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I play guitar – haphazardly – the best I can. I taught myself just playing on my parents’ porch in Princeton. When my son was born, I knew I’d be sticking around the house more often. I decided to buy a nice acoustic guitar and get better at it. That was the original plan. Keep that in mind.
Instead, a persuasive little old man at the store – with a fine, old-time country drawl – convinced me to buy a cheap yellow ukulele. OK ... say “yellow ukulele” five times fast and see what happens! I didn’t find a guitar I liked, so I bought the ukulele, figuring I could joke and jack around with it on the porch. But that uke quickly became a fun little friend: It was easy to play, and it was awfully handy.
I play tennis. Really well. I played in college and high school. I had taught tennis to adults at Illinois Central College on warm summer evenings, and I wanted to teach it again. I like to teach, and I do it well – especially tennis teaching. It’s an opportunity to hit more tennis balls! So I approached Illinois Valley Community College with the idea: summer tennis for adults at night. We could all hit balls together after work. That was my original plan.
But they wanted a couple of other continuing education course suggestions. I had to give them three. I didn’t know what to do, so I also suggested the uke and business communications. This was in 2008.
It turned out that a LOT of people wanted to learn the ukulele! Not so many adults were keen on tennis or business communications. I became a uke instructor – change of plans. But what the heck! It’s good to always be learning, and it’s good to always be teaching. I had taught some regular community college courses – the serious academic stuff – and doing the continuing ed stuff looked like a lot more fun.
I taught my uke class – as a fun, personal hobby on weekends – at Illinois Central College, Kankakee Community College, Kishwaukee College, Illinois Valley Community College, Joliet Junior College, the College of DuPage and Sauk Valley Community College. It was popular. Successful. I taught from 2008 to 2025. Seventeen years. Excellent ratings. I earned excellent reviews! It’s fun to teach. It’s a fun instrument, and people taking the class had tons of fun! Five stars!
Things slowed down after the great coronavirus life stoppage of 2020. There were many fewer students, and the numbers never came back to the level before ... but this said, I calculate I’ve taught over 1,200 people how to play the uke.
Never in my life would I imagine that I’d carve “uke instructor extraordinaire” next to my name. It’s just not impressive. But I’ve had a ton of fun myself along the way. Sometimes life throws things at you and you go with it ... so much for that original plan of getting a guitar and playing more tennis!
I figure I’ve made some happy strummers and I’ve brought some joy into many people’s lives. I’m hoping they found the gift of music – and, maybe more importantly, the gift of discovering they can actually do things ... things they’ve never done before, things that are different. The more you do it, the better you get! Stretch yourself and do something new. The most gratifying moments were when little old ladies came up to me after class, happy as can be, and happy they can play the music they love. I’ve been hugged and kissed by many grandmas.
My last class was in March at the College of DuPage. The class was a good crew, and they encouraged me to keep teaching once they found out it was my last go. But it’s time. ... It is time. It’s really the end, and I want to write new chapters in my life. I’ve got a lot of great ideas and plenty of energy to go.
So, right now, I’m taking my teaching uke, the one I used for almost all the classes – I don’t know how many classes – and I’m having a stencil made for the back of it: “THANK YOU” in big letters on the backside, with “You Can Uke! Over 1,200 happy customers served, 2008-2025.”