What is your name? Where do you teach? My name is Jessica Lizana and I am a teacher at Lakeshore High School.

What subject(s) do you teach? I teach Beginning Guitar, Percussion, Fine Arts Survey, Brass and Woodwind Classes, Marching Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Band.

What is your favorite thing about the subject(s) you teach? My favorite thing about the subjects I teach is that I get to spend my day creating and performing music with developing musicians.

JESSICA LIZANA

How long have you been a teacher? I am going into my sixth year of teaching.

How has the profession of teaching changed since you started? I think in this profession, teachers have changed their expectations of teaching, because students and technology are constantly evolving and changing.

It is our job to stay as up-to-date as possible to help prepare our students for what is and what will be.

Why did you become a teacher? I became a teacher because I found an outlet to be myself and express my feelings through music.

My goal has always been to recreate the opportunities for music students to feel connected to something greater than themselves and something as universal as music.

What is your favorite thing about teaching? My favorite thing about teaching is the potential to inspire a student through playing and listening to music.

Do you do anything special in the classroom to get through to your students? I try to keep the students engaged by creating new activities, being open to their views and opinions, and telling them that with the Arts there are no wrong answers.

What is the hardest part of your job? The hardest part of my job would have to be juggling all of the in and out of school activities that high school bands participate in.

Are you involved in any extracurricular activities at the school? I sponsor the Starlites Flag Team at Lakeshore High School and I volunteers as a mentor for KIT (Kids In Transition) students.

Do you utilize any special technology in the classroom? I use a variety of technology specialized in music in my classroom. I use everything from a CD player to tuners, metronomes, drill writing software, the Internet, videos, and slide shows.

Have you received any grants to aid you in the classroom? I have applied for and received grants in the past to aid in sound recording for a school at which I previously taught.

What do you do during your summer vacations? In order for the band program to be a strong and growing musical unit, I hold summer band practices for the current students and junior high school students who will eventually be attending Lakeshore High School.

Do you aspire to become a principal one day? As of right now, I am trying to figure out a way to get my masters degree so this option is available to me when the time is right. I believe being a principal one day would be a great way to help promote the arts and help students receive a well rounded education.

What’s the craziest thing that has ever happened while you were teaching? While going to a marching band festival, one of the school buses was hit by a drunk driver.

No one was injured, but we had to pull over all of the buses and fill out accident reports.

We barely made it to the competition that day; it was a very stressful situation.