I didn’t get in a lot of trouble in school, and never for anything disrespectful, hurtful or damaging. I was never “sent to the office” because of behavior in a classroom. But I did get at least three days of detention that I recall. I’m not sure detention straightened me out because I don’t think my mischievousness caused any long-term harm.
…
Jr High Detention – twice + 1 extra day Read More »
I was looking for this symbol when I found I had used it on a post from some years ago. Yes, it is not always the teacher who impacts a student.
I thrive on their youthful enthusiasm Read More »
by John Gardner (via LinkedIn)
The starfish story (not my original) is about someone trying to make a difference and I think of it periodically when I find myself trying to balance that healthy, professional detachment from the lives of individual students with the reality and significance of those lives and my desire to make a difference by being more than “just” a classroom teacher.
Working with students is not a life or death proposition, of course, but some seem to get washed up on the beach. Here’s the story and 10 ways to make a difference. Those 10 ways represent my core beliefs in teaching and working with teens.
The man was out for a walk on the beach when he noticed a boy frantically picking things up and throwing them into the ocean. Curious, he approached the boy to discover that he was picking up starfish that had washed up on to the beach — and was throwing them back into the water.
“Son, what are you doing?” the man asked.
“The tide is going out and these starfish got left behind. I’m throwing them back into the water to save them.”
“But son, there are hundreds of miles of beach. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
As the boy picked up another starfish, he threw it into the water and then turned and said to the man,
“I made a difference to THAT one.”
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Teen years can be trying times. Parents may be fighting, separating, dating and remarrying, which means the teen now has to not only deal with a break up of a foundation in his/her life, but often now has to live in multiple households. Some have to adjust to step-siblings, job losses, financial struggles and more. Then, there are the complexities of school with seemingly unending pressures to perform, trying to get through the dating games, often without an anchor or example to follow. Influenced by increasingly negative social standards, or lack of standards….. teens can get caught in the rise and falling tides. Most learn how to negotiate life’s trying currents, but can turn the wrong way, make a miscalculation or poor decision — and find themselves high and dry on the beach…..and they need help. Not every student needs, wants or will accept a teacher’s help. Sometimes the teacher’s effort is both unappreciated and unsuccessful.
But try we must…because we CAN make a difference “to THAT one”.
Students are not Starfish Read More »
I have used this video multiple times in ensemble rehearsals. Really makes a strong point in the difference in expectation and excellence level in music. Please listen to all of it.
Why an ‘A’ is not enough in music Read More »
My dad was a 32-yr career firefighter, retiring as an Assistant Chief for a moderately sized, full-time department that had about 10 stations throughout the city. I recall a childhood time when my siblings and I were vising him at the firehouse. When the alarm sounded, he abruptly pointed to the wall, and said
“Stand right there ’til someone comes for you.”
Immediately, 10 doors (5 front, 5 rear) open, the intercom is announcing location and status, and people are hustling from every direction Twenty seconds later, the building is open, empty and quiet. One of the dispatchers invited us into his area while our mother scrambled to come pick us up.
As a small business owner, I believe some of my Dad’s Fire Department practices could help Small Business when it comes to putting out fires. Here are 11 things Small Business and Fire Departments should have in common.
Firefighters know who they work for and will sacrifice to serve. When someone calls 911, firefighters will do what firefighters did on 9/11.
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One of the most effective practices I put into place was to bring in a salesperson to talk to our order fulfillment crew and explain to them what happens to his customer, his income and even their jobs when orders go out with too many errors.
Meticulously planning and preparing for, and then efficiently and effectively fighting “fires” is something both fire fighters and small business owners should be good at. Business should be ready, but not always “putting out fires”.
The purpose of THIS post is to encourage you to be READY and SET so that when the alarm rings, you are prepared to GO!
Thanks for reading,
JohnGardner@VirtualMusicOffice.com
I wrote a tribute to my Dad, the firefighter, and included description and picture from the worst fire he ever fought…. the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977 that took the lives of 165 people, including my high school clarinet teacher. I also talk about his Fire Chief experience with accusations and responses to sexism and racism. Read more….
11 Things Small Business and Fire Departments Should Have In Common Read More »
Beginning instruments are designed for beginners. The bores on some of the brass instruments are smaller because of the lesser air capacity the 6th grader has. Keys on mass-produced woodwinds are designed to survive some falls and mistreatment.
Once a student gets to high school, they’ve been playing that beginning instrument for three or more years and, especially if they show potential, I start to encourage them to step up because at some point it will become the instrument itself holding them back.
My first two experiences involved siblings. I was out of college and teaching band when my youngest sister was in high school band. She needed a new trumpet and I was able to get one for her through the instrument dealer I worked with. My brother got to play my Selmer clarinet when I had moved to Buffet.
Not all my attempts were successful. When I approached one farmer-papa about a new clarinet, his question was,
“Isn’t that the clarinet you told us to buy?”
He had also challenged me when I said I wanted to spend 1-1 time with his daughter in individual instruction.
“Aren’t you the teacher?”, he asked. “Then why don’t you find a way to teach her without me paying extra money for you to do your job.”
