A legacy of lyrics, sound, and community
“Can you take a picture real quick?” a freshman homeroom student asks one minute before the final bell of the year, and Stephanie-Jackman Burns steps forward and smiles for a few photos as the bell rings.
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke,” she starts as the students chime in with SJ’s famous words, “don’t have sex, wear your safety belt.”
The rules.
“Everyone needs rules to live by, and I thought these were the rules that would get students through the next four years,” SJ Burns says, adding how hard 15 to 18 years old can be.
Every Friday since starting at Jasper High School 28 years ago, those rules have been recited. Now, there are no more Friday recitals planned. After 29 years in education, SJ Burns is retiring.
Teaching hasn’t always been about the music for her. Burns said quite often she was shocked by how little students knew about music when coming into her room. And while that isn’t what she envisioned when she became a teacher – “lyrics, sound, and a community coming together” – she adapted.
The choir room became a safe place for many students. She shares, “Over the years, I just decided that rapport with my students and providing a safe place for them, one class that is not contest oriented, I think that was the right decision.”
It certainly sounds like it was.
Many students, past and present, have celebrated Burns over the last few weeks after announcing her retirement – sharing their experiences and expressing their gratitude.
Connor Fritch, class of 2018, shared, “SJ Burns always kept things real, taught and worked with us diligently and passionately, and made me feel truly seen and respected. Seeing the potential in each student, she builds them up and inspires them to grow and value themselves. I could not be more grateful for each hour spent in her classroom.”
Another, Molly Rupert, class of 2005, posted on Facebook, “…thank you for seeing me as a whole person. Thank you for honoring my layers and my emotions and my gifts and my weaknesses.”
While many students took comfort in the safe space and leaned on the choir teacher for support, she didn’t always feel that herself. It took patience, hard-headedness, and, sometimes, a firm approach. After seven to eight years, though, she felt like she really belonged.
“When I came here, parents wanted to run the program, which I understood,” she explained. “The parents carried it for so long. I had to say, ‘this is my role, not yours’.”
When asked if she felt any pushback or negativity anymore, she laughed, “I think I am an acquired taste, and I think they’ve acquired it. I think that differing perspectives are valuable.”
When she started at JHS there were two requirements: Direct the musical and conduct the choir to sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic at graduations. Once she took on the role, it was easy to tell parents what musicals would be done. However, finding enough voices to sing The Battle Hymn was a different story.
“The choir was very, very small. We didn’t have the voices to pull off the male acapella section. So, one day with my ideas about community, I thought everybody needs to come and sing.” And a tradition began. Every year, current students, teachers, parents, past students, family members and more join to sing.
This will be the last year for Stephanie-Jackman Burns, and she hopes it’s big. “I’m hoping for a huge crowd. I’ve had both responses. ‘Yes, I’m going to be there,’ and ‘I’m sorry I can’t make it.’ It’s a community event, though, and I’m proud of that.”
Burns has been putting out the call on Facebook for all to join on Friday night to sing along. One former student even booked a flight home for the event, “Plane tickets purchased! I can’t wait to sing for you, and with the amazing community of musicians you have cultivated and mentored!” the student commented on one of the posts.
Of everything she provided through her years of teaching, SJ Burns simply wants all of her students to know one thing. “I would be happy if they knew I was invested in them. That would make me very, very happy. If they just thought that I loved them, I would be happy because I did.”
