Teaching some of the youngest citizens in Cheatham County how to sing a note and even how to write a song are challenges which never daunted Margaret Hampton. Hampton, who has been teaching music at Pleasant View Elementary for the past 12 years, will be retiring after more than two decades in education. The PVES Teacher of the Year in 2014 - 2015 credits her lifetime love of music for helping her reach the minds and hearts of students.
Hampton’s third grade science teacher had more than periodic tables in class; this teacher had a piano, and the class had music time once a week. That early exposure to music led the young Hampton to take piano lessons and eventually to get her college degree in music education.
Storytelling helps pique students’ interest in the classroom. “I start with something they know such as reading a story. I then add instruments, art, and movement to the story. I integrate history, math, science, social studies and more into almost every lesson,” Hampton explained.
The unique relationship between music and words led the PVES teacher to take a workshop at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. Out of that experience, Hampton led her fourth graders on the journey of writing a song. The lesson went so well, it’s become an annual tradition.
Once she retires, Hampton said she plans on spending time with her grandchildren, crocheting, learning sign language and Spanish, and of course, resting.