In a letter dated July 17, 2007, one of Ellen Bowen’s current students wrote:
Ellen has been an extraordinary influence on me not only as a musician, but a person. Ellen Bowen is the person who showed interest in my talent and gave me every possible means by which to develop it. From playing in pit orchestras, allowing me to play famous pipe organs on our European tour in 2006, and even allowing me to conduct the GPS graduation ceremony this year. It is because of Ellen and her support that I plan on majoring in music. She is the one who suggested that I start taking organ lessons, and I now love it and plan to major in it. Ellen also believes that I could someday conduct major orchestras and does everything she can to help me, most recently appointing me as a student director of the freshmen women. She brings out talents in certain people, me included, that I never thought were possible. She gave me a leading role in South's production of Beauty and the Beast and I never imagined that I would be able to play my part as well as I did. As a person, Ellen has showed me that if you really desiresomething, you never give up. Her rehearsals teach time management skills, and I find it very hard to get started and focus on my homework on nights when I don't have choir. She is not only the best music teacher I've ever had, but the best teacher that I'veever had, and a most importantly a terrific person.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Letter from a Former Student, Class of '93
In a letter dated July 2, 2007, one of Ellen's former students wrote:
When I entered my freshman year at Grosse Pointe South I was singing in a rock-band and experimenting with any substance I could get my hands on. Ellen recruited me to sing in the choir, and by my sophomore year I landed the lead in the spring musical.
Ellen demanded a work-ethic I didn’t know existed. She held me accountable for my actions, but held no punches, or grudges.
Ellen was instrumental in my gaining acceptance to the University of Michigan, where, during my freshman year, Ellen phoned me, and requested I drive back from Ann Arbor to meet with her, which I did. It was during this visit I received the harshest reprimand I have received to this day. Ellen told me she heard I had been partying too much when I should have been studying. She was right. I stopped.
Years later, Ellen wrote a letter of recommendation which helped me gain acceptance to graduate school at New York University. She never stopped keeping tabs on me.
This, above all else, is what sets Ellen Bowen apart from other teachers: she cares.
Ellen’s methods are brilliant, if sometimes unorthodox, and her results are amazing. For proof of this, I suggest you take a stroll through the choir-room at Grosse Pointe South: awards cover the walls.
For further proof, please consult the trophy cases lining the hallways. There are many, many more packed away in boxes in closets and storerooms around the school. If you look deep enough, you might find my name on a few of them…one of thousands of names etched on dusty awards from local, national, and international competitions.
But these names are only links to real people who, over the years, have been affected by Ellen’s love for, and devotion to her students.
I suggest you follow these links, and speak to Ellen’s former students. These are Ellen’s real awards. In speaking to these students, you will no doubt hear many of the same adjectives repeated again, and again: tough, passionate, driven, and caring.
Ellen Bowen is not only one of the finest teachers available, but she is also a wonderful, caring individual. Her passion for music and education, combined with her genuine affection for her students make her an invaluable asset to Michigan’s department of education, and future students.
I cannot say enough about Ellen Bowen; her contribution to my life has been immeasurable.
When I entered my freshman year at Grosse Pointe South I was singing in a rock-band and experimenting with any substance I could get my hands on. Ellen recruited me to sing in the choir, and by my sophomore year I landed the lead in the spring musical.
Ellen demanded a work-ethic I didn’t know existed. She held me accountable for my actions, but held no punches, or grudges.
Ellen was instrumental in my gaining acceptance to the University of Michigan, where, during my freshman year, Ellen phoned me, and requested I drive back from Ann Arbor to meet with her, which I did. It was during this visit I received the harshest reprimand I have received to this day. Ellen told me she heard I had been partying too much when I should have been studying. She was right. I stopped.
Years later, Ellen wrote a letter of recommendation which helped me gain acceptance to graduate school at New York University. She never stopped keeping tabs on me.
This, above all else, is what sets Ellen Bowen apart from other teachers: she cares.
Ellen’s methods are brilliant, if sometimes unorthodox, and her results are amazing. For proof of this, I suggest you take a stroll through the choir-room at Grosse Pointe South: awards cover the walls.
For further proof, please consult the trophy cases lining the hallways. There are many, many more packed away in boxes in closets and storerooms around the school. If you look deep enough, you might find my name on a few of them…one of thousands of names etched on dusty awards from local, national, and international competitions.
But these names are only links to real people who, over the years, have been affected by Ellen’s love for, and devotion to her students.
I suggest you follow these links, and speak to Ellen’s former students. These are Ellen’s real awards. In speaking to these students, you will no doubt hear many of the same adjectives repeated again, and again: tough, passionate, driven, and caring.
Ellen Bowen is not only one of the finest teachers available, but she is also a wonderful, caring individual. Her passion for music and education, combined with her genuine affection for her students make her an invaluable asset to Michigan’s department of education, and future students.
I cannot say enough about Ellen Bowen; her contribution to my life has been immeasurable.
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