We expect as educators that our work environment is nurturing and supportive and for the most part, it is. We expect our colleagues to share their great ideas and be receptive to share our good ideas and for the most part, it is so.

But occasionally and unexpectedly it is not.

Many years ago I taught my fourth and fifth grade students how to play the Baroque recorder and I did it quite well. My objectives were simple: learn to play a few simple songs and in five minutes you will be playing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”

Quite lofty goals and as they say, if you can do it, it’s not bragging.

My fourth and fifth graders did learn to play simple songs and in five minutes they were playing “Ode to Joy.” Note that I didn’t say how well they were supposed to accomplish that task. That came later with practice.

Now with such lofty goals and objectives being met, you would expect my teaching colleagues to be impressed and congratulate me on meeting my objectives and asking me for pointers. After all, the sixth grade teacher across the hall also taught her students to play the Baroque recorder. For this story, let’s call her Nina.

Nina’s lack of enthusiasm really caught me by surprise and the question that she asked really caught me off guard.

Before I continue, I will give credit where credit is due. I was fortunate to take a teaching music credentialing class with the late Lu Elrod at California State University, Los Angeles. In addition to being a great professor, she had minor roles in several movies, one being High School High, the only one of her movies I’d actually seen. She was gracious and personable and had a great quote which I took to heart: “You learn to talk before you learn to read.”

My colleague Nina, the sixth grade teacher asked me this question: are you teaching your students how to read music?

Note that my lofty goals mentioned previously did not include reading music. Of course that came later. As Lu said, you learn to talk before learning to read. Thus my students learned how to play the recorder before learning to read music.

Nina did not agree with my rationale or my methods. I was stunned by Nina’s lack of support and enthusiasm for meeting my lofty goals and accomplishing my objectives.

For those of you wanting a little depth and background, I will tell you a personal story. When I was young, I took piano lessons.

I wanted to play music, not learn music theory. I wanted to play fun songs, not complex ones my piano teacher chose. I did not enjoy playing piano and I later quit.

I completely understand learning music from a student’s point of view. They want to play songs and using Lu Elrod’s numbered finger method, I have students playing songs in less than five minutes. Think of the boost self-esteem and of self-confidence when student’s play music within minutes of picking up a musical instrument.

For some students, the Baroque recorder will be the only instrument they ever learn to play and that’s all right. For others, the Baroque recorder is simply another instrument added to the list of they instruments play. And for those who already read music, I teach them how to convert musical notes to Lu Elrod’s numbered finger method.

The overachievers had already figured it out for themselves.

Sometimes when we’re told we can’t do something, we just smugly smile to ourselves and do that thing. And we give credit and praise where credit and praise are due.

And we make it a point to continue being enthusiast and supportive of our peers.