About

I’m a Music Educator, Husband, and Father.

B. Mus, DipABRSM (Trombone), B. Ed. 

I have been working in education for over 10 years, across the age range from 3 to 30 years old.

Internationally, I have four years of experience at one of India’s top international schools. In Australia, I have five years of experience at independent, Christian and Catholic schools across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Since August 2016, I have been teaching in an international school in north east Asia.

Why educate?

“To learn is a delight. To teach is a privilege!” – Justin Hockey

“To teach is to learn twice” – Joseph Joubert

Why music?

See here.

Teaching – a joy and a delight.

I love learning. Teaching means I get to keep learning anew, as I meet the challenges and opportunities of working with learners of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Each day I re-experience the truth that “To teach is to learn twice.” My passion for learning is driven by curiosity. In the words of Einstein, “I am passionately curious.”

Cultivating passion and kindling curiosity are at the core of a teacher’s calling. These ingredients are essential to the process of discovery, which encompasses inquiry, problem-solving, and collaboration. Mastering core skills and concepts enables students to develop competence and confidence.

Lately, I’ve developed a better understanding of cognitive science, include the importance of deliberate practice, desirable difficulties, and the science of learning.

For those familiar with the inquiry versus mastery, or ‘progressive’ versus ‘traditional,’ pedagogy debates – I was trained in the first of these but have seen the value and important of both as I’ve grown as an educator. Why can’t we have the fire and the fuel? The seeds and the nutrients? I believe the right mix – not necessarily a balance – of approaches is needed.

Music Education

As a music educator I have been shaped by the Dalcroze philosophy and Kodaly approach, though I am open to others such as the Orff method. I incorporate aspects of all three into my planning. I believe a musician is first of all developed in the heart and mind of a person, not merely through operation of an instrument – as important and technically challenging this may be.

Passionate Learner

My passion for learning means I cannot limit myself to music. I delight in enabling others to learn, no matter the subject area. I relish making connections between divergent and diverse threads of thought. Professionally, I have been involved in middle school humanities, math, and science, as well as community service projects and weekend dormitory activities. However, my main teaching focus is music and I have spent over 8 years teaching music at all levels of schooling.