THE
VETERAN 10 Questions for Experienced Teachers
MICHAEL E. THOMAS
Michael E. Thomas is in his tenth year as Director of Bands at Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education Degree in 1995 from Troy University and graduated with his Master of Science in Education Degree in 1999 also from Troy University. Mr. Thomas also holds an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota, in Sarasota, Florida. He is a member of the Southeastern United States Honor Band and Clinic Band Board of Directors at Troy University. His professional organizations include Phi Beta Mu International School Bandmaster Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Fraternity for College Bandsmen, National Association for Music Education, Georgia Music Educators Association, and the Georgia Association of Educators.
1. Please tell us a bit about your musical background and teaching experience. I joined the middle school band program in 1984 when I was in the sixth grade. At the time, I was a little skeptical about being in the band program because none of my friends from my neighborhood were doing it. After a short period of time, I started to get to know a whole different set of people that made me see life in a completely different way. The concept of setting short-term and long-term goals and working with my new friends to try to achieve them was one of the best feelings imaginable. When I got to high school, the challenges and goals became more intense because everyone was so much better than I was. We went through a series of band director changes and finally got one that was willing to endure the few of us that were a little rough around the edges. If it were not for my high school band director, David Seanor, and my best friend and college roommate, Gerrod McClellan, I probably would have never gone to college much less become a band director. Mr. Seanor made all of us feel like we were a part of a team and challenged us with great music. I only realized how challenging the music was when I tried to read some of the same pieces with my high school groups. I attended college at Troy State University (Troy University now) in Alabama and had four great years with Dr. John M. Long. Dr. Long’s work ethic and drive to be successful are two things I will never forget. I was very fortunate, as all of us were, to be able to listen to everything he had to say about band, the art of making music, life, love and just being a good human being. There are so many wonderful stories I could share about some of
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the things he has said that have impacted my life but, literally, there are not enough pages in this magazine. I started my teaching career in 1995 at Calhoun County High School in Edison, Georgia. After receiving a few offers from other places, I chose this school because I had an opportunity to start a band program that had been nonexistent for many years. I had to do a lot of recruiting. My first year there everyone was a beginner. We had to order everything from chairs and stands to instruments, uniforms and music. I think that experience made me start believing in myself as an educator. In just a short period of time, we were able to do concerts, parades, and footballs games. We also participated in Large Group Performance Evaluation (Concert Festival back then) and received an excellent rating. After a couple years there, I accepted a position at Americus High School (Americus-Sumter High School now) in Americus, Georgia. It was there I met one of the greatest teachers, leaders, and administrators of my career. In my eight-year tenure at Americus High School, Mrs. Juanita Wilson taught me so much about teamwork, family, life and effective organizational administration. She was so dynamic! She encouraged me to go back to school and get two more degrees, one in Music Education and the other in Leadership. Shortly after the merger of Americus High School and Sumter County High School, I accepted a position at Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. At that point, Northside became one of the biggest challenges of my career. The challenge had nothing to do with music itself but the realization that to have any kind of impact on the success of a band program, the administration, additional directors, staff, parents, and students had to be