Our next TMEA Teacher Spotlight is Ray Mullins. Get to know him more here:
What is your Alma Mater?
The University of Memphis
Where do you currently teach?
St. Louis Catholic School in Memphis, TN
How long have you been teaching?
11 Years
Why do you choose to be a member of TMEA?
I love being connected with other music teachers across the state. TMEA Conference gives me a great opportunity to meet other teachers and share ideas and anecdotes.
What do you love about teaching?
I love the moment when the student "gets it." When they've been struggling with a technique or a concept, and then the "light" turns on, their face brightens to a huge smile, and they feel like the smartest person in the world!
If you could choose another job for one day, what would it be?
Any job for a day?... I'd settle for half an inning playing Left Field for the Yankees!
Tell us one thing about you that people would be surprised to know or something you are passionate about besides teaching.
I love to cook. To create something, anything, in an hour or so and fill the house with a mouth-watering aroma. Then make it look attractive on a plate, only to indulge in the taste a moment later, is completely satisfying. Who doesn't want to walk into a room where there is a plate consisting of a perfectly cooked Ribeye with herbed butter, a grilled artichoke with remoulade sauce, and garlic mashed potatoes?
Share a fun and unique idea that you use in your classroom!
I organize baskets for each of my barred-instruments that have corresponding numbers (ie-basket #6 with Xylophone #6). So, when the students are ready to move from chairs to the instruments, I select a student at random to be #1, then mark his/her name. Thus, the students have no way of anticipating who will be at which instrument. By cycling through the students each time, eventually each student will be at each instrument over the course of the year. And after 2 years of this procedure, no student has complained about which instrument they get!
What is your Alma Mater?
The University of Memphis
Where do you currently teach?
St. Louis Catholic School in Memphis, TN
How long have you been teaching?
11 Years
Why do you choose to be a member of TMEA?
I love being connected with other music teachers across the state. TMEA Conference gives me a great opportunity to meet other teachers and share ideas and anecdotes.
What do you love about teaching?
I love the moment when the student "gets it." When they've been struggling with a technique or a concept, and then the "light" turns on, their face brightens to a huge smile, and they feel like the smartest person in the world!
If you could choose another job for one day, what would it be?
Any job for a day?... I'd settle for half an inning playing Left Field for the Yankees!
Tell us one thing about you that people would be surprised to know or something you are passionate about besides teaching.
I love to cook. To create something, anything, in an hour or so and fill the house with a mouth-watering aroma. Then make it look attractive on a plate, only to indulge in the taste a moment later, is completely satisfying. Who doesn't want to walk into a room where there is a plate consisting of a perfectly cooked Ribeye with herbed butter, a grilled artichoke with remoulade sauce, and garlic mashed potatoes?
Share a fun and unique idea that you use in your classroom!
I organize baskets for each of my barred-instruments that have corresponding numbers (ie-basket #6 with Xylophone #6). So, when the students are ready to move from chairs to the instruments, I select a student at random to be #1, then mark his/her name. Thus, the students have no way of anticipating who will be at which instrument. By cycling through the students each time, eventually each student will be at each instrument over the course of the year. And after 2 years of this procedure, no student has complained about which instrument they get!