Meet the Teacher: Glenn, Juvenile Justice Centres, NSW
Meet Glenn, an ACMF teacher who work has worked at a Juvenile Justice Centre for quite some time now. He has made a difference in the lives of youth who find themselves in a little bit of trouble… We got him to answer a few questions for us to then share with you!
What Instrument/s do you play? Too many to list! To name a few – bagpipes, guitar, harmonica, trombone. I joined the Royal Australian Navy as a musician at 18! Any instrument you see in an orchestra, rock band, or folk band, I can probably play and teach… and didgeridoo as well.
Favourite band? Led Zepplin.
How long have you been teaching music? I’ve been teaching privately and in schools since 1980.
What do you love about being a music teacher for the ACMF? It is the most rewarding music teaching I have ever done. Working with ACMF, I teach youth in detention centres which can be a challenging gig but our slogan is true. We change young lives through music and these kids lives need to change. I am respected by youth criminals who previously loved and respected no one or nothing. While the rest of the prison population is caught in the revolving door of recidivism, I can teach a young adult for 3 months and the system will never see him or her again. Why? Because while his or her friends are out committing crime, he or she is at home practicing guitar! It has been noticed by the authorities that our program saves the government money in stopping repeat offending. We give them direction, self-discipline, a vocation and a sense of self-worth that was absent from their young lives.
