Educator Appreciation Alert: Joyce LaCelle was the music teacher at Pine Forest. I was in her Mixed Chorus, Vocal Ensemble and Music Theory classes. That's a lot of time to spend with someone. It was worth it. Ms. LaCelle had the gift of music, to my benefit she had the gift of how to impart that joy of music through teaching. I was a music freak anyway but my time with her provided the insight as to why music affected me. Why and how music did what it did. Why music was important. Why music needed to be shared. There were never any discipline issues in her class. None. Nada. Nyet. Nil.
Yes she was a great teacher. She became a great friend. We could hang out with her. It wasn't unusual for 2 or 3 of use to drop by her place. She always welcomed us in and would sit and talk with us as equals. In 1969, 70 and 71 having an adult who you could interact with as a peer was important.
When the Class of '71 had a reunion in 2001 she came through the door and came directly to me and said, "You're who I really wanted to see. So glad you're here." We talked for over an hour. She hadn't aged a bit. Still vibrant, full of life and bouncing all over the place. It was great to visit with an old friend, who happened to have been one of my teachers.
#TeacherAppreciationWeek #JoyceLaCelle #ThankAnEducator
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