Last week, the Grammys bestowed an important award on the sort of person who should always be honored: a middle-school music teacher. After 15 years of teaching music at Maplewood Middle School in Sulphur, Louisiana and being nominated five times, Mickey Smith Jr. took home his prize: the Grammy Music Educator Award.

On Thursday, January 23, at the Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, Bebe Rhexa headlined an event called the 2020 GRAMMY In The Schools Live. It was the 11th annual time the GRAMMY Museum hosted this celebration, which filled the audience and the stage with students, as well as industry. 

The Recording Academy specified that it chose Mickey Smith Jr, based on his ability to make students feel “loved, valued and wanted.” When he accepted his award,  he said, “[Educating] is the noblest of professions because it’s so giving. These are folks who are not in it for the money, they are not in it for the fame. They are in it to see that the next generation becomes the best generation.” He and nine finalists of the educator award will receive cash honorariums, which will help them continue to do the valuable work they do on a daily basis.

Every interview and google search of Mickey Smith Jr will show you that this award could not have gone to a lovelier human. If you’d like to learn more about his “Discover Your Sound” philosophy or if you would like a copy of his children’s book or if you are a teacher who will like to join his community and get tips you can learn more here.