Charles Cushinery, a Clark High School orchestra teacher, is among 7,000 teachers nationwide nominated for the Grammy Music Educator award.
He has been one of 10 finalists two years in a row.
Lisa Ratigan, a member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, nominated him for the award, saying: “for some of these kids, their home life is crap. I just think he makes the kids feel comfortable and successful.”
Cushinery told KNPR’s State of Nevada that he is not sure what makes him stand out as a teacher.
“I’m just me. By showing who I am to my students, the people who are part of this process have just decided that I have something that is special,” Cushinery said. “My key is respect and love of what I do.”
Cushinery said he commits a lot of time and tailors instructions to every student. He said he doesn’t measure success by how well a student plays music but by how engaged the student is in the class.
A remarkable number of students at Clark High School are involved in the fine arts. According to Cushinery, 93 percent of 3,000 students at the school take some kind of fine art class.
He said that orchestra may not be a “cool” thing but it is a comfortable thing for his students. It gives them a place to come and find some kind of success.
Cushinery uses a technique called innovative pedagogy, which is really reaching a student by any means necessary.
“Finding some way of making personal contact with every student on some level and give them the opportunity to take ownership of what we’re doing,” Cushinery said.
He says orchestra is vital because it is a place where students can go and be themselves away from the regular rigors of academics. It is also a chance to know immediately whether they’re doing well because either they hit the note or they don’t.
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