The Vitality of Collaboration Music Education by Joel Wagner - May 30, 2007July 5, 20100 Most of the band staff went to lunch today. We spent about an hour and a half at a pizza buffet, mostly talking and not eating pizza. Collaboration is a good thing, if done correctly. Here are some key elements that I observe when I work with colleagues: Have fun Relax Focus on positives Don't spend all the time talking about work Don't spend much time talking about negative things Do spend time discussing teaching strategies that work for you Don't take yourself too seriously Learn something from everyone you can, even if you learn what not to do Planning is good. Planning as a group is one of the most effective ways to plan. No matter how
Reading Personal by Joel Wagner - May 29, 2007July 5, 20100 I moved to my new office today and brought a few books. The other band director I'll be working with said, "Wow, you sure have a lot of books." I told him that I read quite a bit. He said that he doesn't read, and we just kind of laughed about it. But then I got to thinking... I am consistently amazed at how many intelligent people just simply do not find time to read. I am not the most prolific reader around or anything, but I do find time every few days or so to read a chapter or so out of a book. Reading is one of the most valuable skills that we have. Sure people can
Finishing Strong Music Education by Joel Wagner - May 28, 2007July 5, 20100 A band director I used to work with said this. The concept is that success comes from finishing something well. It's easy to start something great. Greatness comes from finishing something great. That is why greatness is so elusive. One And A Half Is Not The Same As Two I find myself saying the very thing to my students. Why? Because so many of them start notes well but give up before the end. One and a half is not the same as two. A half note does not get most of two beats, it gets two beats. Simple. But How Does This Apply To Me? Simple. Most of us teachers are at or near the end of the
The Dip Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 27, 2007July 5, 20100 It came in the mail on Friday. I read it on Saturday. This was my first opportunity to read a book by Seth Godin, and I sure was not disappointed. "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit (And When To Stick)" and that's exactly what it is. Although Mr. Godin is primarily an internet marketing guru, the book can easily be applied to anything we do in life. Anything from relationships to business to where you are teaching to even overall career choice -- it's covered here. The book is broad in scope, and can be applied to any and all of these areas. At 76 pages (and not very tall pages at that), this baby
Sharpen The Saw Personal by Joel Wagner - May 26, 2007July 5, 20100 In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey refers to Habit #7 as "Sharpen The Saw." As teachers, the summer vacation offers us a structured time to do just that. Here is a list of some things that I intend to do with myself this summer: Move to my new office Reread The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People Reread How To Win Friends And Influence People Read Getting Things Done (GTD) Make lists of what worked this year and what didn't work Revise my educational philosophy accordingly Revise my band handbook Set up a website for my band Add lots of cool content to the website Write an ebook Post to this blog DAILY
Be The Best Teacher In The World Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 19, 2007June 19, 20164 Dave Ramsey recently wrote an article entitled High-Performance Achievement and it's about his training to run of a marathon. In this article, we're going to look at how you can use that knowledge to help you become the best teacher in the world. In Seth Godin's latest book, "The Dip" (which I'm going to read this summer), he talks about being the best in the world. That term is defined basically as the best in your sphere of influence at doing what you do. My goal as a band director is to be the best band director in my school district. Then my goal is to have the best band at whatever competition we go to. Then my goal is to have