Mr. Luke Pierce is our resident music technology teacher at West Po, but to his students he is just P. He teaches music 1 and 2 to students all over FCPS. Mr. Pierce is able to give his students an opportunity that not many have.
“I feel like I didn’t really have a music tech teacher that could show me everything that I wanted to know. So I teach my students the things that I wish I could have learned when I was a student.”
Mr. Pierce went to a performing arts school, so he had a different vision of what teaching music in a high school would look like.
“I expected my students to have that same vigorous kind of intensity when it came to their love for music and how hard they work. And then I realized that they’re not majoring in music right now, this is just a high school class for them to experience music.”
And by being one of the youngest teachers here, he has found it difficult to fall into the stereotypical teacher-student dynamic.
“A lot of my music teachers in the past were kind of like the movie whiplash, in a way, but when I first started teaching, there was only like a seven year gap between my age and my students’ age, me and my little brother have a 10 year gap.”
He believes that now in his fourth year of teaching he has finally found the balance between discipline, fun, and making music.
Mr Pierce believes in getting to know about his students life because it is integral to making music.
“If you’re not able to be understood or to understand other people and their lives and their stories, then it’s really hard to create together.”
Because of this, this year he incorporated a new section in his class.
“Better Days, potentially, is going to be the album name for the music we make this year…It started as a section of class where students can express themselves and tell their story and tell what makes them them.”
Mr. Pierce has found himself an important part of many students’ lives so seeing them leave can be a difficult experience.
“It’s bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter…I love being a highschool teacher, specifically teaching juniors and seniors because I feel like I’m an active part of their transition of life…I feel honored to be a part of that.”
When asked if he ever regretted teaching instead of just putting all of his focus into music he said, “No, this is one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”
