Music teachers are among the busiest people on the planet. This year, make sure you do something to help you unwind during the summer months, if only for an hour a day.

Don Ester, who teaches at Ball State University during the school year, believes in working hard, then recharging when the opportunity presents itself. He’s enroute to a five-week wilderness escape where he’ll backpack, kayak, and mountain-climb to clear his head.

In Ester’s words, “As I hike, I think. This always leads to improvements, both professionally and personally. For example, I reached the summit of Mt. Rainier last July, fulfilling one of my ‘bucket list’ items and reenergizing my spirit.”

Ester continues, “I try to do this kind of thing each summer. Recent summers have included summiting Grand Teton, backpacking the hundred-mile Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, completing long legs of the Appalachian Trail, doing seven thirteeners (13,000-foot peaks) in one day, and skydiving.”

You, too, can have an adventure this summer that will recharge your batteries. A local hiking club can be a great place to start, or check out another activity that you’ve never tried before. You’ll be a better teacher next fall for having done something you enjoy.
 

MENC member Don P. Ester is a professor and the area coordinator of music education at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

--Ella Wilcox, June 16, 2009, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)