Morrow High School guitar teacher helps students find their rhythm

At Morrow High School, music teacher Julien Dooley doesn't wait for students to come to him.

Sometimes, he brings the music to them — guitar in hand, playing in the hallways between classes, at pep rallies and school events.

"He'll perform at the pep rallies, in the hallway…he just loves to be around the kids and will just perform and make us all happy," student Gianni Grace said.

For Dooley, the guitar is more than an instrument. It's a way to connect with his students.

"I keep my guitar on me at all times. So, one day while I was just carrying the guitar, a student said, 'You got your guitar, but I don't hear nothing.' And then I said, 'What do you want to hear?'"

The answer doesn't have to be complicated. Dooley plays, students gather and, for a moment, the hallway becomes a stage.

Principal Lawvigneaud D. Harrell said the music has become part of the culture at Morrow High.

"Mr. Dooley has had a profound impact on our school and on our students' interest in being a part of our fine arts pathways. They see him every day playing in the hallway to hear his music. He plays at different functions, here at school and also in the community. When students see him, they automatically they get excited, and it just it brightens up their day."

But the real work happens inside Dooley's classroom, where he meets students where they are — starting with the music already on their playlists.

"I built my entire curriculum based off of the things that my students enjoy to listen to. So any song that's in their playlist, I write that song out myself and I teach it to them myself."

That approach is drawing more students to the class.

"When you have a teacher like Mr. Dooley, it sparks an interest from our students. You can see the increase in enrollment, within his classroom, the number of students that want to sign up to be a part of his class. So you can see the interest in the school and in the community. From our students and from our parents, they line up and try to sign up for his class," Harrell said.

Dooley's connection to music started long before he became a teacher. His mother directed a children's choir, and his brother played music professionally. He grew up surrounded by it — and eventually turned that passion into a career performing himself, and now, teaching.

For student Melany Valdez Cabrera, Dooley has taught something just as important as music: confidence.

"One good teacher can change your life because with Dooley specifically, He pushed me to be more confident in myself and to not be so afraid."

That wasn't easy at first.

"At first, I did not want to be in that class because of the performances. And I was, like, really scared of, like, just performing in front of people. But I had to stay in it. And actually, I really, really enjoyed it….And he's always just like giving us more opportunities to be ourselves."

Dooley has one rule in his classroom that reinforces that idea: Don't say the C word: Can't. 

"I tell my students every single day, don't say the C word!"

For his students, there's no mystery about what that means.

"Can't...it's like a cuss word," Valdez Cabrera said through a laugh.

Instead, Dooley tells his students to keep going — even when the music gets hard.

"He always tells us, like, just try. Even if it's hard. Never give up. Like, you always got to keep trying," student Lawrence Goodwin said.

Grace said she's taken that lesson with her beyond the music classroom.

"Honestly, I use it in all my classes. Like instead of saying, oh, I just don't know and I'm just not going to do it, I try to apply myself in everything I do and take his advice into consideration."

It's a lesson Dooley's fellow teachers see taking root.

"He's very passionate. He loves it. So, the students, they pick up on it. So, they want to do more. They want to grow. They want engage in what he's doing," Morrow High School band director Teddy Taylor said.

For Dooley, that's the bigger lesson behind every chord, song and performance.

"I just want them to recognize that there's nothing in this world that you're not able to do. As long as you think it through and you continue to put forth the effort, the world is at your grasp."

At Morrow High, Dooley is teaching students to pick up an instrument, find their confidence and keep going — even when the song isn't easy.

Because sometimes, finding your rhythm starts with simply refusing to quit.