TEACHER'S CORNER: ALLCOCK USES `WHOLE' PERSON TO TEACH MUSIC

JACKSON -- Ruth Ann Allcock tries to teach more than just whole notes in her music classes at West Lane Elementary School.

Allcock, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade music classes, uses the "whole" person as well.

"I want every student to be prepared for a future in music," she said. "Since all will not follow this path, I also try to nourish their appreciation for different types of music."

Some of the fondest memories Allcock has collected in her 26 years of teaching are the times former students visit.

"My grown-up students come back and tell me how much my class meant to them, and they show me exactly where they sat in class or where they stood on the risers during their Christmas program."

Other visits Allcock remembers are the ones from a student "who started out in trouble, gets his act together and becomes not only a good student, but also a friend," she said.

Allcock and her husband, Michael, have one son.