Catherine Miller

Professional Biography

My adventures in teaching began in the preschool classroom, where I was happily at home developing curriculum, stories, and classroom layouts to best serve the learning needs of little humans. Through a series of God-orchestrated shifts, I was called upon to utilize my experience in children’s ministry and musical theater, and my teaching focus was redirected towards Worship and Performing Arts. Since 2008 it has been my honor and joy to work in a variety of educational settings, exploring creative expression, music, and theatrical storytelling with students ages two through fourteen.

Personal Biography

A native to San Jose, I am the mother of four amazingly creative kids, with three grown and one at home. In addition to music and theater, I admire a variety of artistic mediums, and have recently joined a writing group.

Christian Philosophy of Education

Every human bears the image of God, and is compelled, therefore, to innovate and imagine. We are designed to be designers, created to create, and are thus compelled to commune with our Creator, and one another -via the creative arts. Song, movement, visual design, storytelling... these are the defining languages of humanity.

Music is one of the most flexible and accessible of these. It is a language that is, at once, commonplace and miraculous, inherent and divine. It belongs to all, and can be articulated as poignantly by a child with a bucket and a stick as by Yo-Yo Ma with his cello. Music engages body, sense, and soul. It activates the mind, and frees the spirit.

While creative expression through music and the arts is our natural inclination, the achievement of musical literacy (aka: full, joyful use of the language) is acquired by objective aim. And it’s during childhood that fluency can be attained best; much in the same way a child attains fluency in his or her native tongue -- through submersion, mentorship, and regular use.

As a Worship & Performing Arts teacher, it is my job to –

• Provide an atmosphere overflowing with creativity, worship, and song
• Break down the ‘language’ into developmentally attainable building blocks
• Provide abundant opportunity for children to work with their ‘blocks’ (explore, exercise, and enjoy them), and put them to use communicating, celebrating, and declaring God’s praise