A music teacher in Wasaga Beach is letting her colours shine, and it shows in the faces of her students.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we sat down with Angela Girdwood, a music teacher who has taught in Creemore, Wasaga Beach and Stayner for 30 years. For the past 25 years, Girdwood has co-ordinated Music Mania, a May event that brings students from elementary schools in Collingwood and South Georgian Bay together in a non-competitive celebration of music.
Q: What made you want to become a teacher?
A: That’s easy! I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid, in early elementary school. I’m living the dream now, it’s come full circle. I’ve been teaching for 30 years, and I get to be in this school where I travel around, to 12 different classes, just singing all day. It’s just awesome.
I believe it gives kids confidence in themselves... it’s hard to put that into words. My music teachers did that for me, and I want to do that for others.
Catherine Brown was my music teacher in Grade 4, and it changed my life. I could cry just talking about it. (laughs) I was a struggling student and it just gave me the confidence to be good at something. And you don’t even have to be good at it! It just feels great to express yourself, and to enjoy it.
It’s not about getting everything perfect, but contributing, participating... confidence.
She (Brown) gave me the confidence in Grade 4 and I decided then that I wanted to be a teacher and do that for other students.
Q: Please describe your musical background.
A: My mom was an organist and a choir director in the First Baptist Church since she was a teenager, so that got me going. Also, Catherine Brown again in early elementary school. High school, the same... I always thought I had to have a degree in music to be a music teacher. (Some of my mentors didn’t) so I thought, hey, I could do this too.
I have some courses, of course, but you can just do it for the love of it. A lot of people are scared of music, but it’s not so bad. (laughs) I love it. I never want to retire.
Q: What draws you to this age group (JK to Grade 3)?
A: I think (I’m drawn to that group) because, they’re not scared.
There’s no attitude. They come in, everyone participates. There’s never a time where not everyone participates. I try to teach them that in JK, and they keep with it. It reduces their anxiety too; if everyone is participating, then there’s nobody looking at you. We’re all just enjoying ourselves.
I get my energy from them. They feed such positive vibes to me, and I teach it back to them. It’s a cycle of love. (laughs)
I enjoy older kids too, but they tend to get more scared, it seems. They tend to enjoy more instruments and they don’t want to sing as much.
Q: What are some of the benefits of adding music to early childhood education?
A: There are a million articles written about it, how it exercises both sides of the brain. I still zero in on the confidence end of it. It’s so healthy. For some students, that’s the key. Maybe they’re not good at sports, or some other things.
Even my son, he does 80 per cent music in his high school courses. It made him want to get up in the morning.
Confidence and joy above everything. It’s multi-faceted.
Q: Do you tend to focus more on singing, or do you incorporate instruments?
A: I’d say it’s about 85% singing. We also have bucket drumming and xylophones. I think the voice is so important. I carry that myself. I sing in a church choir (First Presbyterian Church in Collingwood), which brings me so much joy. You don’t need to be a French Horn player, or something like that.
Q: Have any of your students that you had when they were little, moved toward music or education as a career in their adult lives?
A: I get a lot of Facebook messages from former students saying I was their favourite teacher. That’s not the right wording for it, but how I lifted their spirits and made them want to aspire to do greater things. That’s going to make me cry. (laughs) That’s all that matters, right?
Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
If they don’t have the confidence and the joy and the belief and the mindset, they’re going to have trouble with every subject. I believe these are the building blocks to everything.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
A: Well, when I pick the songs, there’s always a message in the songs. It’s not just teaching the notes, it’s teaching the message of letting your colours shine. This year, I had the colours stand for ways of helping other people, and ways to help yourself. I even got them tattooed on my body, just this year. It says “Believe” (with a rainbow).
For example, if you’re having a bad day, what can you do to help yourself to not be in that bad mood all day? Maybe you need to sing a song or get a hug from a friend. Then you can let your colours shine. If they’re smiling at me, it makes me feel good. So I tell them that, and they actually smile. So we feed each other. It’s just that simple.
There’s lots of days I come in grumpy, but as soon as I start singing with them, and the exchange of love, it just changes me around. So that’s what I'm trying to teach. Unlock your heart.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way. This feature will run on Collingwood Today every Saturday. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
