Mike Michalicek is retiring as a public school teacher this year. The following is a revised excerpt from a letter submitted to the Jazz Educators of Iowa to nominate Michalicek to the JEI of Hall of Fame (Al Naylor was ultimately selected).
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Mike Michalicek, or “Checker” as he is commonly known, may not have the statewide name-recognition as other long serving music educators, but his impact like Mike himself, has been sizeable. He is best known in the Cedar Valley area where his family roots run deep and his teaching career of 35 years has touched many lives. Choosing not to pursue a career path to high-powered programs around the state, Michalicek has used his special brand of personal attention and street-wise charisma to spread the power and joy of music in Waterloo public schools.
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His teaching career began in the fall of 1978 and he has taught at all levels of education from elementary general music to high school band. In 1992 he was recognized a “Gold Star Teacher” by the Robert McElroy Foundation and KWWL TV. His jazz bands have won numerous NEIBA Jazz Festivals and have been featured performers at the IBA Convention in Des Moines. Today you can find “Checker” finishing his teaching career at Waterloo’s Central Intermediate School and playing in his popular band “Checker and the Bluetones.”
But awards, official recognition and his record of excellence do not tell the whole story.
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An article in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier (http://wcfcourier.com/rocking-on/article_7253d476-541d-5d8d-a3e2-8dd8009ea9f3.html) details a classic Michalicek project from a few years back. It was at the Expo alternative high school where he guided students in a rock band-based class where they crafted tunes, rehearsed, improved their musical skills and basically learned how to engage, cooperate, negotiate and succeed. Although some of these students may have eventually moved away from active music making, their image of themselves and what they could accomplished was forever altered.
I know many excellent teachers who inspire and truly educate. Mike Michalicek has done this and more. He taught students how to play, perform and experience the true joy and power of music. By doing so, he changed lives and probably saved a few.