Now it's like one 20 minute. It was 30 minutes last year. Now it's only 20 minutes,
John Coffey 9:55
Right. I can remember... Yeah, when I did my student teaching I remember asking, "Do they have a morning recess?" And they said no. And every job I've had since then there's no morning recess. It's. And they Yeah, it is tough.
Melissa Milner 10:10
Yeah.
John Coffey 10:10
And I mean, today, you've got computers that they teach the kids, you got foreign language in the school day, when you think about it. It's not any longer than it was. We were kids. And yeah, and I mean, it's just the kids that they need time to get outside, just just run around, just get that energy out. So getting back to what you asked me, Do I do a lot of movement. For the first five to 10 minutes, I'll do the chicken dance or the Hokey Pokey. And just, I just do that to tire them out. And I've noticed after that they're more focused, because they've gotten all their wiggles and jiggles Oh, yes. And I remember one administrative saying to me, you know, why do you spend the first 10 minutes doing that? I mean, don't you think it's, you're kind of depriving them from the curriculum? And I said, Well, perhaps, but I'm making up for it on the other end, just giving those first couple of minutes just to jump around and pretend that you're Elvis Presley, and so forth. And it's like, a tired dog is a well behaved dog.
Melissa Milner 11:16
Yeah, they're gonna get more out of the lesson. Because you front loaded that movement, the body break the movement, it just, yeah.
John Coffey 11:24
Absolutely.
Melissa Milner 11:25
We have a long morning this year, without any specials, without anything. And so we've had to build in, and we're not, you know, sometimes we get on the roll of the learning stuff. And sometimes we forget to give them breaks. But it's important when we start to see them getting this like, Okay, everybody get up.
John Coffey 11:42
Right.
Melissa Milner 11:42
...and we'll just move around. Chicken Dance. I love it.
John Coffey 11:46
You got it. Yep. And the Macarena.
Melissa Milner 11:49
Oh, there you go.
John Coffey 11:50
Yep. Oh, yeah. During the pandemic, where kids had to social distance, and they were forced to be in one area. All the principals said give them movement breaks as much as possible. And I think everybody discovered if you give the kids movement breaks, in every class even if it's for only two minutes, it makes a difference. And in fact, I had a class today, I had them dance around in the beginning, and then in the middle, I noticed there was still fidgety. And they weren't focused. And I just stopped. I said, Okay, do we need another movement break? And they were like, yeah, that then I went on the internet. And I found, you know, the, you know, the Channel 2 PBS cartoon series of kids dancing and so forth. I said, Okay. Get your energy out. Let's go. Come on. Come on, come on. And the kids that were sitting down, I was like, Can I get up? Come on? Come on, let's go. Well, they move it, move it, move it. It's funny. Yeah. And then afterwards, I'll say to them, okay. You had a chance to jump around. Okay, now, can we get back to what we were working on? And nine times out of 10, they cooperate. And so that's something I wish I had done earlier in my career. But you'll live and learn like any profession.
Melissa Milner 13:02
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. The pandemic has helped us with a few things.
John Coffey 13:06
Yeah.
Melissa Milner 13:06
It was horrible. But it has helped us with a few things.
John Coffey 13:09
Yeah, there was some positive thing about it. Yeah. One thing I noticed, I think a lot of families had a chance to reconnect. They were forced to stay home more often. Every day. It was like Sunday, you'd go out driving and everything was closed. And when the when everything slowly started to reopen. I noticed some stores would close for an hour. And they would close earlier at night. And I've noticed some local businesses are continuing. Yeah. Well, CVS pharmacy, for example, right here in Mansfield. Okay. From 1:30 to 2:00, you can't pick up your prescription.
Melissa Milner 13:47
They eat their lunch.
John Coffey 13:49
Right. And I thought to myself, you know, before the pandemic, you would never have seen them.
Melissa Milner 13:53
No, nope.
John Coffey 13:54
Right. So I think people in all professions...
Melissa Milner 13:57
Perspective, yes. Right. As I look back, because I was at home, remote for a lot of that. And coming back in it was very interesting to see some of the kids it was like they had to learn school all over again.
John Coffey 14:14
Right?
Melissa Milner 14:15
You know, going to sleep at a good hour because you have to go to school the next day. And that that was I found one of the biggest things is the kids just transitioning back into being in a physical building for their learning. It was very interesting. I have a quick question for you. Do you have any recommendations for gen. ed. teachers that want to incorporate more music into their classroom?
