Email nominations to Anthony Zilis at azilis@news-gazette.com
For the last 13 years, Nick Schulze has worked to help Unit 4 students develop enthusiasm for music, first at the district’s two high schools and now at Franklin STEAM Academy, where he serves as orchestra director.
The Vandalia native, who won a Shining Star Award from the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation last month, makes sure to create a positive atmosphere in his class while providing them a different way to learn than the rest of their school day.
I find my work important because … music is a great way to reinforce other areas of study like reading and math by using a different part of the brain. We are constantly working on “reading” and “speaking” in the music language, which is a great combination of left- and right-brain thinking. I think it is really helpful for students to get to do something different during the school day. In orchestra class, all of the students get to play, which is the kinesthetic learning style that I always enjoyed best! Being able to move your body and make sound is a great outlet for students during the school day.
I became a teacher because … I have always enjoyed helping others learn new things even when I was in high school. I enjoyed playing in an ensemble in high school and wasn’t originally planning on being a teacher at all, but after some soul searching my first year of college, I decided to follow my passion for music and try to share that with students as a music teacher.
My favorite or most unique lesson that I teach is … when we listen back to recordings of when we first started learning a new piece of music and compare it to our performance. I love seeing their faces as they listen to the first recording with all of the wrong notes and incorrect rhythms. They look like they want to run away from class, and then I play our concert recordings for them, and they are so excited to hear how much they have improved over only a couple of weeks!
My most fulfilling moments on the job are when … I have students come back to visit and share with me what they have been doing. Sometimes it has to do with music, and sometimes it doesn’t, but I always love hearing about their lives. Music teachers get to have the same students every year, so we really get to see them grow as individuals, so it is wonderful when they come back and share!
I keep students engaged by … trying to find fun music that the students enjoy. There is so much good music out there, and finding something that sounds cool that will get stuck in the kids’ heads all day is my favorite. I have a group of students that come into my classroom every day before school to play the music more because they enjoy making music together, and it makes me so happy!
Something else I’m passionate about is … cooking! I love cooking, baking and grilling. There are so many different kinds of food out there, and I really enjoy trying to make delicious foods at home and growing as a cook.
My favorite teacher and subject to study in school was … Mike Travelstead from Vandalia High School. He was always kind and would thoughtfully listen to what you had to say. He was our junior/senior English and language arts teacher and he was able to share his passion for literature with us. I still read almost every day and I try to be a kind, thoughtful, and passionate teacher just like he was! Thanks Mr. T!
If I weren’t a teacher, I would be … a chef, a National Park Ranger, a computer engineer, there are so many things that I think I would enjoy doing if I weren’t teaching! I love cooking, hiking/camping and learning about how computers work, so all would be fun.
I’m spending my summer break … Hanging out with my family! My favorite part about summer is getting to spend time with my family and building lasting memories with them!
— Anthony Zilis
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