Musician started teaching to bring the gifts of music to schools.  

Kristen Thompson discovered her love of teaching at the age of 5 and hopes to inspire others to keep the torch of music alive in education.   

“Math scores are better, test scores are better—it synthesizes all the other subjects. The parents love that their kids are learning life skills. They care for instruments, clean them and put them away. Kids value their belongings and know how to take care of them. Music education is beneficial in so many ways.” 

Beginning of her career 

Thompson began her teaching career at John Muir Middle School in San Jose. Since then, she’s been teaching band and choir to students hungry for the arts at several schools in California—Gunderson in San Jose, Harbor in Santa Cruz and Buena Vista in Salinas, to name a few. She also taught at Chartwell in Seaside, a school for students with learning difficulties.

Did teaching music at Chartwell have a positive impact?  

“One special memory was our Grandparents’ Day performance. The students had never done anything like it, and their grandparents were thrilled to see what the kids had learned and were blown away. Watching them perform was magical. That experience made me realize the way kids learn with learning difficulties wasn’t right or wrong, just different. The quality of music was as good as everyone else I’ve taught.” 

What inspired you to become a teacher instead of pursuing a career as a musician? 

“The first time I taught was after coming home from my first piano lesson at age 5. I showed my uncle everything I learned and had a natural knack for teaching. Later in life, I studied the Orff-Schulwerk approach, which incorporates music, movement, drama and speech, as a music integration program for the whole student. One of the questions the theory asks is, 'Are you a teacher or musician?’ I have a hard time answering that. When I graduated college with a degree in percussion, I wanted to be a marimba soloist, but I really loved sharing music with others. That's what prompted me to go back to school for a teaching credential. 

I stayed with teaching because I loved creating each lesson like it was a puzzle to be solved. I’m competitive, and a piece of music is a challenge with the reward of sound gratification. When the music is just right there‘s a visceral thrill, and I discovered audiences love it as well. That added more pressure and anxiety, but was another challenge in itself.“ 

How did the pandemic change your job? 

“I was teaching general music, band, choir and chorus in Salinas. Band and choir were cancelled but general music continued. I had no experience teaching online, and it took about four months to get good at it. I'm grateful to my colleagues and tech support for helping me provide lessons online.  

“I could do it again if I had to but teaching music needs to be in person. During remote learning, some parents got together and organized what we called Driveway Band a couple times a week. Kevin, their rooster, added some special sound effects!” 

What is general music? 

“It’s a program teaching more of the basics and fundamentals of music education—clapping, walking and singing at the same time, two-part harmonies, learning to read, playing instruments and experimenting with modal vocals. Then they’re ready for band and choir.” 

Who was your favorite teacher and why? 

“My middle school band director was inspiring. She knew every instrument and took lessons each year on something new. I heard she was looking for a piano player to play the glockenspiel and I thought, that sounds easy, and I enrolled. Then I bought a snare drum, and the rest is history.” 

What is your favorite part of being a teacher? 

“The ‘aha’ moment when a student gets the concept or can play music well with others. The funny thing is, as a teacher, I'm constantly learning from my students. I get better at what I do and learn what they’re learning, whether it's musical, technical or social.” 

How did music make a difference for students? 

“One of my pre-K students loved our music classes so much she’s now headed to high school and decided she wants to be a music teacher—it means so much to me! I also was nominated as ‘Most Inspirational Teacher’ by our high school’s valedictorian in 2023, and that made me cry.” 

Tell us something fun thing about you.  

“I have a wicked sense of humor and people tell me I should be a comedian.” 

Tell us about your family. 

“Mom and Dad were very young when they had me and because of that, Mom was more a sister and there was great feminine energy. She's creative with a strong work ethic. My grandmother sang in a big band, and I thought that was amazing—now here I'm in a barbershop quartet singing all the old songs—never thought I'd be doing that! Dad has since passed on. He was a wonderful folk guitar player, singer and electrical engineer. His claim to fame was he invented the first home version of the video game Pong back in 1976 when he worked for Atari.” 

What are you doing with your free time? 

“I'm directing men's and women's barbershop choruses and performing in the percussion section with our local college band. I will be doing something musical like that for quite a while.  

After Dad passed, my husband and I moved back into the family home which takes a lot of time and energy as it’s 104 years old. We love having people over and showing off our beautiful Central Coast and an opportunity just came to us recently that we're excited about. We’re hosting two exchange students from Germany and Italy for the school year. I believe we will learn a lot from each other!” 

What advice do you have for brand new teachers? 

“Don't let the paperwork bog you down, it comes to pass. Some principals are your pals, but some are not. As a music teacher, the custodian and secretary are your best friends. Your students will love you forever if you’re honest with them. Don't let parents push you around. Keep learning.  

“I went from wanting to perform for myself with a degree in percussion to wanting to do more for others through teaching. I switched from teaching high school to elementary because I understood that's where learning really starts, the younger years.” 

Teacher Talk is a series of profiles on California teachers and other educators. To be considered for a future profile, email Communications@CalSTRS.com with Teacher Talk in the subject line.