‘I’ve taught in every kind of situation’ JUNO winner and teacher Jewel Casselman reflects on her 34 year career

By Casper Wehrhahn Neepawa Banner & Press

It isn’t every day that someone from your community, previously or currently, wins an award at the JUNOs. In the Mar. 31 edition of this paper, the Banner & Press shared the news that Jewel Casselman (BEd MEd and music specialist at Winnipeg’s Lakewood School) received the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year award recently. This week, readers have the opportunity to get to know Casselman a little more personally.

Follow the music

Born in the hospital at Hamiota, Casselman is originally from Rivers. Her family later moved to Winnipeg, where she went through Grades 1 and 2, before moving to Neepawa for Grades 3 to 11. This move was due to her father being the administrator of the old East View Lodge senior housing development.

Back in those days, music programs weren’t available in elementary schools. Instead, there was an activity from CBC radio that came on over the PA system accompanied by a couple people coming into the classroom to assist students on the recorder or ukelele.

“That was it. We didn’t have a music room there when I was growing up, so we didn’t really start music until junior high,” said Casselman. “But I studied violin in Brandon and did piano lessons in one of the back rooms of Hazel M. Kellington school.”

After her time in Neepawa, her family moved to Winnipeg for a second time.

Caselman completed Grades 11 and 12 there, then went on to Red River

Community College where she completed a health record technician course. After completing her education, she worked in the Health Sciences Centre for seven years. In 1985, Casselman left that position to attend the University of Winnipeg and obtain an education degree with a major in music and complete her Orff levels.

“After working at the hospital for a long time, I was looking for something different. And I kept coming back to music,” Casselman enthused. “My family was very musical– I’ve worked with choirs with my mom and I’ve always liked to work with kids”

Casselman added, “I’ve been teaching in Winnipeg ever since. I’ve taught in four different divisions in the city here, too. St. Vital, St. Boniface, River East Transcona and I’ve been in St. James Assiniboia for the last 17 years. I’ve taught everything from three year olds to Grade 8, but most of my focus has been from Kindergarten to Grade 5.”

Casselman has also taught at the University of Manitoba in the past, from 1989 to 2014, and has returned there to teach throughout the years during the summer.

A rewarding career

Looking back on her career, Casselman said she’s very proud of what she’s done over the years.

“I’ve taught in every kind of situation. I’ve taught in very needy schools and spent a lot of time in core area schools where children were very financially needy and/ or socially needy,” Casselman explained. “Just being able to put that love of music into their lives and expose them to different styles and kinds of music is really fulfilling.”

Strengthening that fulfilment are the occasions on which Casselman happens to meet with former students. Although Casselman may not recognize the individual due to how much they’ve grown and changed, they recognize and approach Casselman to share memories from decades past of things they enjoyed and appreciated while in her class. And, on top of that, discover who they’ve become in the present– whether they be a professional musician, a member of a singing group/corp, doctor, lawyer or stay at home mom.

“You have the full gambit of what they can be– it’s not how successful they are, it’s just that they’re still really good human beings,” Casselman said fondly.

After 34 years as an educator, Casselman has learned a lot from her students, too.

“My kids teach me stuff all the time, too. And I think, as a teacher, you have to be open to listening to them, because they’ll look at something and they’ll see it in a way that you don’t, because it’s through a different set of eyes,” Casselman explained. “They’ll look at [the material being presented] and go ‘well, why couldn’t it be this?’ and I say, ‘there’s absolutely no reason it couldn’t be that’.”

Casselman added, “That’s what I love about the Orff approach, which I teach mostly, is that they get to be the creators. And, really, there isn’t a wrong answer. Music is so freeing and creative that they can put their own spin on it and it’s really fun to watch that and watch them develop that and build confidence in themselves to be able to do that.”

A busy retirement

Casselman is retiring from her position at Lakewood School at the end of the current school year.

“It’s going to be hard for me to leave [the school], because I love the school,” Casselman confided. “I love the staff. They are amazing and we work so well as a team. And the kids are great.”

After her retirement, Casselman plans to continue working with the school on occasion to do volunteering and substitute teaching and visiting the kids every other Friday to clean the fish tank. In addition to these activities, Casselman aims to focus her time supporting the variety of committees she sits on, singing in choirs and performing in quartets, making use of her extensive quilting material stash, potentially writing a method book for teaching the recorder and travelling.

I really want to go to Iceland,” Casselman enthused. “I’ve never been there– and Europe, I’ve never been to Europe.”

Casselman also hopes to get more involved with MusiCounts, whom she has written articles and reviewed curriculums for in the past.

In her final comments, Casselman stated, “A huge thank you to MusiCounts, who supported my nomination. They are an amazing organization for getting instruments into the hands of children across Canada.”