John King has started his 40th year teaching music in Hillsborough County Public Schools, a career that began in 1986 when he pushed a cart carrying a record player into classrooms at Wimauma Elementary School. tampabaybeacons.com reported the information.
King, now 63 and teaching at Westchase Elementary for more than two decades, was recently recognized at a district preplanning gathering as one of four veteran educators honored. A video shared by the school showed him dancing through a spirit tunnel of music teachers, a moment that drew hundreds of comments online, including messages from former students who became band directors or music teachers themselves.
King told tampabaybeacons.com that experience made him more willing to bring his personality into the classroom, incorporating humor and silliness into lessons. His classroom identity includes playing flute for arriving students on Christmas mornings and performing an Irish jig on St. Patrick’s Day. He also plays guitar, saxophone and ngoma drum, and led a World Drumming Group at a Veterans Day assembly.
King said technology and students’ attention spans have changed, but his approach remains rooted in participation. He said students learn more about music by making it than by talking about it, and he hopes they remember the joy that making music brings.
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