Real Teacher Life with Sarah | SBU Vocal Professor
Dr. Sarah Howes is an associate professor of music at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, where she teaches voice, choir, and opera, and directs musicals.
She has poured herself into the SBU music department for a couple of years now, whether that is in a one on one voice lesson, on the stage of a musical, in the dramatic scenes of an opera, or across the table in a meeting. We sat down with her to talk about teaching, finding purpose in the arts, and what keeps her grounded through a full season.
Meet Sarah Howes, College Music Professor
What's your name and what do you teach?
Sarah Howes, Dr. Sarah Howes, but don’t ask me to perform surgery. I am a associate professor of music at Southwest Baptist University, and I teach all things singing. Voice lessons one on one, Choir, Opera, directing musicals, and opera, are all things I do at SBU as well.
What does your morning look like before students walk in?
Sure so, Bible study and then score study. Looking at the music that my individual students are learning and reminding myself what I can work on them with this week. Studying the score for the choir pieces and opera directing. Reminding myself what scenes need to be worked on, what the choir studied.
What's your favorite thing about being a teacher?
Watching kids discover, explore, and create with the God given talents they’ve been given. And using that together. I love that I get to see community. Watching people create things together is very heartwarming.
What's one routine that keeps you grounded during a busy stretch?
My family. Playing games with my kids, going on hikes, throw the frisbee around, atching movies. Just being real with y family, makes the worki easy.
What made you want to do this, and is that still the reason you stay?
Anything in life you go in thinking one thing and then it evolves into something different. That’s happened 5-6 times in my life already. SO, the drive to perform and sing eventually died down and turned into creating that opportunity and discovery. From ages 5 to 75.
What's your go-to hobby outside of teaching?
I love to quilt and sew, and cross stitch, just creating with my hands. I’ve tried knitting and crocheting and it just doesn’t work out.
Are you reading anything right now? If so, what?
I just finished reading about a year or two ago, reading a lot on the First Ladies of the United States. Because I did a show were a composer wrote 5 songs for me and two other individuals to bring on a tour. I learned a lot of Elenor Roosevelt, Dolly Madison, Mary Lincoln, Laura Bush. Spent a lot of time learning about their life.
What do you wish parents and students knew about how to make the most of your class?
To be unafraid to just rtry. The art are exposing and we crituque them. So daily I’m asking students to be their most vunerable selves. It’s hard when you’re really young to do that, especially in front of peers. Some of the best moments I’ve had with my student shave been when they just try.
What’s a book that you wish students and parents would read?
Let Them by Mel Robins, and it’s about how you’re going to come across people in your life that who are just going to bring a negative attitude into every conversations. Learning to not take on that stress and that worry into your own life. Friendships and relationships have to part because of that toxicity and let them be them. Bring joy to that person but not let that steal your own joy.
How do you plan your week? Are you a planner person, sticky note person, or it’s an all in your head person?
I feel like this is a trap, haha. I am definitely an it’s all in my head person. Until it’s not all in my head and I have to use a planner of some sort.
What would you want to go back and tell yourself as a student?
Practice, and try harder. Don’t let the neigh-sayers get in your hea. There’s always going to be people that don’t like you or like how you teach. And that’s ok! Just go explore more, there’s so much out there, and to be excited for it.
What are you genuinely happy about right now?
My family. Everything about you guys. Watching Emma graduate, Emmmit growing up. And just my family at school. Everywhere I go, I try to make a family community out of.
Favorite way to reset after a full day of work?
Oh coming home, turning on a no brainer show like Friends, Gilmore Girls, and How I Met Your Mother.
Current fixation — drink, snack, show, anything?
Well that’a tricky because I’m on a diet. Before my daughter became a barista, I never used to drink coffee but now I do a good coffee that resembles hot chocolate. And as far as a treat goes, my favorite are Reese’s peanut butter cups with salt on top, but not right now. :(
One thing you're looking forward to?
Me and my daughters trip to Nova Scotia!!
What Sarah’s Story Says About Finding Purpose in the Work
Sarah earned her doctoral degree in music at the University of Minnesota, and those long hours showed her how much she loved the arts. She found purpose in the work through the lessons taught in songs and through people, the community built around music, and the impact it has had on so many of her students.
Her advice to not let the naysayers get in your head is a small lesson in letting go of comparison and other people's opinions, and her take on the book Let Them is a reminder that keeping the friendships that actually fill you up sometimes means letting the draining ones go. What stays constant for Sarah is the joy she finds in helping people create something together.
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