David, written by Andrew Pfaff ’17, is featured on STORRI, a website that empowers teachers to “tell about the complexity of contemporary classrooms.” In addition to being an M.Ed. student and a bass guitarist, Pfaff is a music teacher at Bergen County Technical Schools.
His story begins:
David began the school year having never played guitar nor any other instrument, and unable to read music. A high school senior, he had enrolled in my beginning guitar class to satisfy a state requirement of five credits in the arts. As David took his chair for the third individual student meeting, he said, “I’m prepared as much as I can be,” which at the time sounded to me like a preamble designed to lower my expectations. In hindsight, I also hear the remark more simply as mentally fortifying himself to take on the challenge presented to him.
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