teaching

One of the things that I do to keep body and soul together is teach. I have two steady jobs and one is with the local symphony music school and the other is with a Gymnasium. This is not like a gym in English but similar to a college prep high school in the States. Germany has principally three types of schools and the children are selected around the fifth grade to go to either a Hauptschule, Real Schule, or a Gymnasium. The Gynmasium is quite difficult and is from 12 to 13 years of schooling with the Real school being 10 years and the Haupt school being 9 years. To be able to enter a university you must have graduated from a Gymnasium with a degree that is called an "Abitur".


I have a degree and am certified as an instrumental teacher with my bachelor´s degree. I have a beginning band group with the Hofer Symphony and I feel as though I am back in the States where I began as an instrumental teacher at Glen Ridge Highschool in New Jersey.

My masters is in voice and opera which qualifies me to teach voice. I teach vocal training in the Gymnasium.
I had to raise my right hand in the principal`s office swearing to uphold the laws of Bavaria and above all aver that I was not a Scientologist. That is the truth so help me Hannah and apologies to John Travolta, Tom Cruise, etc. The Germans are very suspicious of Scientologists putting them into the category of a sect along with the Jehovah`s Witnesses. I guess it helped that I am a Methodist.

The Methodists here in Germany have no problem with a beer or glass of wine after church services but they do not use wine in the communion service similar to the American Methodists.

Where was I? Yes, I promised my students that I would post their pictures on my blog and here they are.







Monika plays tuba in my beginner band and is no beginner being the rock of Gibraltar having been at least over 5 years in the group. She is the second in command and often advises me to try to make things prettier...that in Hofer dialect... Without her I would have never stayed as long as I did. When I am tongue tied with the German language she proffers a word or two to help me along.





Eva and Christine my Monday students..to the left and Tamara and Katerina on the right.







On Wednesday there is the quartet

Luisa, Julia, Sophie, and Lismarie














I told them they would be on the internet and they probably will scream when they see their photos...