He eventually became a very supportive father and band parent.
One high school clarinetist was really good. She was studying with me and was at the point where she needed better equipment. And, knowing her father’s job, I was confident finances were not a problem. I tried the “puppy dog close”.
I learned the “puppy dog close” in sales training. The idea is that you go to the pet store and the store owner offers to let you take a puppy home for the evening with the ability to bring it back the next day. The puppy never comes back.
This is before I was on staff at the high school, but I had a good relationship with the music store in Fort Wayne. I went and asked if I could borrow a Buffet R-13 (top-of-the-line) clarinet with the idea that I could bring it back in two days if I did not sell it for them. They reluctantly agreed.
The next day I was in the band room as students came in for rehearsal. I called that girl over, handed her the new clarinet and asked her to try it out during rehearsal. As expected, she was amazed at the difference. I asked her to take it home for the evening (along with the price tag) and bring it back the next day if she decided not to keep it. She walked in the next day with a check for payment in full. No commission for me.
I was with a student and her family at solo festival. She had worked hard, but struggled in the performance. The mechanics of the instrument were messing her over. Afterward, in the hallway, dad asked me how I thought she did.
“She should get a Gold (she did), but she was fighting that instrument most of the way.”
The next day she had a new clarinet at school. Turns out, papa went to the music store table and bought her a step-up instrument on the spot.
A high school student was taking private lessons and her teacher told me on multiple occasions that her instrument was “crap”. My understanding in talking with the student was that there were some family financial difficulties.
Partly because of her finances, I found a doner and worked out a deal with her instructor to give her lessons for a year. When I called her in to tell her about it, I told her I wanted her to make sure the doner got his money’s worth. There were tears and a promise.
The teacher reinforced with me how incredibly prepared she was for her lessons, but still lamented about the quality of her horn.
I asked for a parent/student/teacher conference and met with them one day after school. I told the parental,
“She is an excellent musician. For financial reasons, we set up lessons for her for a year. She is doing an incredible job with those and her teacher stresses how she is the most prepared student he has had. But [she] needs a better instrument. I don’t know the details of your finances and I can’t tell you how to make it happen, but this girl needs [this]. The music store will work with you, but this needs to happen.”
There were more tears — and a new horn.
That student is now a Band Director.
There were other situations over the years where I was able to help coordinate or provide private lessons or to help a student get better equipment to work with.
Helping students get private instruction and/or better instruments Read More »
The director had been out for a few days, so I ran the rehearsals….and organized this prank. I wish I had zeroed on facial expressions. NOTE: No harm was done. Students exited one door, walked around and came back in another. We lost about 2-3 minutes of rehearsal. I wonder what it looked like on the CCTV monitors in the admin offices.
Pranking the band director Read More »
I prepared this list for one of my woodwind students and modified it some to include other instruments. There are links within this article to other articles I’ve written about literature selection, accompanists and the judging scoresheet categories.
The basics. Music, instrument. People have forgotten both.
Solo Part – ORIGINAL for judge. Measures numbered.
Have you paid your accompanist? Customary, usually following performance. More about respect, preparation and appreciation for your accompanist, click here.
BRASS.
Valve oil
WOODWINDS.
Backup reed – in case something happens to yours that day.
Mouthpiece cap – Keep on when moving – protects and looks professional.
PERCUSSION.
Backup sticks/mallets.
Arrive at the school/venue about an hour before your performance time. Find your performance room and then you can go to warm-up. Don’t over-practice. Just review your challenging spots. Your ensemble should run through the piece. Note that these warm-up rooms can be noisy.
Arrive at performance room before your time. You can go in ahead of time (or anytime) and listen to other performers. Most in Group 2 will be h/s. If your accompanist is late because of accompanying someone else, just explain that to the door person or judge.
Have the book opened to your solo when you present it to the judge.
If judge asks questions, answer politely (as you always are).
Sit or stand. Your choice. I prefer standing. Judge may want to see your fingers, so don’t put the music stand directly between you and the judge. Be able to make eye contact with your accompanist.
Do not start until the judge tells you to. He/she may be completing notes on the previous performer. If permission received, play tuning note with piano – last chance to check your reed.
Be prepared to introduce yourself, your school, and your piece (title/composer).
When you finish, especially if there is any applause, a slight bow is appropriate to acknowledge. Applause is the audience saying thank you — a bow is your thanking them for the applause. Recognize your accompanist.
You will not get your music immediately – probably after the performer who follows you. You will not get your scoresheet. Those go to your band director at the end of the day.
The door monitor will write your rating on the wall schedule.
A separate post with addition scoresheet categories ===> HERE.
Intonation. Are you in tune with the piano? With each other (ensemble)? Do you have individual notes that are out of tune? Accuracy to printed pitches.
Tone. Resonance, clarity, control, focus, consistency, warmth.
Rhythm. Accuracy of note values, rest values, duration, pulse, steadiness, correctness of meter.
Technique. Facility, accuracy, articulation, fingerings.
Interpretation/Musicianship. Style, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, emotional involvement.
