Teacher inspires students to express themselves through music

Music for Miller Elementary teacher Sue McDonald has always been a part of her life growing up and she’s now passing that joy along to her students.

Originally from Covington, McDonald moved to Warner Robins in 2008, which is her husband’s hometown. Both she and husband Lloyd McDonald, band director at Feagin Mill Middle School, were chosen as Teacher of the Year at their school and a Top 10 finalist.

McDonald has been teaching music for grades K-5 at Miller Elementary School since 2008, but this is her 29th year teaching altogether. Prior to teaching at Miller Elementary, she taught music in Newton County.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and her master’s degree from the University of Georgia.

Why teaching?

“I love children. I love working with the younger children, especially. It’s something new and exciting every day. I love music and I love being able to share that with children.”

What brought you into the field?

“I grew up in a musical household. I developed a love of music and there was never any other choice for me. While I played the flute and loved playing the flute, I’m not the quality of an orchestral player who can support themselves by playing the flute. So, I looked into education. Originally, I thought I was going to be a band director. I did my student teaching with middle school band but fell into the elementary slot and then realized that’s where I needed to be.”

Any inspiration from past teachers?

“I had great teachers growing up. My former principal here, Dr. Pearson-Kilgore, used to say, ‘Your family is your first teacher.’ The parents are the first teacher. My parents taught me music and I was always interested in that. I grew up just loving it and joined any kind of musical organization there was. I was very inspired by all of my teachers and found something to learn from all of them.”

Best part of teaching?

“The joy when children get something, and in music, when they make an emotional connection and just seeing the joy when they perform for their teacher or for their parents or just for ourselves and they know that they’ve gotten it. I just like the joy of them being able to express themselves.”

What is it about teaching that you like the most?

“I like the students performing, working toward a goal. I like seeing the fruition of all the hard work. I like elementary music. There is always something different. Every 50 minutes, you have a different grade coming in. It’s very fast-paced and you’re always on, but that’s fun for me.”

Most challenging part of teaching?

“Things have changed so much. Meeting the students at their needs when they come in and they’re not prepared for a school situation and you don’t know what’s going on at home, that’s hard. That is very much a challenge. Then, there is so much coming down negative about the profession that it’s hard to remain positive and upbeat when everything you see in the news is about terrible teaching and terrible education. I know how hard teachers work, and I see it on a daily basis. We have an excellent group of teachers at Miller and they work really, really hard. It’s unfair when you see how things are perceived.”

Anything that makes your job difficult?

“Not anymore difficult than anybody else. Just the things I touched on before.”

If not teaching, what?

“I have always wanted to do this. There has never been anything else for me. Maybe, running a horse farm. I had two horses; I have one horse now. I would love to have a barn and keep other people’s horses and get paid for it.”

Advice to students:

“Do your best in whatever it is. Work to your ability. Not everybody is going to have the same abilities but work to your full potential.”

Advice to parents:

“Stay involved in your children’s lives. Know who their friends are. Know how they’re doing in school. Be an advocate for your child. Listen to the teacher.”

Home life:

“I’m married to a wonderful husband, Lloyd McDonald. We have two children, Cody, who just graduated from Kennesaw, and our daughter, Bailey, is a senior nursing student at Georgia Southern. I’m an avid reader. I like animals. We have dogs and a horse. I enjoy playing the flute. I’m a member of the Wellston Winds, in which Lloyd is the director. I’m the flute instructor for the Macon Youth Symphony, and I teach private flute lessons and an after-school chorus club for grades 3-5 at Miller Elementary.”

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