By Bill Galluccio
When Sgt.
Jacob Kohut learned that his National Guard unit was being deployed to Washington, D.C., to help secure the inauguration of President-elect
Kohut has been teaching band at Canterbury Woods Elementary School and Frost Middle School for the past five years and was worried about how another interruption in learning could impact the kids. The last thing these students need is a disruption in their teaching, Kohut told the
Washington Post. I would rather teach the class, even if that means I m very tired.
To ensure that his students don t fall behind, he decided to host band class virtually from Capitol. He starts his day early, teaching his elementary school class from the drill floor of the D.C. Armory before his shift. After he is done, he heads out for a 12-hour shift guarding the Capitol Building.
| Credit: Canterbury Woods Elementary School Twitter
It s also not the first time he s combined his Army experiences with his love of music; he s played the bassoon and the saxophone in the 257th Army Band for the past 11 years. What I really wanted was to teach, the Michigan native told the
Post. My mom, who is a single mother, was a music teacher. That s why I do what I do, because she was such a good role model.
Canterbury Woods principal Diane Leipzig told the
Post that she offered to find Kohut, who is married and has a young son, a substitute to cover his lessons during his deployment, but he declined.