John Coffey 14:39
Yes, I do. There's one kindergarten teacher at the East Elementary. She does a lot of singing with the kids. She will take songs of melodies "Twinkle Little Star", "A - B - C" and she will change the lyrics to what they're doing. Like to the melody of "Yankee Doodle" when the kids come at the end of music. She will sing to the melody of "Yankee Doodle". My arms are hanging by my side. I'm standing straight and tall. My eyes are looking straight ahead, and I'm ready for the hall.
Melissa Milner 15:11
Oh, that's cute.
John Coffey 15:12
It is cute. Yeah. And, and it's great for me because I don't have to do a lot of singing exercises. Because the kids sing a lot on her classes. And being a male teacher, it's hard because the little ones they don't understand the difference between the the grown up voice and the little voice. So early in my career, I would have to sing in my falsetto, which was helpful, but by the end of the day, I'd be like,...
Melissa Milner 15:39
Lose your voice. Yeah.
John Coffey 15:41
So now, Yeah, right. So through the years, I came up with gimmicks where the kids can recognize the difference.
Melissa Milner 15:46
Oh, that's interesting. I never thought of that.
John Coffey 15:48
Yeah, that's one thing I suggest to general ed teachers, and I mean, and then they'll say, Oh, I can't sing. I can't carry a note. Well, it's. So what I mean, if it's fun, and the kids have fun, and they respond to it.
Melissa Milner 16:01
Yeah. And there are plenty. There are plenty of YouTube learning videos that have set things to to music that you could you know, if you don't want to sing. Yeah.
John Coffey 16:10
Absolutely. And my sister who is a special needs teacher and a kindergarten teacher for many years, she gave me a book. It was a it was songs of the seasons. It was all the lyrics, it was too familiar tunes, the"Three Blind Mice", "Twinkle Little Star", "Mary Had a Little Lamb". And it was really good. So I used it with my kids. And I shared it with the general ed teachers.
Melissa Milner 16:31
That sounds nice. I know my mom when she was teaching, they sang all the patriotic songs and that whole thing, but um, I just I haven't been really good about it because I love to sing. I haven't been good about incorporating that into the day in my gen ed classroom. Because, again, curriculum wise, we're overwhelmed. And but I think it makes a difference, the movement and the singing. How did you decide to be a music educator? Did, you know, did you have music educators when you were growing up that inspired you and why the drums of all instruments?
John Coffey 17:08
I did my elementary music teacher George Collins, who passed away a few years ago, he was a big influence on me. And I actually took the cello for a year before I switched over to drums. And that teacher was Mike Falger. And your dad knew him from S.E.M.S.B.A. and Southeast District. And he was a big influence on me. And the cello was fun. But I just something about playing the drums really excited me. So I switched. And despite the noise I made for the first year my parents are very supportive.
Melissa Milner 17:44
Yes, it's a lot. It's a lot.
John Coffey 17:47
Right. So when I...
Melissa Milner 17:49
It's one of the noisier instruments.
John Coffey 17:51
Yes, yeah. My dad, he would complain at times, but then my mother would say let him alone is worse things he could be doing.
Melissa Milner 17:58
I like that. I like that.
John Coffey 18:01
Right. And as I got older, when you know, when you're growing up, there are some kids your parents don't want you to hang out with. And there are some kids that my parents did not like me hanging out with, but if they played an instrument, they made an exception.
Melissa Milner 18:17
Oh, really?
John Coffey 18:19
Because when I went to their house for a play date, they knew we'd be making music.
Melissa Milner 18:23
Yeah.
John Coffey 18:23
We wouldn't be running around the neighborhood ringing doorbells and stuff like that.
Melissa Milner 18:28
Ding dong ditch.
John Coffey 18:30
You got it? Yep. So that's my original. Yeah. Right. So originally, I was I wanted to be a full time performer. But that's like being self employed owning your own business. And so I got a job during the summers working at the Sharon Country Day Camp with the Hershmans.. And that was not music. That's where we did soccer and sports, which was fun. And a lot of the other counselors that I worked with were also teachers. And that's where I thought to myself, maybe music education might be a good career. So I changed my major and the rest is history.
Melissa Milner 19:08
What was your major before that?
John Coffey 19:10
Performance.
Melissa Milner 19:11
Meaning what? Like actual musical performance?
John Coffey 19:15
Right? I would have to do a recital every semester.
Melissa Milner 19:18
Oh, wow.
