Watch CBS News

'It Blew My Mind': Drexel Hill Middle School Teacher's Invaluable Life Lessons Leads To Being Grammy Award Finalist

DREXEL HILL, Pa. (CBS) -- The Grammy Awards is just a couple of days away. One of the honors given is the Music Educator Award, recognizing a teacher who has made a remarkable impact on their students' lives.

"I'm very energetic with them. I'm loud," said Jason Majerczak, a Grammy Educator Award nominee.

Majerczak's Drexel Hill Middle School students are a big fan of the music teacher.

"He makes it fun and exciting," said Kaylen Davis.

"He's just a really good teacher," said student John McCarthy said.

They'll tell you that Majerczak's passion for inspiring his young musicians is contagious.

"Those dynamics are what make it really exciting," Majerczak said.

"He just doesn't just help you with music and stuff. He also teaches us about confidence and he helps us with that and you feel really good about yourself," student Rita Dobbins said. "By the time you leave the room, your confidence level is through the roof and you want to help others and pass it to them too."

Rita is one of his band students at Drexel Hill Middle School in the Upper Darby School District, where "Mr. M," as they call him, has worked for more than 20 years -- often seen playing right alongside them.

It's where one of his former students nominated him for the Grammy's Music Educator Award.

He was one of more than 3,000 initial applicants from across the country and Mr. M was selected as one of the finalists.

"To be considered one of the top 10 in the country, it blew my mind," Majerczak said.

But for his students, it makes perfect sense.

"I was not surprised at all. It was like, he really deserves this," Rita said, "and I really think it's an amazing thing to happen."

Majerczak says while it's nice to be recognized, his mission will always be to encourage and inspire to help his students become better people.

"There's so many life lessons that they learn through music," Majerczak said. "How to work as a team, how to take failure, how to manage success. Whatever it takes, whatever it takes to up your game. It's cool when you see them get something they didn't think they'd be able to do.

"We talk about it all the time. If you want something enough, if you work hard enough at it, you will be able to do it."

Majerczak made it to the top 10, but unfortunately, he wasn't this year's winner.

But clearly, Majerczak has a passion for teaching that has impacted so many of his students.

Life lessons his students say are invaluable -- Grammy winner or not.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.