Helping a music teacher teaches responsibility, leadership

When most of the kids at PS 11 in Chelsea went down to lunch every day, I didn’t follow them. Instead, I went upstairs to the music room with my friends. We were ready to help my music teacher, Ms. Sharon Golub, with her class of younger students.

We helped the kids pay attention while learning about composers, how to play piano, and get along with their friends. Not only did it give them a great learning experience, but they also got to meet older kids they could look up to. When they saw me and my friends in the hall, they were ecstatic to see us, waved, and sometimes gave us hugs.

I thought this was really fun, because I am a musician — I play piano and I sing. I got to help other kids learn to love the things that I have always loved. I also want to be a teacher when I grow up, so being able to work with the kids helped me learn how to deal with certain situations that I might encounter if I actually become a teacher.

Ms.  Golub was very thankful, and we grew close. She took me, my friends and her music memory team to a Yankees game and let me be a leader in her chorus.

Javan Howard’s writers workshop students, Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts, Wheatley Heights