John Coffey 19:19
Yep. And people can do that. But like I said, it's like owning your own business. Whereas if you work for somebody, or if you're a municipal employee, you have a steady paycheck
Melissa Milner 19:29
... and retirement.
John Coffey 19:30
Right. Yep.
Melissa Milner 19:32
That's a... That's a nice piece of that. So what's a typical day for you now? Because now you're always at the Heights. Is that true?
John Coffey 19:44
Okay, so yup, I'm at Heights 80% of the time. Three afternoons a week, I teach the trombone. And that's it. I don't teach the other instruments.
Melissa Milner 19:54
Oh, wow.
John Coffey 19:54
Yep. The gentleman that took my place is Frank Casados and he travels all the buildings like I did. And he's doing quite well. And it's he's pretty much, he pretty much picked up where I left off, so the candle is still burning. So, but my typical day now, now that I'm in one building 80% of the time, it's nice going to and from work with just my briefcase, whereas before I would have my trombone in the trunk, I'd have my flute in the backseat. And I'd be lugging my instruments from building to building. And I actually, when I bought my last car, I kept my old one, for that very reason. Because it was just a nuisance to go grocery shopping, and I'd have to unload my instruments. And luckily, I just 10 minutes away. So I don't have a long commute. So, but now that I'm in one building, I gave that second car to my niece. So that's very helpful.
Melissa Milner 20:48
That's great.
John Coffey 20:49
It makes a big difference. So it's nice. Going to the same building every morning, everything's on my desk and all laid out. Whereas before, I would be at the East Elementary one morning, and I'd have to pack everything up. And then the next day, it would be at Cottage. It was okay, but after a while it got pretty draining.
Melissa Milner 21:07
I bet. How much of your day or your week is the trombone versus the teachers bringing their classes to you have your own music room? Right? You don't have to go around with the cart.
John Coffey 21:17
I do.
Melissa Milner 21:17
Okay, good. And then how many classes do you teach a week versus trombone?
John Coffey 21:22
Well, trombone is like I said three afternoons a week. And it's the last two periods after lunch. The first block is with the beginners, the fourth graders, and the second block is with the fifth graders, the continuing students. And the rest of the time the kids come to the music room. The trombone, I have to go to another location, depending on right, how many students have enrolled in that class, for example. I have... I have only eight trombone players in the beginning group. But Katie Conway, the other music teacher, who's at East who comes to Heights on the instrument day, she has well over 15 trumpets. So as a courtesy, I have her... I have her take the music room?
Melissa Milner 22:07
Yes.
John Coffey 22:08
Because she's got more students. And then I have to go and I say, Okay, I'll meet with the school psychologist. Is your office available? And I'll say to the art teacher, you have a planning period. Okay, wait a second here.
Melissa Milner 22:19
Oh, my gosh! And it's not like it's quiet work. They're playing trombone wherever you ended up putting them.
John Coffey 22:25
And I've been very fortunate because I've been able to find spaces. And I've had classroom teachers, God love them, they'll, even though they have their prep time, and even though they're entitled to have a quiet time with no noise, they'll say, Sure. Have the kids come in? I'm like, Okay, well, the beginners there's is there's gonna be a lot of attitude notes. But most of the teachers are very supportive.
Melissa Milner 22:47
I wouldn't care. I still wouldn't care. I'd be zooming in on the kids. Yeah. And then the chorus thing, when does that happen?
John Coffey 22:55
Okay, well, during the pandemic, that was put on hold. So for two years, there was no chorus. We finally brought it back. And unfortunately, that's only 20 minutes once a week.
Melissa Milner 23:08
Ugh.
John Coffey 23:08
Right? It's not ideal. But considering where we're coming back from the pandemic, we're kind of working our way back into it.
Melissa Milner 23:16
Yeah.
John Coffey 23:16
So I have course, Monday mornings, and it's right before school.
Melissa Milner 23:20
Oh, okay.
John Coffey 23:21
Soon as the kids get off the bus, they report to the gym, where I have the course rehearsal, and then I do a separate attendance and a separate lunch count. And then at 9:05, when the school day officially begins, then they venture off to their classes. And so far, it's been better than I thought.
Melissa Milner 23:39
They choose or...
John Coffey 23:40
Right. It's optional.
Melissa Milner 23:42
Okay.
John Coffey 23:42
Yep.
Melissa Milner 23:43
And it's like just fifth grade, fourth, and fifth, or...
John Coffey 23:45
Just fifth grade. Yeah.
