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She has picked it up pretty
quickly and it’s because of his
teaching style. He’s straight with
her, tells her like it is. He doesn’t
do it in a strict way, but in a way
that pushes and motivates her.
There’s nothing wrong with
that,” she said.
His style, McDonald said, has
rubbed others the wrong way
in the past. Some believe he is
abrasive. “I call it as I see it. I can
be very stern with my words.
Maybe that’s from being the son
of a coach. I find myself saying
things my dad would say, like
‘do it right or don’t do it all,’ or
‘listen to what I say, not how I
say it.’ The thing is I don’t like
attitude or made-up excuses.
“I have lost students because
of it. But I also feel they find I am
their biggest cheerleader when
they do recitals or concerts. Give
me your best effort and you’ll get
mine,” he said.
That’s what he has asked from
his students since he started
teaching. That came after getting
his bachelor of science degree in
music, with a minor in theater,
from Bradley University. The
degree came after his second
stint at Bradley, the first being
interrupted by music, of course.
He was majoring in radio/TV
communications with a minor
in art when he got into a rock
band that he and his band mates
just knew was going to be their
vehicle to rock stardom. “We
got a bus and fixed it up with
beds, the whole bit. We played
a lot of places and were actually
pretty good. But eventually it
ended and I decided to go back to
Bradley. I changed my major to
music because I knew that I still
wanted to do that with my life,”
McDonald said.
After earning his degree he
taught part-time at Charter Oak
School and felt he was making
progress, teaching the younger
ones to sing and getting the older
students into instruments. Under
his tutelage the school made a
couple children’s albums and