It's ALL Small Stuff

You know you've heard it - "Don't sweat the small stuff - and it's all small stuff."

I disagree.  Completely.  (cue tense music, probably a fully diminished chord....)

I'm certainly not trying to stress anyone out.  But as we move into the "end of the year", it's easy to let things go, not fight the battle, not push our kids to their full potential because we're tired.

NOT ME.  I refuse to accept less than their best from the first day of school to the last.  And some of them think I'm being mean, or unreasonable.  That's my favorite part - putting pressure on them, making them sweat a little bit.  Then, they really understand what it's worth to do MORE THAN WHAT'S COMFORTABLE OR EASY.

So I'll keep pushing.  Why? Because we have one of the most important jobs in the world.  We impact our students every day in ways that a math teacher, science teacher or PE teacher don't.  Not that they don't impact students too, it's just different.

I was asked the question a couple of days ago (for the senior video) what my favorite memory of this year was, and to give the seniors some advice.  Here's what I said:  "My favorite memory is every day.  Seeing you all realize your full potential, bloom when you're given the opportunity, and grow in ways you didn't know you could.  My advice to all of you is to NEVER pass up an opportunity when it's in front of you.  You'll never know what you are capable of if you don't take the chance."

So SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.  IT MATTERS.  PUSH.  HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS.  EVEN ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.

They matter that much.

Personal Responsibility

It's been a week!  Busy, fun, hard, rewarding, and frustrating.  I'm struggling to find something inspiring this week, so I am going to ask a question - and I'd love to hear your answers!

How do YOU get kids to really take personal responsibility?  To really own something and work so hard until they master it?

I have an ensemble that meets twice a week outside of the school day to rehearse.  We travel to festivals to perform, and the students enjoy it.  But it seems to be recreational to some of them - like most of our ensembles, right?  We have kids that are really serious and committed.  We have kids that just like to play.  We have kids whose parents are "making me do this".

This group has students from the first two categories.  I struggle to get the "just like to play" kids to take the personal responsibility required to make our group better.  I've been passive about it (not a good approach).  I've been threatening - the old "we won't go anywhere if you don't get these parts learned" (works once or twice a lifetime, it seems).  I've even tried to be inspiring - show them young people who have mastered this art form, play some recordings, talk about great artists...

What strategies do you use?  What ideas do you have?  I'm not going to say I've never had to deal with this, because I have.  I guess as I get older, it becomes more frustrating.  Then that frustration translates to the kids, and we're all miserable.

I don't want that!  I want to foster the love for this art form inside of them.  I want to help them get better.  I want to help them have more pride and ownership in this.

It's going to be hard for me to hit the "Publish" button on this one.  But sometimes we need help.

I'm listening - what do you do?

Have a great week!

I'm going to at least try!

Today in our 8th grade band rehearsal, I sat next to the last chair trumpet player.  He is such a nice young man.  And, I played trumpet with him.  I'm pretty sure I sound like Christopher Martin when I play.  Unless you ask someone else.

Anyway, we were getting ready to play a really difficult passage (range wise for him, and who am I kidding, me too).  There was an optional octave that was lower.  But I asked him which one he was planning to play, and he said, "I'm gonna try the higher one.  I'm going to at least try!"

THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR PROFESSION.

If we can provide our students with a safe place and get them to take a chance, THEN they begin to see their real potential, and they do things they didn't even know they could do.

I say this all the time, "How can I get them to do 'X' or 'Y'?"  And it usually boils down to the kind of environment I'm providing for them.

So, I continue to commit to making our rehearsal space a place kids feel secure about taking a chance.  I don't always get it right, but I keep trying!  Kind of like my trumpet playing....