Melissa Milner 23:47
Just fifth grade. Oh, that makes it easier.
John Coffey 23:48
Right before the pandemic, we had fourth and fifth grade. And now we're just having only fifth, but we have a long term plan to at some point, bring back the fourth grade course, in the next year or two. So we're easing our way back. So yeah, it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. And I know and I know, last year, when there was no chorus, a lot of parents were advocating, when's chorus coming back, when's chorus coming back? And that was really helpful.
Melissa Milner 24:15
Oh, that's nice. So do you do like a once a year or twice a year, like, recital kind of thing?
John Coffey 24:22
There'll be a winter concert in January? Yup. And then there'll be a spring concert in June.
Melissa Milner 24:28
Nice. And that's not the band. That's just the chorus or that's both.
John Coffey 24:33
Actually that will be the chorus and the band and the orchestra.
Melissa Milner 24:37
Oh, okay. Wow.
John Coffey 24:38
Right now, so we have the orchestra go first, because they have to be tuned. And especially with elementary kids, they go out of tune pretty quick and quite easily. So the orchestra goes first, the band goes second and I have the chorus go last. Because nine times out of ten, the kids in the chorus are also in the band or in the chorus.
Melissa Milner 25:02
Okay.
John Coffey 25:02
So my chorus goes on last that way, we don't have to worry about people leaving early.
Melissa Milner 25:08
It's a good point. Excellent. What is your favorite teaching moment, something that just really stands out in all your years of teaching.
John Coffey 25:16
When the kids will say to me Music's my favorite class, or the teacher will arrive at the door to pick the kids up. And the kids are like, Oh, that's cute. And I'll say to the kids, oh, you just heard your teacher's feelings like Yeah, but you know, musics fun. And yeah. And at the end of class, they'll be lining up. And they'll come up to me and ask questions and say, Yeah, I got a ukulele or I got a drum. And I'll say to the kids, look, I'd love to have you stay, but I have another class. Come on. So let's go Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo. So yeah. So I, I get a lot of, I get a lot of gratification out of that.
Melissa Milner 25:54
That's so great. When I was growing up, my dad was a music educator, in Sharon Public Schools. But then Friday night, Saturday night, sometimes Sunday, he went off to do gigs.
John Coffey 26:09
Yep, I did that.
Melissa Milner 26:11
So are you doing stuff on, you know, musician, things outside of school, because I know you have your band.
John Coffey 26:19
Not as much. For years, I played in a wedding band. And that took up a lot of my weekends. Now that I'm older. Now that I have my master's degree and I have a house. I don't necessarily need the extra money. So I'm not working as much. That's nice having my weekends off.
John Coffey 26:37
Yeah.
John Coffey 26:37
And plus, being a drummer. Now that I'm in my 50s. I don't have the endurance that Keith Moon and John Bonham had.
Melissa Milner 26:47
In your work right now, what are you zooming in on in particular?
John Coffey 26:54
Getting the kids to sing as much as possible because during the pandemic, we did very little or no singing. In fact, when we first came back, the kids couldn't sing at all. Because there was worry that the masks, they could hyperventilate, because you're breathing differently. So they did no singing for the first eight months. Oh, it was torture. And we took the risk, and we had the kids do some singing. And then I actually found some clips on YouTube, of choruses performing with their masks on. And I shared it with my colleagues and the administrators. And I said, Okay, get them singing again.
Melissa Milner 27:33
That's good.
John Coffey 27:34
Which I started right, which I started doing and just getting them to sing as much as possible.
Melissa Milner 27:40
Yeah.
John Coffey 27:41
Because during the pandemic, they kind of fell behind musically, so we gotta get them caught up again.
Melissa Milner 27:46
Yeah. Yeah, that that's, is that just the chorus or all the kids?
John Coffey 27:51
All the kids.
Melissa Milner 27:52
Yeah.
John Coffey 27:54
Then one thing I'll do for my own amusement, they'll sing in the hallway in between classes, you know, tunes by Frank Sinatra, Fly Me to the Moon, or anything like that. And then they'll come to music and they're like, What's that song you were singing in the hallway? Right.
Melissa Milner 28:08
That's awesome.
John Coffey 28:09
And as a result I've had, I've had some some of the teaching assistants say to me, Yeah, I've heard some kids singing songs at recess.
Melissa Milner 28:16
Ah, I love that.
