Much Loved Music Teacher To Retire After 38 Years

In a spacious room attached to the back of , where you briefly face the elements before entering, Pamela Young has been teaching music to as many as one thousand children in one week since the 1970s.

In June, after 38 years as a music teacher in Stonington, Young will retire and her presence will be sorely missed. Tall, slim and composed, Young is unassuming but when in front of the children she is in command, a determined presence, leading her kindergarten to fourth grade charges in songs. 

Her face lights up when she talks of the students, especially those that might have had trouble in class but manage to shine when on stage. This is a part of her job that she loves and loves to share with her fellow teachers.

“To get them up there, have a good time and feel proud of what they have accomplished,” she said.

The first goal is always to get them to enjoy themselves.

“Kindergarteners are naturally reticent,” she said, “but if you can bring them in, make them comfortable so that they trust you and themselves well, once you have done that, you can stretch them a little bit.”

There is no denying the joyful experience that singing as part of a group brings to students, explains Young, who has been around long enough to see many of her students sing through high school. Last week, Young and said when she watched her old students singing and dancing that she was “beaming,” especially proud of the boys who are often not as enthusiastic about singing as girls. 

But, Young concedes, times have changed and the world has also. Some of those changes come with the influence of television and video games, which she has noticed has shortened the attention span of students.

Young is a long time member of the church choir and music is a predominant part of Young’s life. She has been a member of the Chorus of Westerly for over 50 years and this she said, has been a crucial piece of her personal life that has influenced her teaching. 

Young has no doubt left an impression on her students over the years. Ellen Gilbert, who heads the chorus program at , was once a student of Young’s. Jennifer Norcross remembered Young from the 1970s and posted on Facebook, “she was great-she got even the non-musical among us to appreciate all kinds of music.” Another student, Kristin Randeau Whipple posted, “I loved her as a music teacher, she was the best, and I just remember her being so happy and joyful about life and music.”

Leaving will be bitter sweet, said Young, who has been going through old plan books and has estimated that she has worked with over 175 teachers and a dozen administrators during her time in Stonington.

“The diverse group of colleagues is one of the pluses of working as a music teacher,” she said.

So what of retirement?  Young will continue to volunteer and maybe substitute teach, but is not concerned about filling her days. She plans to follow her own advice “to be where you are, so I’m working myself toward that,” she said.

One thing that she will is sure about she will continue to sing in church and in the Chorus of Westerly.

A party is scheduled for Young on June 1 at the George Kent Performance Hall in Westerly from 5 to 8 p.m., all are invited.