Joy of Teaching Jeff Hartman, Artistic Director February 26, 2012

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.Chinese Proverb

I’ve had the privilege of teaching and directing in the area since I was a student at ASU. It is and should be a thankless, selfless profession and its greatest reward is in the connections I make with my students. You’ll never catch me telling a student what they want to hear and I surround any expectations around the hope that they’ll learn as much, if not more from my mistakes as my successes. If you can avoid my pitfalls, advantage you! Although I’ve never received the cliche apple, a student of mine sent me a very “fruitful” message, simply titled, “Just A Lil’ Note.” With her permission, I’d like to share... “Hey, I was talking to one of my friends about good and bad teachers I have had over the years. I have had a wide variety. Your name came up in the mix and I realized I had never thanked you for all that you did. I know that this may seem strange seeing as I took lessons from you for such a short period of time... but you instilled a good bit of confidence in my singing ability and that confidence has improved my singing remarkably. So thank you for your encouragement and I hope you continue to build up the students you teach. I hope you and your family are doing well. How are you guys? How are you, your wife, and the boys? Keep me posted on you, the band, and the fam. Can’t wait to here what’s going on. Overwhelmed by His Grace, Jules” I spent days chewing on how to respond to this. I can’t tell you how much this sort of thing means to me and what a big difference a “lil’ note” makes in the life of a teacher. I was fortunate and blessed to have been able to work with someone as unique and gifted as Julia Gruver. She’s someone who really stands out among the fray. She’s a genuine, honest artist and I’m forever a student of her sincerity. There was an episode of “Glee” when Mr. Shue turns to his students and says, “The best teachers don’t give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices; your own mistakes. That way, you get all the glory.” I might only add, ask not what your students can do for you, but what you can do for your students.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.2 Timothy 4:3-4