John Coffey 28:19
Yeah. Because I know when I was growing up, I mean, all I wanted to do was drum. Singing, I didn't have the courage to sing in front of people until I got to my high school years.
Melissa Milner 28:28
Were you in band? Were you in chorus when you were in high school?
John Coffey 28:32
Oh, yeah. I did everything. The marching band, the Show Choir, the chorus? You name it.
Melissa Milner 28:36
Yeah, yeah,
John Coffey 28:38
Everything. Yes.
Melissa Milner 28:39
That's awesome.
John Coffey 28:40
Absolutely.
Melissa Milner 28:40
And you were drums then too?
John Coffey 28:42
I was. Yep. And I sang tenor in the chorus. In fact, when I performed in Southeast District, and S.E.M.S.B.A., and All State that was all on voice.
Melissa Milner 28:52
Yeah, me too. I love it. And it really that in the drama, you know, drama club stuff. I mean, it it really saves some kids. You know, it gives them their tribe and it's great.
John Coffey 29:05
Yeah. And come to think of it Sharon in the last couple of years is more into theater and singing. Cuz we well, unfortunately, we don't have a marching band anymore. And hopefully someday we'll get that back. God only knows.
Melissa Milner 29:21
That takes money though, right?
John Coffey 29:23
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yep. But people I mean, the neighboring towns like Foxboro or Stoughton that has a full fledged marching band. And when you really think about it, that's that's the main thing. But in Sharon, I mean, we have an instrumental program but theater that's that's the big thing.
Melissa Milner 29:40
Yeah.
John Coffey 29:41
We try to promote that as much as possible.
Melissa Milner 29:43
That's great.
John Coffey 29:44
That way yeah, that way kids who tried an instrument and it didn't really work out but they want to be in the arts. They can perform.
Melissa Milner 29:51
Exactly, and they I mean, many love the visual arts too, you know, and that's what's great about theater is they can be making the sets and they You know, there's there's so many different talents, the math/science, people can be doing the lightboard. And doing that. That's, yeah, I love that.
John Coffey 30:09
Right. The people that take industrial lots wood shop metal shop, they build the sets.
Melissa Milner 30:14
Yes. Love it!
John Coffey 30:18
Absolutely.
Melissa Milner 30:18
So why is music so important to have in the schools?
John Coffey 30:23
Hmm. Well, thinking of Lowell Mason, he was a musician, who, he's the reason why we have music in the public schools. I guess, years ago, back in the day, public schools didn't have music. And if you wanted to learn instrument, you'd have to go to an outside resource. And when I talk about this with the kids, I'll say, Okay, remember that show Little House on the Prairie? Kids nowadays don't. There was a time, right. But they say now I said, Okay, well imagine going to school and not having gym and not having art. You were just sitting there and listen to Miss Beadle lecture. And Lowell Mason, he, he's the reason why we now have music in the public schools. So everybody can get that brief exposure, even if they're not going to be a musician. Same thing with Phys. Ed. I was never into sports. But I'm glad I had it as a kid. I did play Little League baseball for a short time. And I, I hated gym in high school, but I did my work. And the gym teachers knew I was in the marching band. They knew I was a musician. But I participated. And I always got good grades. So I'm glad I had that experience. In fact, I always say to the kids, you know, playing in a band, it's like being on a soccer team, you have to work together.
Melissa Milner 31:38
Yeah.
John Coffey 31:39
Because if one person is not holding up their end, the team is going to lose. So if you have one musician whose mind is wandering off, it's going to have that domino effect.
Melissa Milner 31:49
And that's when my father would yell.
John Coffey 31:53
Yeah, I've had my moments.
Melissa Milner 31:55
So how can people reach you if they just want to learn more about what you do or get some ideas for their classroom.
John Coffey 32:03
They can go to the Heights Elementary School webpage. And if they click on faculty and staff, my email will come up. I don't have a web page yet, because I'm a little behind in this digital age. But when they see my email, they'll see a picture of me. So if they have any questions or whatever, they need to just click on that. And I usually respond at a pretty reasonable time.
Melissa Milner 32:24
All right, perfect. I find it so inspiring to talk to musicians, teacher, you know, music educators. Thank you so much for taking time out. I know you probably just got home from work and it's time to relax, but I appreciate you coming on.
John Coffey 32:39
My pleasure. Great way to start the work week.
John Coffey 32:42
For my blog, transcripts of this episode, and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacheras.com. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram @melissabmilner and I hope you check out The Teacher As... Facebook page for episode updates. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap.