Innovation in the Classroom: Meet the Arundel High School Teacher who’s a Teacher of the Year Finalist!

We are excited to spotlight Ian Burns. 

Mr. Burns was nominated by the school’s principal, Gina Davenport.

The Arundel High Middle School music director is a graduate from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University and brings an energy that his colleagues and students say is positively infectious and a joy. 

Ian has created new music and theater curricula for AACPS to include Music Technology & Theater technology. Here are some highlights of his work: Led Marching Band to state championship win. Gives students opportunities to be leaders. A champion in embracing new learning platforms and teaching others how to use them. Known for creative and innovative instruction. Helps students create professional content and encourages culture centered relationships and encourages connection to the community to include outreach to alumni.

We had an opportunity to talk with Ian about his year as a Teacher of the Year finalist. The full video conversation will be posted in this space after the 2023 Excellence in Education awards dinner.

Here are a few highlights of the conversation:

Describe who you are in 5 words or less.

Energetic, passionate to help students, and inventive

Tell me one thing you remember about your first year teaching.

I saw students with a lot of talent and untapped potential, the focus was to make small growth steps where they could see results.

Looking back, what would you tell your former self about your potential as an educator?

Just take a deep breath and know that the students and the community will see and connect with you and your vision.

What one thing do you love about working in your school? with the students? and with the community?

Lucky to work at Arundel because Arundel says yes. New marching band practice spaces, new sound systems, and new programs with the community. Innovative fundraising… selling mattresses for new instruments.

What is your favorite memory of your family and friends supporting you on your journey as an educator?

Helped start an awards banquet to celebrate students and my wife, but then girlfriend, helped handmake awards and got friends to play music at the event.

COVID really challenged teachers, students, families, and schools on a level beyond imagination. How has the experience of working through COVID and then returning to “normal” instruction made you a better teacher and person?

COVID made students figure out how to play music over computers and they rose to the challenge. Learned how deeply the connection with students could become because we got to look at them learn and practice in their houses. We found a way to connect from those new relationships COVID forced.

Thinking about the future of education, what are you most excited about for educators? for students? and for schools?

It is a really cool moment in learning right now about how much we can actually use technology in a new way and so it is about better using the tools that were exposed because of COVID.

What is one hidden talent you have that no one, or few people, knows about and would surprise them?

Before I was a teacher and to help fund college, I was a banquet chef.

If you had to make a time capsule about this year as a teacher of the year finalist and you had to include an item, an image, a quote and a song/melody, what would you include?

A microphone because there are so many stories that can be told just from this year, but even more from the past. For a song, the artist is Tiger King TBL (an electronic group) and the song is called Grids, we used it for our marching band.

For the last question, what is one reason why someone should choose to become a teacher?

It’s an exciting time because you can engage with learners in the way they learn. We are leveraging technology to engage students.

Louis Nesbitt, PDM Department

LNesbitt@aacps.org

The journey of an educator is a lifetime. We are thankful to those who have chosen to embark on this path. As a community, one of our greatest capacities is availability, so when the opportunities arise, find your own way to support education.