Why music? It seems our profession has felt obligated to explain music's value for decades, yet (not surprisingly) has failed to come up with a concise, decisive answer to this perplexing question. I don't think it can be answered...I don't think it needs to be answered...
In our dining room we have four windows. A number of years back we purchased custom fabric blinds (roman shade style), and each came with an extra piece of matching fabric to use as a little valence which covers the mechanism at the top. There is a strip of Velcro...
Improving as a teacher is a conscious decision that one must choose...it doesn't "just happen." It involves moving beyond "why aren't my students trying harder" to "what is it about my teaching that leaves my students uninspired and unable to retain the concepts I am...
In the early 90s I was teaching beginning band in Naperville Illinois. We had Macintosh labs at that time, and Macs were shipping with a program called Hypercard. Hypercard used a simple language called Hypertalk and became pretty popular amongst teachers for creating...
There's been alot of discussion on the Band Directors Group about transitions. I think this point in the year (late fall) is especially stressful for teachers in a new position. Why do I say this? Because it's a tough time in the year for any teacher, so it can only be...
Yesterday our district had its annual classical festival for band, orchestra and choir. The guest conductor for orchestra was Don Schleicher from the University of Illinois, and I took the opportunity to spend several hours watching him rehearse. What really made an...
You don't. If students are not engaged, stop teaching. Wait for them to engage. But if I'm always stopping and waiting, how will we get anything done? Do you really think you are getting anything done by teaching while students are ignoring you? Actually you are...
The Band Directors Group on Facebook has been a great way to "crowd-source" solutions to many challenges. Due to the fact that we all understand how conflict can wear us down, our members are quick to offer up ideas that bring relief to the immediate problem. In...
Steve Jobs enabled us to interact with our world in ways that are at once both powerful and elegant. If you use Apple products, you know this. But even if you don't use Apple products Steve made your stuff better too. He raised the bar for all companies...
photo credit Let me just say it: I think that competitive marching band can be a very beneficial activity for students. Many of our students are not in a sport, and marching band can be a great way (sometimes their only opportunity) to experience competition prior to...
photo credit Today I was talking with a student about a piece that she is working on in a colleague's class. It's a killer...fast, technical, and really exciting for both the performer and the listener. You could tell that she really wants to get it right, and she was...
Once upon a time there were a few ways you could improve your teaching in a meaningful way: Go to graduate school Attend a convention Read an article or book Within the last year, a fourth option came into being: Engage in meaningful dialogue with the entire profession...
