citizen
20
February 22, 2017
Weekly Publication
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Valerie Couch - Shaping Lives Through Music
D
BY LOGAN MCCOURTNEY
l.mccourtney@mypulsenews.com
ale Carnegie once said, “ Peop le don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” T his is true of anyone, ev eryone wants to know they are cared for. At Acorn, Valerie Couch is a liv ing ex amp le of this q uote, she is caring for her students and inv esting in their liv es each and ev ery day. Valerie is the band teacher at Acorn H igh School. Along with the band, she also leads the choir for students as well. Valerie is no stranger to music, she has been p laying music and singing herself since she was in high school. “ I lov e music, I lov e teaching it and I lov e p erforming. I t can be a lot of fun,” Valerie says smiling. She earned her Associate of Arts at Central B ap tist College [ CB C] while attending school on a v ocal scholarship . After her time at CB U , she earned her B achelor’s in Music from the U niv ersity of Central Arkansas [ U CA] . Valerie grew up in Polk County and attended Mena, when she had the op p ortunity to come back to the area she j ump ed at it. She took a j ob at O den where she taught K-12 music. “ I t was a real family atmosp here there, it help ed that my husband worked there as well,” she says with a smile. As much as Valerie lov es music, she lov es books and reading. “ I decided to get my Masters in L ibrary Science and then I worked in the L ibrary as well. I worked at O den for a total of 18 years, I had some great students,” ex p lains Valerie. W hen an op p ortunity p rov ided itself for her husband Shawn to become the p rincip al at Acorn, the band teacher p osition also op ened up and so Valerie came to Acorn as well. “ I wanted the op p ortunity to work where Shawn was and I’m glad I was able to come here, it’s been great, she says. When alerie first arrived at Acorn, she taught all grades for band. alerie had a busy schedule. “I was booked up for a coup le of years, I enj oyed it a lot, but I am blessed for the op p ortunity to focus on the high school band.” Valerie enj oys teaching band, not only because it is a j oy of hers, but she lov es the difference it is making in students’ liv es. “ At Acorn we hav e tried to p rov ide sev eral op portunities for students, we want them to feel like they belong. It’s so awesome seeing the confidence that kids get while they are learning, says alerie proudly. It means a lot to Valerie that students want to take band or choir, although they are considered ‘ academic’ and students get grades, it is not a req uirement that students p articip ate in band or choir. “ I t means the world to me that they take my classes; hop efully, it means that they enj oy what I ’m teaching and they feel like I care about them,” says Valerie. As a result of Valerie’s care for students, the band has swelled to almost 10 0 students! T he administration and teachers at Acorn hav e tried to p rov ide a p lace where students feel like they belong. Valerie’s efforts has help ed mov e this v ision forward. She is undoubtedly making band and choir fun, but maybe more than anything else, she cares about her students so much. “ My students make it easy to come to work. Some days I can’t believ e that I get to come here and work,” Valerie said beaming. L ife is full of relationship s, relationship s among families, friends, co-workers, and the list goes on and on. Valerie takes her j ob seriously because it is more than a j ob, it is about building relationship s with her students. “ My j ob isn’t j ust transferring information, it is totally about building relationship s and caring for students,” says Valerie. W hile at college, she learned the imp act that a teacher’s words can hav e on a student. “ I was always tough on myself when it came to p laying the p iano. O ne day my p iano teacher told me I did a good j ob, she had nev er said that before, but I remember how imp ortant it was to me,” ex p lains Valerie. Since this interaction, she has tried to make sure that she is always sp eaking encouragement into the liv es of her students. “ I ask myself, do the students feel lov ed today? I f I feel like they do, then I did my j ob that day.” Valerie is an ex amp le to ev eryone around her that their words and actions can build into the liv es of p eop le. A kind word and a caring attitude towards others giv es v alue to those around us, “ I can forget, but our words carry a big imp act in the liv es of p eop le,” said Valerie.
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