Dissection of a Band Director

I saw this cartoon posted on The Yellow Board yesterday and thought some of my musician-type readers wouldappreciate it. The cartoon is by John Bogenschutz (www.johnmusic.com). Over the Christmas Break, a few of the band directors from around the area got together and played some quartets around town. I’m the only one who has played … Read more

Goal-Setting 101: 4 Essential Elements of All Life-Altering Goals

In the past I’ve come up with New Year’s Resolutions, and more recently Visions for the Year. They sort of helped to guide the first four to six weeks of the year, but rarely have lasted much beyond that. This year is different. This year I’m for real. I’ve decided to create a BHAG – … Read more

Enough Is Enough! Why I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired, and What I’m Doing About It

The picture speaks for itself. It’s the new year, it’s time for a change. My little Wii guy isn’t going to look like this much longer. He’s going to get closer to a healthy weight. Wii Fit tells me that a healthy weight for me would be around 140 pounds. That’s more than 100 pounds … Read more

Thank You For A Great Year!

Over 10,000 of the visits to SYWTT this year came from nine sources. The top three alone actually sent me over 6,200 visitors. This is incredible, and I need to thank all of you for the help you’ve provided me. Top referring blogsThese are the blogs that have sent the most visitors my way in … Read more

The Best of SYWTT 2009

Over the past (almost) three years of blogging, I have learned a lot more about myself, teaching, blogging, WordPress, CSS, HTML, and social media than I ever really thought I would. Most of it has been good, or at least fun. Some of it hasn’t been all that great, but I keep on keeping on. … Read more

Interview Questions About My First Year Teaching

A former student of mine who is now in his second year of college as a music education majors emailed me some interview questions a couple of weeks ago. Since many of my readers are early or pre-service teachers, I thought the answers might be useful to more than just him. 1. What discipline methods … Read more

How Do We Show Our Students That We Love Them?

When I was struggling to find hope early in my career as a teacher, I came across a few pieces of advice given by King Solomon from the Proverbs: He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. — Proverbs 13:24 This one jumped out at me as … Read more