By Maddie Emerson, BEAT reporter
BRUNSWICK, OH- Keeping a band of elementary schoolers together and in tune is no easy feat, but the first musical foundation that these students learn is laid in those first years of education. Those few years are critical to the musical development of these students and the path they will take when they graduate to Middle School, where they are required to play an instrument or sing in choir their sixth-grade year. Elaine Carson, music director at Applewood Elementary School in Brunswick, has been laying the framework for countless students for 29 years.
Not only is Carson a music teacher for grades Kindergarten through 5th, but she also runs a singing club for students who want extra opportunities to warm their vocal cords. This club is all about making new friends, learning to sing, and performing singing concerts in front of the school and parents. “I also enjoy seeing students get excited to perform, whenever it is during class or at our school concerts,” Carson stated.
Carson has wanted to be an educator from a young age. Her fourth-grade teacher was one of her biggest influences to join this field. During her middle school years, she learned how to play saxophone and fell in love with music. When she started high school, she joined her band program and realized that she wanted to share the gift of music with others. She went to college at Ohio Northern University and earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree and then went to earn her master's degree at the University of Akron.
She explained that the biggest gifts from her extensive career working with students are watching their musical skills develop over the multiple years she gets to know them. She said, “I love to see those ‘light bulb’ moments when a student is successful at something they have been working on.” She is always excited to see her pupils perform, and some of her favorite times as a teacher have been putting together Applewood’s annual Christmas programs.
However, being an educator does not come without its challenges. It can be difficult teaching an entire school of about 500 students because she has to fit the varying needs of each student she coaches, as well as keeping up with a full schedule. But some of her biggest rewards she takes away from her years of teaching are watching how her students’ musical careers blossom after she is done working with them. She loves when students come back to her years later with tales of their own journey, and that some of them even became music majors like her.
Carson loves making memories with all of her students and creating a fun, exciting environment where each student is ready to come in every day and explore the world of music. She went from playing ‘school’ with her friends to her own career, to celebrating many more exciting years to come. Carson said, “Don’t be afraid to try new things. You never know where they might lead to something you can use in the future!”
Maddie Emerson, Brunswick Middle School, is one of over fifty student “backpack journalists” (grades 6-12) in the award-winning BEAT Video Program. The program, celebrating its 25th year, is sponsored by Donut Land, Plum Creek Assisted Living Community, MODA Gifts, Scripps Howard Foundation and the Brunswick Rotary Club. Go to https://www.bcsoh.org/community/new-beat-site to learn more about the Program, or visit https://thebeat.viebit.com/?folder=ALL to view videos produced by the students.
PHOTOS: Elaine Carson; Carson working with the variety of music projects she oversees over the course of a year