What is wrong with today's youth???

I was in the parking lot of a music store I was headed to yesterday, and a truck pulled in next to me and the driver flipped me off, got out of the truck, began yelling obscenities at me about "taking his parking spot" (even though he parked in the one right next to me?) and continued his tirade as I walked into the building to do my business.

He was a young person, maybe 18 or 19 years old.  Dressed like Vanilla Ice (nailed it, by the way) and was ready for a fight.  I ignored it.

But when I returned to my truck, he had kicked a dent in my door.  Wow.  What is wrong with today's youth?

They need us to teach them manners, courtesy, decorum in public places, how to deal with people, how to communicate, how to be a human.  And teaching music does that so well.  All of those things- without changing much of our curriculum or objectives.  It's just there in our every day lives.  And that's awesome.

I came back to school, finished my day with our students, reflected later that day on our school year, and I realized that there isn't anything wrong with today's youth.  Nothing. At. All.

Want me to prove it?  Just come and spend a few days with our students.  You'll see it.  And then you'll know how much good is inside them, how much they have to offer, how much they WANT to do good in our world.  Just give them a chance.

I'd venture a guess that my Vanilla Ice "friend" never took band.

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....

WE WERE ON A BREAK!!!

Famous words from a famous sitcom from the early 90s.  And the topic of my blog post this week.

Sometimes, we work really hard at this thing we call teaching.  And sometimes, we need to REST.  I was fortunate enough to attend the CBDNA convention, spend some great quality time with my family, and even get some work done around the house (I still have so much to do....)

In my Philosophy of Music Education class, while pursuing my Master of Music Education, my professor, Dr. Randy Pembrook, taught us one of the greatest words in the world to use as a teacher - NO.

Why is this such a great word?  Because sometimes, we need to say no.  We need to say no to bringing home the extra work that could be done later.  We need to say no to meetings that happen just for the sake of meetings (especially when working with kids is more important).  We need to say no to students that don't meet deadlines that then create more work for us.  And how else will they learn?

I love my job.  But sometimes, we need to take a break. It's okay.

So, I took a break.  And it was good.

And now, we are back in school and driving to finish strong.  I love this "season" in our year.  So much to do, so many opportunities for kids, and then we get ready for the next "season".   It's an exciting time - adding a new and amazing staff member, getting ready to watch kids graduate, our last concert, and so many other things.

Break's over.  Let's get to work!

What is your "why"?

I know you've heard this before.  I actually "stole" it from one of my mentors, Dr. Parisi.  He challenged us a few weeks ago to create a statement about our "why".  Here's mine:

Teaching music to students is a responsibility I don't take lightly.  I owe my students the very best that I can give every day, and showing compassion, vulnerability, honesty and excitement about my profession.

Some days are better than others.  But with my statement about my "why",  I have a place to remind myself "why" I began this journey in the first place.

I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the CBDNA convention in Kansas City this week.  Last night, I was at a concert that affirmed my why - for so many reasons.

Just like a company has its mission statement - their "why", we owe it to ourselves and our students to know where we are headed, what our focus will be, and the method that we use to accomplish our goals for them and ourselves.

So, what is YOUR why?

Tell me a story...

One of the great things about our profession is that much of the music we perform is programmatic - music based upon something real or fictional - that tells a story.

I love introducing students to this kind of music, because it engages their imagination, and it's amazing what they can do when they make music come to life through their eyes and their playing.

Sometimes there is no story behind a piece of music.  But we still find a way - imagination is the key.

It's kind of like reading a book and getting lost in the story.  It's so great!  Music provides another opportunity to do the same!

What a wonderful thing I get to do with our students every day.  Teaching kids - especially in music - has been such a blessing to me.

Enough about what I do - go find some program music and tell me a story!!