New teachers can get a lot of hate. Especially when they come in replacing a widely loved, generous and successful teacher as Dr. Jan Davis. A woman who transformed Clayton’s elementary strings program in her five years teaching music in Clayton. But Elementary Suzuki teacher, Kristen Tourville, does not believe that her arrival was at all spurned by Clayton students. In fact, she doesn’t think that any new teacher could have been greeted with more kindness or warmth than that which she received from the Clayton community.
“It’s been a smoother transition than perhaps it would be for a teacher starting out [anywhere else] because of the people that were already existing in this department,” Tourville said,“I got here at the end of July, at the beginning of the school year. Prior to that I was in Arizona, I got married and then I was in Kansas city for a couple of months and then I got this job. I arrived and I’ve been rolling ever since.”
Tourville came to Saint Louis with a masters in Suzuki string pedagogy as well as a masters in performance. As the fourth graders in the elementary strings program start out by learning through a modified Suzuki philosophy, she was a very applicable candidate for the elementary strings teaching position.
“When I knew about this opening it was kind of a dream come true because I was implementing [string education] with a large number of students. Yes, I have and still maintain my own private violin viola, and fiddle studio, but having that kind of learning impact on so many kids is just, it’s amazing,” Tourville said.
But Tourville did not come to Saint Louis without leaving plenty behind. For one, she and her husband are the owners of a violin shop in Kansas city, one reason why he had to stay back while she took the job opportunity in Saint Louis.
“I’ve been teaching for twelve years, but this is my first public teaching job. I was a private teacher for violin, viola, fiddle, mandolin and I was a touring musician for major national acts that do road tours. And I was in Nashville doing some things with some of the community schools there,” Tourville said, “I worked in some of the community schools in Kansas City and also managed a violin shop which I’m now one of the owners of.”
Tourville and Davis have very distinct backgrounds. Both are fully qualified individuals, but the studies of each differ, so it is inevitable that their teaching style be unique as well. This might have been a concern to some, but it did not sway the string teachers’ positive attitudes. Instead of colliding, the two teachers have strived to work together in order to make the elementary strings program more successful.
“Nobody can replace Dr. Davis, and that is something that she and I have spoken at length about,” Tourville said, “we kinda get to still meld ideas even though she’s not working here anymore, so its been a real treat to be able to find out what really worked for her and also be able to put in my own ideas.”
Tourville is very fond of her new position, and she has definitely been received with open arms.
“[The students] were very respectful, and I don’t know if they could’ve been even more respectful, as they came in with a really good attitude,” Tourville said.
Her journey to this point is not lacking in its struggles, in addition to having to move, the recent threat of the cutting of the elementary strings program still lingers in her conscience. CHS Orchestra Teacher Julie Hoffman comments that it is still not resolved.
“After an hour of public comment from attendees about the recommendation related to the Elementary Strings program, the Board participated in an extensive discussion about the program and its current structure. The conversation resulted in the Board’s request for the budget recommendation related to the Elementary Strings program be placed on hold until options for how the program will be restructured can be developed and reviewed,” Hoffman said.
There is still promised turbulence ahead for Tourville and her teaching position in the elementary strings program. But with the continued support from the community Tourville will be able to see her current students through their elementary, middle and high school careers.
“I am a newbie, I’m the new teacher on the scene and I’ve had a small taste of what the Clayton schools are all about, but really the journey is all about seeing the bigger picture and the transitions and the transformations [of the students]from one year to the next and seeing how people and their musicality changes and grows. And it’s absolutely right, I would not know what I’m missing but I sure would have a good idea of it, and it wouldn’t make me miss what I’d already experienced any less.”