Earlier this month, music teacher Mr. Peter Isherwood was named Middletown High School North’s Teacher of the Year for the 2014 school year.
The Lion’s Roar recently caught up with Mr. Isherwood during one of his 3A transition periods. The rows of seats in his classroom were filled with students doing homework and relaxing on their off-period. Behind his desk was the man of the year, or more like the teacher of the year, Mr. Peter Isherwood.
Isherwood said that he had passion and a serve dedication in teaching and even joked about how many hours he spends in his classroom even after his students had gone home. The music connoisseur also said that he currently working on his doctorate in music from Rutgers and that he has a deep passion for music. “I really do love what I teach…I want to keep making music and keep teaching music… there is nothing else in the world that I could picture myself doing,” Isherwood said just feet away from his solid black piano and stacks of music sheets from songs such as Jay Z’s Empire State of Mind.
Isherwood said that he was both, “surprised and elated,” when he heard the news that he received the honor, “we got a lot of great teachers in this school.”
The music teacher said that his favorite genre of music was classic rock and reflected on his childhood listening to his father’s records of The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. He also enjoys watching shows such as Modern Family and Family Guy and admits that he loves pumpkin pie and that his favorite color is orange.
“I’m really happy because he works really hard, to be honest.” said junior, Mike Ventoso,” A lot of teachers take their work home but Ish just never leaves, he just never stops… he sleeps in the piano”
“He’s a great teacher; he does a lot of hard work,” said junior Chase Pecoraro, “He knows how to teach his classes and he has a good relationship with his students.”
As another school year begins to enter into the final marking period, business is the same as usual in Mr. Isherwood’s room. Music sheets printed and on hand, blank staff lines on the board waiting to be filled with musical notes, and students who have no problem flocking to the class room. But one thing is clear, that the music will never stop coming from Mr. Isherwood’s room, even as the summer draws near.
