Teacher Tuesday – Ms Charmaine Ku

Teacher Tuesday – Ms Charmaine Ku

At KIS we are committed to developing the whole child and, therefore, the Creative and Performing Arts play an important part of the curriculum. In this week’s Teacher Tuesday, we talk to Ms Charmaine Ku who teaches Music.

How many years have you been teaching?

Nine years as a classroom teacher, and many more years as a Music Tutor.

When did you join KIS?

July 2012.

Please describe the KIS community in three words:

Warm, happy and fun.

Why do you teach?

I love teaching. I love being around students as it helps me forget about how introvert I am! It has built my confidence in many ways just by seeing how confident all my students are.

What instrument do you enjoy teaching the most and why?

I play both the Piano and Violin but I’d say I enjoy teaching the violin the most. When starting to learn the violin it isnโ€™t always the most pleasant sounding instrument, however, when my students are able to grasp the right posture and breathing technique (both of which are very important in getting the right sound from the violin), they then love to play it even more. Seeing this develop in a student gives me a good sense of accomplishment.

What are the benefits of studying Music?

Music exercises our mind and also our motor coordination skills, besides it being something that we all love playing and listening to. Learning music and performing together in groups improves our social and communication skills too. I’m always impressed with the amount of teamwork I see when my Secondary students perform together in the school Rock Band and at key performances.

From the perspective of studying Music with a future profession in mind, it can be an adventure and an opportunity for exposure to new things! For example, musicians are regularly meeting new people, performing in new environments and learning new skills and generating new ideas. Composers always write and arrange new music, while reviewing and reflecting on past music from other composers. You will never get bored where there is music!

If you werenโ€™t a teacher what job would you do and why?

This is a very difficult question. Maybe soap making or cooking? These are my hobbies, but teaching is still the best!

KK is famed for its food, what is your favourite local dish?

I love native dishes a lot! Anything with tuhau is delicious! And nangka or tarap cooked in coconut milk! Yum!