Stephen Tumblin reflected on the feeling he gets when he sees things start to click for his students.
“Honestly, I get a little emotional thinking about it,” said the Albert Cammon Middle School band director. “I get some happy tears, because when I was a kid, man, I didn’t have many people who believed in me when it came to going into music. My sisters were the main people who gave me that support and pushed me to do what my heart desired.
“And if I can be that person for my students – and then you see their own belief in themselves grow – it’s tough to put into words, but it means everything.”
Tumblin has taught band at Cammon for the past seven years. His journey to that role began when he received a toy drum set when he was 4 years old.
“I just stuck with it,” Tumblin said. “I always had a love of music.”
He began playing piano at six, but gravitated back to drums – he began playing on hand drums at Mount Zion Baptist Church in St. Rose.
“And eventually, I started playing on my drum set and kept growing the love for it through middle school, high school and finally went to college for it,” Tumblin said.
For Tumblin, who was a self-professed “shy kid,” it was a way to express himself.
“I could really express my emotions fully, without using words,” Tumblin said. “And I wasn’t a very extroverted kid, but when I played music, I felt like I could be more expressive and could tell people exactly how I felt through how I played.”
He said there are everyday rewards from working with his students.
“For me, it’s the tiny victories,” Tumblin said. “A kid struggling or they think they can’t do something. And finally, when it does happen, you see that switch just flip in their brain, like ‘oh man, I can actually do this.’ I love seeing kids build more confidence in themselves and just strive for greatness.”
To that end, among the key traits he annually hopes to instill in his pupils is perseverance.
“Never give up, have patience and a strong work ethic,” said Tumblin of what he hopes students take from his lessons. “I’ll always tell them to be humble as well – be great at what you do, but always be humble. And always continue learning.”
Demonstrating the importance of the latter item to his students, Tumblin consistently makes a point to continue learning new instruments himself.
“It’s something I want to convey to them whether they plan to continue on in band past middle school or not,” said Tumblin. “You learn things through band that will help you in other areas of life. So, I still try to show them the importance of building that work ethic. The importance of continuing to learn and better your knowledge.”
He honed his own skills at Destrehan High School, where he was a member of the Pride of Destrehan Marching Band.
That drum line, he said, was very strong and very competitive, and that made it very easy for Tumblin to motivate himself.
“I developed a real competitive spirit,” he said. “And that made me better in high school and better in college.”
For two consecutive years, the Cammon band has earned superior ratings at the Louisiana Music Educators Association assessment. Last school year, Tumblin saw the largest turnout of students trying out for honor band that he’s had in his tenure.
“Seeing them get out of their shell and striving for something big – going for district honor band, parish honor band – it’s awesome to see,” Tumblin said.
