Name: Wayne Shipe
Grade/Subject at what school: General Music for Grades Kdg through 4 at Shamrock Springs Elementary School in Westfield.
Number of years teaching: 25+
Background/Schooling (college & high school):
- Reading High School, Reading, Pennsylvania
- B.S. in Music Education, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania
- M. Music Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
- Band Conductor’s Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Graduate, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
- Elementary and High School Principal Certifications, IUPUI, Indianapolis, Indiana
Why did you become a teacher? I was very fortunate to have had a father who was a professional musician and a mother who was a musician and public school teacher and later administrator. Between the two I got to know some tremendous musicians and educators who inspired me to pursue music education.
What goals do you have for your students? That they will be well-rounded educationally and hopefully make music an enjoyable aspect of their life, whether performing or listening.
What do you encourage parents to do at home to help their children strengthen particular skills? Read, read, and then read some more; don’t let them play video games or watch endless hours of TV; and spend time with them in sports, the arts, and in activities involving the whole family.
Name your favorite movie. “The Music Man”, the real one, not the most recent one.
Name your favorite musician or band. Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists.
What’s something your students might not know about you? I started my teaching career in Bedford-North Lawrence Schools almost 50 years ago as a middle school agriculture, math, social studies, and physical education teacher and basketball coach. I grew up in a big east coast city and didn’t know a heifer from a steer and I was no better as a coach – but I enjoyed every minute of it!
