Teaching
I became a committed teacher in my mid twenties. I had not done particularly well at school. I knew it was not for lack of intelligence. At University, I became in intrigued by the ways in which people learn. This interest led me to in depth research of the structure of intellect, linear and lateral thinking, left brain analytical processes and right brain creative synthesis. I discovered that I was a right brain dominant thinker and the fact that education systems were strongly biased in favour of analysis, categorization and memorization helped explain my previous struggles. I was also aware that I had always been intensely curious and wanted to know about and understand all manner of things. This love of learning led me stage by stage to becoming a life-long teacher.
I taught special education in an elementary school in London and then at a high school in Montreal. In both these contexts, I came across students who were regarded as slow or 'stupid' but who were gifted in ways that were being overlooked, ignored or at best wrongly assessed. I also worked at an experimental Alternative High School in Montreal with students who were regarded as 'gifted'.
After I moved to British Columbia, my area of teaching shifted to adult students of English As A Second Language (E.S.L.) and Adult Basic Education (A.B.E.) Over a 20 year period, I was full time Instructor at Kwantlen University and a part time Instructor at Vancouver Community College (teacher training).
Gradually my twin careers of Teacher and Music Therapist converged in becoming a specialist in the area of how language and music can interact and both the learning and the therapeutic process. The curricula and programs that I have designed have always been holistic in nature.
I coined the phrases 'The Language of Music' and 'The Music of Language'. Within the field of Music Therapy, I used music as a way of facilitating language rehabilitation in left-brain stroke patients, and in E.S.L. I used and adapted methodologies such as Caroline Graham's 'Jazz Chants'.
I have produced various Educational Resources such as the Grammar Wheel, E.S.L. Learning Maps, and When You Are An Immigrant (a book of creative writing from immigrants and refugees who were students of mine at different times).
Lastly, I have taught private students to play piano by ear and have produced guides such as How to Play It By Ear.