If You Think You Can...

Over the weekend my principal share with another teacher and I a reflection on leadership for a coop student. It brought tears to my eyes and left me thinking. I want to share with you what she said about her time with the Saint Mary Marching Arts program.

"Another person who came to mind was my old drum instructor. I joined St. Mary Marching arts in my grade 9 year because I didn’t know anyone in the school, and it interested me. As soon as I became a part of the team it was like I was welcomed into a family since that year I have never felt so close with a group of people, in fact the friendships made there are ones I imagine I will maintain long into the future. This family that I had found would not have been so close if it wasn’t for my instructor. All throughout that year he gave us his all and in return we wanted to give it back. He related to us in a different way than other mentors because he didn’t treat us like students, or like children he had to take care of, he treated us like humans. He joked around with us and never shut us down. He took the time to get to know us and found the way to best teach us instead of expecting us to adapt to his teaching style. He was an amazing influence on my life and I still think about the things he taught me to this day. He taught more than drumming in my mind. If someone couldn't understand a drumming part, and when they felt like giving up and said they couldn’t do it he would always reply “If you think you can or you think you can't you are correct” which is something I now say to myself when I think about giving up on something. The thing that he did that really stuck with me the most was the drumline promise. Each day before practice we would say our promise which reminded us on how to be the best people we can be, any time we messed up or felt down he would remind us about certain lines of the promise, for example if you got annoyed when you messed up a piece he would say “remember the promise, forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. That means even if your mistake was 5 seconds ago forget it, it is in the past you’ve learned from it”. He is someone who made a lifelong impression on me."