I interviewed my high school strings teacher Pamela Bettger. She was a large influence in my passion for music, and she provided me with many opportunities to grow as a musician. As well, she went to McGill for Viola, so her career path mirrors mine. Interviewing Ms. Bettger was a greatly rewarding experience. I enjoyed learning about her experiences with music, her passions, and hers step to becoming a high school music teacher. Interviewing her also gave me an opportunity to reflect on the choices I had made, and will continue to make, in my life.

Before interviewing Ms. Bettger, I sat in the Viola section during a rehearsal of Concert Strings (a mandatory Grade 9 and 10 ensemble). I had played in this string ensemble for two years, but I had never paid attention to Ms. Bettger’s teaching style, so it was a different experience and a great observation opportunity. One thing I noticed was her expectations of her students. She knew their capabilities and did not push for perfection. I also noticed that she was very direct with students were not focused and when explaining what she wanted the piece to sound like, demonstrating specific bow strokes for certain passages. At times, it seemed very difficult to maintain her authority and to conduct the students. For that reason, she had to be very concise with adjustments she wanted students to make, yet know when to move on if they weren’t able to do it.

I started the interview by asking Ms. Bettger about her inspirations. She talked about how her parents and grandparents were all teachers or music teachers. Being in a family of music educators greatly influenced her decision to pursue music. More specifically, she highlighted the work of her father, who started the first arts school in London: Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts, and worked as an Arts Coordinator for the school. She said that his work was “Really exciting,” and “got me really excited about arts education.” It was clear that from an early age, she was brought up in an environment of music and education. I think that early music exposure can help kids grow a passion for music.

I was surprised to hear that despite her family background Ms. Bettger originally went to university for performance. She still mentioned that part of her “thought, well maybe I’ll want to teach at some point too.” Her indecisiveness about her future career is very familiar to me, as I often feel unsure of what I want to do in music. It reveals that the uncertainty is very common, and that it is entirely okay to not have an absolute plan. Rather, Ms. Bettger slowly realized that performance was not what she wanted to make a living from, and did not even play in Symphony Orchestra her final year of undergrad. I think this reveals a great deal of reflection that happens throughout university, as one begins to explore their interests. Furthermore, it illustrates that these changes can be as simple as realizing they prefer teaching over performing. 

Ultimately, Ms. Bettger is glad she went into teaching. When asked why, she said that she loves following paths of students. She recounted when she took her class to the reference library a few weeks ago to find chamber repertoire, and encountered a past student of hers who still remembered her. This was very compelling to me, because it illustrates that music educators hold a lot of significance in their student’s lives, and can make a large difference if they work to do so. For that reason, I think music teachers need to have a deep passion for music, and to create opportunities for students to grow into musicians.

I also asked Ms. Bettger questions regarding her own mentors. She told me that there were several mentors in her life. Mostly, though, she talked about John Barron: a co-director of the ‘Amabile Youth Singers’, which Ms. Bettger sang in. Ms. Bettger highlighted how he was “an inspiration, bringing new things to his lesson all the time.” She elaborated on how he was always pushing the boundaries of music, such as playing a lot of modern works (especially Murray Schafer). I can see how Ms. Bettger has brought this open-mindedness into her own classroom, with unconventional repertoire and assignments – I remember Symphony Orchestra playing Trains by Murray Schafer. More generally, Ms. Bettger articulated how her mentors taught her to be a hard worker, and to be a good listener. It is interesting to see how components of her own mentors manifest in her teaching styles. Similarly, her answers had me reflect on what parts of Ms. Bettger’s teaching I am beginning to see in myself.

I also asked her about studio teaching, which she just started recently. Ms. Bettger said that it really made her think about technique. She explained that she never really knew how to teach technique; starting with Suzuki from a young age, it came naturally to her. She extended this to classroom teaching, where you need to break down techniques into smaller components when articulating how something should sound to students. Her thought process revealed her ability to apply her discoveries in one style of teaching to an entirely different one, which I think is a crucial skill as a music educator.

The last set of questions centered around the challenges Ms. Bettger faced in becoming a music educator. She talked a lot about her first couple years of teaching, where she felt like a “deer in headlights”. She elaborated that nothing prepares you for being in front of your own classroom, that something always goes wrong. This is evident in her first job, where she taught music for SK-Grade 5. She told me she had some challenging classes that were hard to control; she said that music was their place to destress, and it took a lot of energy to manage them. She had to develop ways to always keep them occupied. Ultimately, what she realized from her early years was that creating a routine and setting clear expectations were key in managing a classroom. 

Ms. Bettger also mentioned that the teaching part often feels small against all the other stuff your dealing with. I thought this was interesting, as students never realize or appreciate the work teachers put into their job outside of the classroom. As an example, Ms. Bettger told me how that day she had a call with a parent, had to fill out an accident report, and had to do a lot of marking. One thing she wished was that she had more time to devote to planning her lessons.

Interestingly, a regret that Ms. Bettger outlined was that she wished she had practiced more when she was younger. She only really started to practice in her 3rd year of university; she said she was not practicing properly before that, like not breaking apart difficult sections. I think this is interesting because people are often not taught how to practice, which is an incredibly important skill. If one does not know how to practice, it makes improvement difficult, and one can feel hopeless about achieving their musical goals.

To conclude, I think it was very humanizing to talk to Ms. Bettger. The struggles she faced figuring out her career resonate with me. I believe we often put our mentors on unreachable pedestals, and forget that they have gone through many of the same hurdles that we have. I think that taking the time to interview Ms. Bettger was extremely eye-opening for me. I realized that I am capable of achieving my goals if I put my best effort into them, just as Ms. Bettger did.