Atlanta rocker profiled as a classroom hero

“American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom” author Katrine Fried chose public school teachers to profile by reviewing winners and finalists of major national and local teaching awards over the last decade. She looked for teachers using original or innovative methods to narrow her list and she sought out teachers with compelling stories to tell. She found Erik Herndon, a music teacher at Young Middle School in west Atlanta, after he earned recognition from the Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education last year.

The rules of rock apply to Erik Herndon’s music class: Play hard, be original and push limits.

Herndon, a rock guitarist and a teacher at Young Middle School in west Atlanta, uses the power of music to break through to city students.

Recently profiled in the book, “American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom,” Herndon works with kids learning to play pop hits like Lorde’s “Royals,” read sheet music, practice Christmas tunes and think critically about song composition.

“You have to be real in front of the kids,” Herndon said after finishing an orchestra class with 25 seventh-graders. “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you don’t care about what you do and can’t present it to them in a passionate way, they’ll run you out of the classroom.”

As students prepared to learn how to play “Moonlight Tango,” Herndon helped tune their violins, violas, cellos and double basses, rang a chime for a moment of silence and then gave individual attention to those who needed help, taking a violin to his shoulder to demonstrate.

He played a YouTube clip about tango, praised students when the group unified in harmonious sound and asked what went wrong when the tempo slowed.

In one recent guitar class, Herndon taught students how to play “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne as they echoed his calls of “Ay, ay, ay” during the anthem’s opening bars.

Herndon, who toured with a variety of bands in his 20s before earning a college degree, understands the need for standards and accountability in public education. But he said teachers need more flexibility.

“I’d just like to see a little more autonomy and trust and innovation allowed in the classroom,” said Herndon, who plays guitar and sings in a Marietta-based band, The Expats. “If you’re given a goal, you have to be allowed to figure out how to do it. You can’t be so scripted.”

Students said they appreciate Herndon’s hands-on teaching style.

“He’ll take you to the side if he sees you’re doing something wrong,” said student Shemar Franklin after orchestra class. “He pays attention to everyone.”

Herndon was one of 50 teachers profiled in “American Teacher.” Author Katrina Fried found him after he was named a recipient of the Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education last year.

Fried said Herndon, along with the other teachers in her book, believes there’s no such thing as an unteachable child, regardless of home life, educational background and skill set.

“Each teacher in this book is a wonderful example of how to succeed within a system that is unquestionably flawed and struggling, and not just to succeed but to thrive,” she said.

Herndon, the only teacher from Georgia profiled by Fried, partners with a nonprofit organization called Little Kids Rock, which gives free instruments to underserved schools. He said musical education teaches students how to focus, exercise discipline and analyze information as they experience the sounds they make.

In the book, Herndon describes how students could be better served if teachers were allowed more room for creative instruction.