A mentor was having trouble getting through to a student. Then the Bremen freshman asked for a piano.

Mike Taylor said he was struggling in classes until a Bremen High School mentor walked him to the band room and let him play Beethoven on the piano.

“All year, I’ve been trying to break through to this kid,” said Terry Stephens, retired District 228 science teacher and current freshman mentor. “Then out of nowhere, he asks if he can have a piano.”

On April 3, months after Stephens and mentor Gwen Flood began working to get the teen back on track, Mike pulled out his phone and showed Stephens a video of himself playing classical music on the piano.

Incredulous, Stephens said he accompanied Mike to the music room and watched as the 15-year-old pounded out two different movements of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

“I did a transition where I went all the way up and then all the way down, to the third movement which is really fast,” Mike said.

“My jaw dropped,” Stephens said. “I had no clue he could play, and I’ve known him since the beginning of the school year.”

Stephens, who taught anatomy for many years at the Midlothian school, said, “I learned early in my teaching career that every kid has a button that turns them on and a button that turns them off. You’ve got to find that one that turns them on.”

Granted, he added, that is no small feat in a building that serves thousands of kids.

“Mike just happened to come to me,” Stephens said.

Two days later, during Friday Focus, a weekly 10-15 minute presentation on success, Stephens wheeled a piano into the Freshman Learning Center (FLC) and let Mike play for the other kids.

“Everyone had the same reaction. This is a kid who didn’t seem to care much about school or anything and here he is playing classical music,” Stephens said.

“I told them ‘Mike is a good example of the importance of looking for something that sparks your joy.’ I told them ‘Find yours and go after it,’” Stephens said.

Flood recorded Mike’s in-class performance and posted it to the Bremen High School District 228 Facebook page.

“A lot of times really creative people don’t do well in school,” Stephens said. “They don’t fit neatly into the mold of what a school does. They’re thinking out there when the school is in here.”

Flood said, “I’ve seen this over and over, when teachers bend over backwards to get through to a kid. It’s amazing. So many teachers here do that to help students find their passion.”

The result, Flood said, is that the kids who feel acknowledged and understood, “usually end up passing. That’s the potential.

“It’s great Mike had the comfort level to say, ‘Hey look at this video,’” she said. “There are probably a lot of kids out there who have skills we don’t know about but are too quiet or shy to share. It’s hard to figure out how to motivate them.”

Finding his joy

Mike, who is self-taught, said the inspiration to learn music began when he inherited an electric piano from his grandfather, who once sang in a barbershop quartet.

“When I first became interested both my mom and dad said I needed to take lessons. I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted to play. I wanted to learn how I wanted to learn,” Mike said. “So I taught myself.”

In seventh grade, he began his journey, relying on YouTube videos and memory.

“I started off simple with songs I liked,” he said.

Today, it’s not uncommon for him to play eight or nine hours a day.

“Piano is like a completely different language. You can tell if a song is romantic or sad or cheerful just by how it sounds. That’s a good way to express your emotions. And that’s important.”

His favorite piece is “Un Suspiro” by Franz Liszt.

Mike’s mom, Jennifer Taylor, said the blended family’s youngest child struggled with grades in seventh and eighth grade as well, something she attributed to “puberty and trying to be a class clown.”

She said, “When he got the piano we thought he might just tinker around with it. We had no idea he would teach himself to play the way he has. It just seems to come so natural to him.”

Jennifer Taylor said her son watches YouTube and within two days he has a Beethoven song down pat.

“He’ll just keep doing it until he gets it right,” she said. “It’s incredible.”

“There’s been multiple times when a song’s been way too hard, but I don’t give up,” Mike said. “If you really want to do it, you have to do it. If the way you’re learning isn’t working for you, then find another way to learn. Because if there’s a wall in front of you, you can’t go straight, you’ve got to go around it.”

His mother said he is applying that determination to his schoolwork. Mike said the recognition provided motivation he needed.

Stephens, Jennifer Taylor said, “is an amazing mentor.”

Since he played for his peers, he said, kids refer to him as “Music Mike.”

“People know me as the kid who plays piano now. I guess people look at me different,” he said. “It’s cool.”

He said “now that my teachers understand what I’m all about, what I’m interested in, I feel like they understand that school isn’t everyone’s entire life.”

Teachers who inspire

The teen’s passion may be music, but Stephens’ is tapping potential.

“Terry Stephens is a Bremen (High School) alum. He taught me science. He retired and we immediately asked him to come back,” said Jessica Rucinski, assistant principal of teaching and learning. “His passion is not giving up on kids. And he’s relentless.”

As a mentor in the FLC, a study space for freshman, she said, Stephens “gets to touch base with every freshman.”

Stephens also is the former mayor of Midlothian, making him a recognizable face in the community, she said.

“Our students see him everywhere, walking his dog, shopping for groceries,” she said.

Rucinski said she’s not surprised Mike felt comfortable enough to confide in him.

“And it’s just like Terry to go and get him a piano,” she said.

Adult mentors can sometimes reach a kid when teachers and even parents can’t, she said.

“Sometimes you need someone on the outside to care,” she said. “When someone cares, it can boost confidence.”

For some, she added, “high school may not be your No. 1 priority but you need to get through it, you need to get it done.

“This is a message about persevering and finishing,” she said. “Michael may not love school but we’re not going to give up on him. I think he realizes that.”

Stephens said, “One of the things we emphasize in education is the state of flow. Did you ever get into a project where you know what the next step is, you just know, and get a condition called flow, during which time doesn’t matter? You just enjoy doing it. The next thing you know you’ve spent four hours on it. Time melts away.”

Since the big reveal, which is now a hit on YouTube and other social media outlets, Stephens and the school’s band director, Ben Salgado, have decided to place the teen in Beginning Band so he can read music.

“This kid is a natural,” said Stephens, reaching out his hand to compare it with Mike’s finger span.

“He can reach 10 keys,” Stephens said.

Mike interrupts, “Um, 11.”