Teacher Appreciation Week #4

When I think of great teachers I think of commitment. When I think of committment I think of Ms. Marcia Mize

For a little background “The Smoky Mountain Kids” was a singing and clogging performance group founded and directed by Ms. Mize.  All the kids were students in the Haywood County School system and members had to audition to join.  Performing any number of songs including show tunes, folk songs, contemporary music and standards we were also a competitive level clogging team. Yes that is a thing for those not familiar. We practiced and performed A LOT!  That was all coordinated and directed by Ms. Mize.

No teacher ever got into teaching to get rich. For the great ones, like Ms. Mize, it was a passion and a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year labor of love. The most time any teacher ever spent with me was not spent during school. I was never assigned to her class. Heck, I never even attended her school. 

The time was spent on Tuesday nights in the Clyde School Music Room. It was spent on summer nights at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska, NC.. It was spent on the stage of the Cheyenne Saloon in Orlando, Florida and camping on the floor of Ghost Town’s Silver Dollar Saloon in Maggie Valley, NC to film a t.v. spot. It was spent on Cherokee Boy’s Club buses traveling over the southeast. It was spent at a camp ground in Ft Lauderdale. It was spent on stages from Florida to Indiana in school gyms, civic halls, recreation centers, churches, hospitals, camp grounds, country clubs and any other place that would have the Smoky Mountain Kids as their evening entertainment. She took one group to the World’s Fair and another to The Grand Ole Opry.  

Hundreds of hours? Thousands of hours? Tens of thousands of hours? ………………..Easily!

She wasn’t getting paid. She didn’t do it for fame. She did it because she loved her kids and loved to share her kid’s talents with all that would listen. I’m not sure how many years she kept the Smoky Mountain Kids going but I know it was at least 30. Membership averaged anywhere from 20-60 kids at a time ranging from grades 3-9. She did this day after day, week after week because she was committed.

She would probably tell you there were times she felt like she should be committed. But she was always there pushing, teaching, demanding and expecting great things from us. She always told us that we were kids but we were professionals. Act like it!   It may sound a little hokie but the ideas of “the show must go on” and “leave them wanting more” were just part of the lessons.

There are a lot of great things about Ms Mize that I remember. She was a fabulous musician. She had a commanding personality. She was a dear friend to my mother. She demanded effort and results and she got both. But most of all, as I look back, what I appreciate the most was the example of commitment she displayed for so long to so many.

Thanks Ms. Mize. You are loved and appreciated.