Performance factors. Choice of literature, appropriate appearance (related to performance), poise, posture, general conduct, mannerisms, facial expressions. Formal dress is not required, but jeans with holes and advertisement t-shirts will not only affect the appearance score, but also — judges can decide much about you before you play your first note. You are “on” from the time you take your performance position until you exit.
Did I forget anything? Let me know so I can improve this post for the next time. And note that rules per state are different… I tried to be generic in that regard.
Solo Contest Checklist Read More »
There were few times I ever got a ride to or from school other than band practices. Charlie C lived in the trailer park behind Rosedale pool and he had a car….or was allowed to drive his parents’ car. He would sometimes drive me. Mom would on rare occasions.
For regular school days, Mom would give me bus money. There were no school buses available. The #6 Rosedale bus would stop at 45th and Glenn, just over the walking bridge next to Rosedale Baptist Church. That was about a 5-minute walk. I usually rode the bus to school in the morning, mostly because time was critical.
Because she gave me bus money whether or not I rode, I would often walk home. What I did was possibly illegal, but I never got in trouble for it.
Holmes High School is between 25th & 26th streets, just across the street from a double pair of railroad tracks. Those same tracks passed about 8 houses up the street from my home. I didn’t get on the tracks at the school because they passed through a tunnel that I was told left no room on the sides, if there were trains on both tracks.
So I would walk down to an overpass, behind a roller skating rink, and up a short, but steep dirt path to the track. There wasn’t a numbered street there, but I’m guessing I was on the tracks for about 20 city blocks. With a B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) yard just a mile or so south of my house and an L&N (Louisville and Nashville) office building and turn off just north, these were very active tracks.
I was on railroad property but no one ever asked me to get off. I would often waive at the passing train engineer. When there were two trains, then I would walk on the heavy gravel areas alongside. Otherwise, I spent most of my time ON a rail. I would challenge myself to not lose balance from one street crossing to the next. I was very good at it, even when carrying a clarinet or saxophone case and some books. Backpacks were not a thing students used at that time.
Trains didn’t use their horns in the city (like they do now), but they had a dingy bell. The engines themselves were generally loud enough so I don’t think I was ever in danger of one sneaking up on me from behind. They didn’t move very quickly during this area either. The only surprise was an occasional train coming from a different direction and merging onto these tracks. There was one place where that could happen.
I would get off the tracks at either the 42nd or 44th Street train crossings and walk the last block on sidewalks.
This was the “DeCoursey Yard”, just out of sight from my house. It is where my Grandpa McCormack worked.
Between 8th and 12th grades at Homes, I probably walked those rails hundreds of times.
To and From School, Public Transportation and Walking the Rails Read More »
by John Gardner
This graphic illustrates a scenario we all face, individually, in business, in school as well as in music ensembles. Most of us, at least once, have been to the edge, looked down, looked across and pondered the possibilities. It is easy to say you want to get better, but how do you make that leap to the other side?
Many are satisfied with the way things are, represented by this marching band member attitude:
I am okay where I am. I am not last chair, I can play my part reasonably well, I can pass the playing test. I see those people on the other side…..so much pressure, so much work, and for what? Band is a good social group. It is a good place to find a date, to make friends, to feel connected. I enjoy the bus rides, the longer the better. The band parent provided food at competitions is good and I like the freedom during the down time to hang with my friends and watch some other bands.
You are, after all, standing on solid ground. It is safe where you are. You KNOW where you are and are in your comfort zone. You look over the edge and see danger. You could fall, you could fail. You could get hurt.
You hear the musician who plays the more difficult solo or watch the marching band put on a crowd cheering performance. You see the elation at the award ceremony and YOU WANT THAT.
In “The Return of the Jedi”, as Luke Skywalker finally stands before his ultimate enemy, the Emperor says to the young Jedi who is viewing and considering his weapon,
You want this, don’t you?
If you stand on the edge, look down and take a step, you will fall. The gap is wider than that and will require a running start LEAP.
Olympians don’t just show up at the games. Basketball players spend hours behind the scenes practicing boring free throws and doing exhausting repetitive fundamentals up and down the floor. The ice skater doesn’t decide at the start of the performance that a quad would be a good idea.
There is no short cut to success. You must be willing to pay the price.
The ice skater going for the quad is literally a “leap of faith”. There is never a guarantee of success, but repetitive practice, falling down, getting hurt, figuring out what went wrong and working harder to get better…..are necessary ingredients to establish confidence and competence to make the jump. A phrase I have used in rehearsals,
Like the ice skater who misses the quad, missing notes (steps, sets) in performance can hurt.
A good cartoon by Tone Deaf Comics illustrates part of this idea.
No more standing at the edge. No more looking down. No more considering the consequences of failure. Back up, focus on the other side, set your mind and then RUN hard at the edge. When the Israelites were crossing the river Jordan, the waters did not part until the priests feet touched the water, the point at which they demonstrated both faith and commitment (Joshua 3:14).
Once you commit to go, you have to “go all out”. Know where you’re going, practice and prepare, commit and go.
5 Considerations to Making a leap of Faith Read More »
