HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — Inside the orchestra room at Hudsonville Public Schools' brand new building for 5th and 6th graders, Sarah Lenhart walks between instrument sections, giving one-on-one instruction, while her identical twin sister, Becky Bush, leads the class in tuning exercises.
"Communication is, of course, really easy," said Lenhart.
Both of them say teaching their students as a whole comes easier when you know your partner so well.
"I think as twins, we have kind of that common language, common viewpoint, we happen to have common training as well, common pedagogy, so we approach everything, you know, in a really similar way," added Bush.
While not quite twin telepathy, Lenhart and Bush say that are in tune with each other enough to not have to use words to know what they need to do next.
"We don't have to talk about what we're going to do, we just do it, and I can just look her direction, and she knows which kid I want her to help or what direction we're gonna go for the rest of the class," said Bush.
Lenhart added that their shared experiences and common vision for their students has them on the same beat.
"We've had so many common experiences that we can glance at each other, and pretty much guess what the other person is wanting to do next in the class."
Their sixth grade orchestra students say two teachers means twice the fun.
"Since cello, base, viola and violin are so different, they all split up and take care of the two and it's nice to have both of them," said one of their students.
Another student piped in, saying that the two also enjoy some competition in class, which prompted laughter out of the other students and Lenhart.
With twice the fun, comes twice the experiences, as both Lenhart and Bush studied music education at the University of Michigan, but parted ways for their graduate programs, and amassed experiences from different parts of the country
"From our other experiences, we kind of brought a lot of different knowledge from other places we've taught. I think it's made us better teachers," said Lenhart.
Music and education has always been a part of their lives, as their father was an orchestra teacher who also comes in once a week to work with their students, and both Lenhart and Bush's husbands are also musicians and educators, who accompany the students in the concerts.
"We do like to perform together, sometimes we'll go to nursing homes and play together, and now all the next generation, the grandkids are starting to play in school, and they're having fun playing together," said Lenhart.
The family has also co-authored books and ran fiddle camps together.
While it is easy to imagine students having a hard time telling apart identical teachers, their students say that they have found more ways aside from their color-coded lanyards.
"When they wear a shawl or cardigan over again, then you can kind of tell," said one student.
"I'm able to remember it because their hair is like slightly different. One is a little bit more wavy than the other," said another student as their classmates expressed agreement.
Bush also began the orchestra program at Hudsonville Schools back in 2001, and never dreamed that they would be housed in a brand new building, teaching alongside her sister.
"It's energizing. I think we're excited about what we're doing. We're excited about what we're doing with students, and to be able to do that together is fun," said Bush who also thanks their Hudsonville Schools community. "We are blessed with amazing colleagues. We have both worked with amazing colleagues throughout our entire careers and had great team teaching situations."
When the students were asked what they would like to add to the story, one quickly said:
"Best orchestra teacher in the nation!" who then quickly corrected themselves to say "teachers."
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.