Horn Solo

A shout-out to my daughter Kerala for putting together a new Website and saving me tens of thousands of dollars! My small payback is to try to re-post her fabulous writing on Facebook to reach a larger audience. (See next post). 

 

Collecting some possible quotes for the revised Website, I found the following gems. Yes, I know it’s considered bad taste to toot one’s own horn, but the quotes are more responses to my “horn solo” teaching then me praising myself. The spirit here is not to shine the light on me to feed a needy ego, but to shine through my work to the larger principles that illuminate good teaching. They represent a cross-section of kids I taught at my school, music teachers I taught in courses and workshops, colleagues and even a famous jazz musician! 

 

I’m grateful beyond words for these people and the opportunity to be of use to them and could write my own praises back to them about how they’ve inspired—and continue to inspire— me. And thanks to them all for their encouragement. I guess I’ll stick with teaching.

 

Doug’s words give me hope. They fill my heart with the exact purpose of my own existence.

-       Jodie Blackshaw; Australian Music teacher

 

Doug Goodkin is  one of my most inspirational teachers I know. He changed my life when I became a music teacher. It’s like I stepped into what I was sent to this earth to do.

-       Abbie Ehorn: Music teacher

 

Doug’s teaching and mentorship, books and educational philosophies affect me and my students and conversations with adults every day that I teach. 

-      Laura Earley; Music teacher

 

Doug always has the words that transform us into the best version of ourselves.

-      Jenny Labonte: French-Canadian music teacher 

 

 

This man reminded me of my roots and reconnected me to the earth in his teaching. Doug ultimately changed how I speak, breathe, move and love through music. 

-      Jeff Griffith; Music teacher and jazz musician

 

 

Doug Goodkin is one of my favorite teachers EVER. He was (and is) foundational to my positive outlook in life and my joy of music and cultures from around the world.

-      Ginger Fahrenwald Villanueva: a former San Francisco School student

 

The magic of learning with Doug Goodkin is just this: the experience of feeling, belonging, feeling alive, being whole and being part, accessing my spaces of deep joy and fullness and also having the opportunity to realize and heal some pain it's in that process. Making new friends, rediscovering old ones, and sharing so many unforgettable moments.. As Doug says, the person who is felt, looked at, loved, or admired by at least once in a lifetime, will always choose the path of love in their actions.

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-       Pati Bley de Oliveira: Brazilian Music teacher

 

Doug has it all. So balanced in his thoughts actions and approaches, always looking at the pros and cons, the sweet and the bitter, the insider and the outsider, the palatable and the unpalatable...always right on.

-       Dr. Kofi Gbolonyo; Ghanaian musician and teacher

 

Doug supports and shares the value of joy in everyday life and makes all his students feel wonderful! He gives his energy to the love which creates security and space for evolution.

-       Ukranian music teacher

 

Doug has made a huge impact on my teaching and more importantly, my learning!  In the wake of all the recent discussions around race, justice and equality, I’ve often reflected on how your jazz course linked the emotion of the music with the horrors of the history. It was the beginning of my education on racial inequality and my examination of my own white privilege.  Thanks to him for not only being a wonderful teacher, but a compassionate thinker and a tireless voice for peace and change.

-      Cathy Anderson: Music teacher

 

I appreciate Doug’s efforts as an educator, musician, author, civil rights advocate and overall conscientious human being. 

-       Herlin Riley: Jazz drummer