An interview with Kalle Akkerman

Learning to teach and to love teaching:
An interview with Kalle Akkerman

Kalle Akkerman is in his seventh year of teaching in his home program at Austin High School, and in our December 2024 interview he reflected on the challenges and gifts of a changing community and how he has learned to love teaching.

Tell me about your professional journey – how did you get here?

I went to Luther College and got a degree in organ and church music and K-12 music education. I’ve been a church musician in multiple places. But I didn’t start teaching full time until 2018.  I taught at Luard High School in Rochester for one year, and after that my predecessor at Austin called and he said, “Hey, I’m going to retire. And you need to apply for the job.”

I’m still a farm boy and that’s probably the biggest reason I wanted to come back. At that time, I was traveling home a couple times a week to farm with my dad. I wanted to be closer to the family farm. I always said I’d come back to Austin if two things were in place: if I had the right life partner and the right job. Both of those things happened at the same time, so I applied for the job. Out of about 75 people, for some reason they gave it to me. Now, I’m in my seventh year in Austin and in addition to this job I farm, have a private piano/organ/voice studio, and I drive bus, too, for the fun of it.

Tell us about the program in Austin.

I have 3 class choirs of grades 9-12, a “Y’all come” choir, a 10th through 12th grade auditioned treble chorus, and a 10th through 12th grade auditioned concert choir.

And in addition to that, we also have co-curricular choirs. We’ve got the Choralaires and the Austinaires, which have been around for 70 years. As we’re getting ready for the holidays, we’ve had 23 performances in the last 18 days. We do a 30-minute set of holiday music and we go all over Austin to perform. We do a lot in our community and the community is really supportive.

What has surprised you about teaching in Austin? 

Since I graduated from high school in 2011 Austin has changed a lot. Hormel Foods is based in Austin, and that’s part of what makes it a very diverse community. People come to work here from all over the world. Part of this job is being aware of all the different languages my students speak and really becoming more of an EL teacher on top of music. Choral music is a great tool to being multilingual and connecting with kids. So that’s been a surprise that I didn’t expect. It’s also a really good thing.

Another thing that surprised me coming home to Austin was realizing how much I had missed all the authentic food that we have here from all the various cultures that are present. We have some really top-notch restaurants here that few people even know about.

And finally, another big surprise is that I would stay as long as I have. I initially thought I would teach for a little while and then go to graduate school. But I’m not interested in that anymore. This is a great place to be for me, and we can make college level music here because of the kids and because of this community support.

What has changed since you started teaching in Austin?

When I started here, the program was 350 kids, and then Covid happened, and we’ve been trying to rebuild since then. It’s been a challenge. But through Covid I had to learn how to be a better teacher. We all did. Maybe one of the reasons the universe decided to bring me here was to help me learn how to teach. Austin has been a good place for that.

And again, the community is changing in its identity. I think true diversity is making a wider bench. We have expanded our musical offerings, and we’re trying to get more musical expressions happening in our schools, too. However, there’s been a push for schools to promote career readiness, and students are looking at their course choices and not necessarily choosing choir. There are so many life skills you can learn in our music courses, but students don’t immediately see that. That continues to be a struggle.

What are some gifts of teaching in your home program?

Hormel Foods is an amazing supporter of the arts in Austin. They put money into both our school system and community for music. We get a $50,000 grant from Hormel every year to use the music department as we see fit. We use it to purchase instruments, we have refurbished our piano, and our building is a 13.5 million dollar music suite across the street from the main building. The financial support is a gift.

Have there been any surprises you’ve faced in returning to teach at home?

There’s been one expected challenge, and one pleasant surprise. The expected was that the shoes that I had to fill were massive. My predecessor, Brian Johnson, was a nationally recognized teacher and a stellar human. Mr. Johnson lived and breathed music and built this program into what it was. And I love the man. Those were big shoes to fill, and that was a challenge for the first few years for all the kids that had learned from him. I stepped in as a young teacher with my own ideas and my own insecurities and challenges. It has taken a few years to settle in, but it’s slowly becoming mine. He has always been very supportive.

The surprise is how much I really learned to enjoy teaching. I’ve always loved music, but the teaching itself is fun. I didn’t expect that.

Do you have any advice for those teachers who find themselves teaching at their Alma Mater?

I got advice from one of my co-teachers when I 1st started teaching, which was, you stay wherever you start, stay somewhere 3 years. By the third year you’ll have a better sense of what you’re doing, you’ll know what you don’t know, and things should hopefully be running smoothly. I say, if you’re teaching at your Alma Mater, you need to give it 7 years. It has taken me a long time to feel comfortable. Everybody’s experience is different. I recommend that when teaching at home, it’s important to give it time.

Elisabeth Cherland

Dr. Elisabeth Cherland is a fourth-generation choral conductor as well as professor, singer, song leader, violinist, and Lutheran church musician. As Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, she teaches courses in choral methods, conducting, private voice, and conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. She lives with her partner Kent and their two children in St. Peter. She loves storytelling and story-hearing, doughnuts, bubble tea, running (when the temperature is perfect and the course is flat), and sunshine when it’s available.