My teaching philosophy revolves around the quote from Gregor Piatigorsky, "I'll stop teaching when I stop learning." If there were one thing that I learned from being in education, it is that teachers need to be lifelong learners. We are the ones responsible for passing on our knowledge to the next generation so that they can take it and grow it with it as they develop into adults. If we stop learning, how will we be able to keep teaching? Staying present in the field and actively increasing your knowledge of what you're teaching is, I feel, one of the most important things a teacher can do. Staying curious, wondering, asking questions, doing research, and coming up with new ideas to improve the quality of your students' education are all things that will happen when teachers keep learning. If we stop learning, then the teaching comes to a halt. When I step onto the podium to direct an ensemble, or get up in front of a class to teach guitar, I am doing much more than teaching how to play notes on a page. I am teaching humans, while using music as my vehicle to do so. Music teaches teamwork, independence, community, respect