Teacher Appreciation Week is about honoring the teachers who have made difference in your life during your time as a student. While a lot of teachers I’ve met in my life have stuck out to me, one of the ones that have changed my life the most is Leah Paese. Mrs. Paese teaches concert orchestra and chamber orchestra at the high school where she has worked for many years. She went to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She became a teacher after discovering how strong her love and talent for music was that it developed into a love of teaching it.
Paese uses different methods when teaching and running her classes, but one that stands out is giving the students options on what we do. There are many types of music and styles of it, and sometimes the stereotypical songs played in orchestras aren’t for everyone. Paese changes this stereotype and allows the students to pick what songs they play. In the concert orchestra’s most recent spring concert, we played Bella’s Lullaby from the movie Twilight (which is one of my and most likely other students’ favorite movies) which was a selection made by the class. Playing film music is something else that helps students relate to the class since it includes different interests outside of music. Besides the actual music we play, Paese shows kindness with every move she makes in her class. A week or so after every concert, she gives the students breakfast and a free period where we either watch a movie or talk to one another, and every class starts with a meditation. While most students don’t meditate on their own and it’s something they aren’t used to, it’s nice to not immediately rush into work the first 5 minutes of the period like how most classes do. Mrs. Paese does this to allow all the students to have a few minutes to themselves and to calm down from a possibly hectic morning and encourages them to look into different ways of self-care.
It’s hard to speak for everyone when discussing the impact someone else has had on them, but I do know the impact that Paese has had on my own life. I’ve been in the orchestra since the 3rd grade, and it was never really something I loved. It was fun but there were always classes I considered taking instead of it, like band and chorus, but something in me always told me to stick with it. I had mixed feelings during my first year of high school orchestra but now being in my second year has made me realize how good it feels to be a part of something like this, and I owe the majority of that to Paese. The environment of the class is something I rarely experience in other classes and has made me enjoy playing my instrument and being in orchestra more than I could imagine. Teachers like Mrs. Paese are such an important thing for students to have because the impact they make is an indescribable act and I thank all teachers for what they do.
