By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno Valley Middle School band teacher Dan Brinkley is the May Teacher of the Month presented by Allen Samuels CDJR. He also teaches beginning band at South Hutchinson Elementary and is an assistant director at Nickerson High School.
"You do have to choose to be in the band class," Brinkley said. "There's also some parents that kind of want to legacy their kids in and then they're a little reluctant. We're doing our best to kind of keep the kids excited about it."
One of the important things kids learn in band is how teamwork helps make the music happen.
"If you're on a basketball team, only five of you get to go out at a time, the rest of you are riding the bench and not really doing anything, but you do all the practice to prepare for it," Brinkley said. "In band, when we go to a concert or we're playing on the marching band field, it's all in and we need 100% out of everybody in order to put our finished product on the field or on the concert stage."
Nominator Lisa McDaniel said that Brinkley is her favorite teacher and that she is grateful to have someone who helped her fall in love with her trumpet and playing music in general.
"If you apply yourself and really learn your instrument, there are opportunities as you get older," Brinkley said. "There's community band. I work with a teacher, she actually works and does pit orchestras on the side. She played flute through college. There's always opportunities for you to keep playing and singing. You've just got to look for them."
Brinkley sees his biggest goal as a music educator is to instill a love of music in students that compels them to continue to make it a part of their life even when they are adults.