If You Don’t Fill Your Schedule, Someone Else Will Personal by Joel Wagner - September 29, 2008July 1, 20102 I have gotten 4 comments in the last 24 hours from people telling me about a time in their life (past or present) where they were so focused on school that it completely stressed them out. A big part of that comes from the fact that so many of us have a hard time saying, "No!" Personal time is a vital key to maintaining (or regaining) the sanity that we have lost as a result of our work. If the only people you hang around are kids, parents, teachers, and administrators, there can be no wonder you are burning yourself out! Quick, read these articles! 25 Tips For Less Stress 65 Things You Should Do Right Now To Avoid
Networking To Save Your (Teaching) Life General by Joel Wagner - September 23, 2008July 1, 20104 Everybody makes mistakes Everybody has those days Everybody knows what what I'm talkin' 'bout Everybody gets that way Nobody's Perfect! I gotta work it! Again and again 'til I get it right Nobody's Perfect! You live and you learn it! And if I mess it up sometimes, Nobody's perfect! Oops. I got a little carried away there in my Hannah Montana glam rock! Sorry about that. But it's true, everyone messes up. Our students do, and so do we! I found that having a small group of teachers nearby really helped me out in the early years. I would go to dinner with some, I would call some up, I would visit some after class. However we stayed in contact,
New Classroom Rule: Don’t Talk To Me Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - August 30, 2008July 1, 201015 If you have ever been in a typical band or orchestra room at the beginning or end of class, you know how utterly chaotic it can get. Kids throwing music into their folders, quickly rushing to take off reeds, shoving horns into cases, and running out the door to get to the next class. Then one inevitably comes running back in because he forgot to take off his neckstrap or loosen his bow or whatever. Then the next class comes in. Excited to see each other, talking, rushing to take their instruments out, soak their reeds, prepare music, get set up, and the list goes on. Every day, someone feels it is necessary to tell me they forgot their instrument
Why Do We Do What It Is That We Do? General by Joel Wagner - June 19, 2008July 1, 20101 My blog has been running on a fairly regular basis now for over a year. I have a wealth of information stored in the archives here. So often, some of the great writing of the past has gone overlooked. One of the most common reasons for this is that the majority of you who are reading this didn’t even subscribe to this blog 5 months ago. Some of the best content I’ve written on the blog was put online last spring or summer. But it so often gets overlooked. Some of it needs to be rehashed from time to time as new readers come along. I have implemented some related posts plugins and some other techniques as well as trying
The Blog Revolution: Day 1 – Add Truckloads of Great Content Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - May 5, 2008July 2, 20106 Today is the official beginning of the Blog Revolution Project. The plan is to transform your blog entirely from something that simply holds some information to a valuable resource for others. Each day, I will write a brief article, end with a mission. Some missions will be things you can accomplish in a matter of minutes, while others will take a while. Today's topic is probably the most important, and ultimately should be the mission of your blog every single time you write something. Add great content If you want people to visit your blog, they will need to have a reason to visit. If you want people to return to your blog, they will need to have a reason
Slow Down! Personal by Joel Wagner - February 23, 2008May 29, 20166 I realized some things today There will never be enough time to do everything I want to do There will never be enough money to do everything I want to do There will never be enough people to do everything I want to do The music will never sound good enough Kids will continue to fail their classes, no matter how important I tell them that passing is Parents will never be happy enough with everything I do in the classroom I will never be caught up on paperwork But ya know what else I realized? That's part of the enjoyment of the process. If I didn't have anything to do, I wouldn't be necessary. Meaningless tasks don't bring fulfillment, no matter
Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits Of Superior Teachers Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 29, 2007July 28, 201610 In November of 2007, I had Reader Apprection Month where I interviewed some of my readers, most of whom were fellow bloggers. Through the course of that month, I picked up a number of responses to the question "What Makes A Superior Teacher?" This article aggregates them and looks at the top answers. I'd guess if you're doing the top 5, you are well on your way to being great. As we come to the conclusion of Reader Appreciation Month, I want to summarize some of the things that we have learned. Today, I'll focus on some of the character traits of people who were indicated by my readers as their favorite teachers. Some of the character traits were mentioned by multiple
Less Stress: Deepen Your Relationships With Coworkers Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - October 25, 2007July 5, 20100 I touched on this topic before in Deepen Your Relationships With Friends, but I want to get even more involved here. I want to look at specific ways that you can collaborate with coworkers. More experienced teachers These people are the lifeblood of education. We've all had at least a small handful of teachers who we had in school whom everyone KNEW were older than the school building, but was afraid to say it. We all know the type. But they truly love teaching. They can imagine nothing else they would do with their lives! These are the people you need to hook up with. Not only can they be unvaluable sources of free information, but they also generally thrive
25 Tips For Less Stress Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - September 29, 2007July 5, 20102 Download the entire series in e-book format here This school year has been remarkably stress-free for me. As a middle school band director working with the non-varsity group, this is unheard of. I have come up with a list of 25 things I have done that have helped to make this happen. During the month of October, the busiest month of the year for people involved with Texas marching bands, I am going to spend each weekday writing very briefly on one of these tips. The articles will be much shorter than my normal articles, but they will be consistent. Drink Water Wake Up Earlier Eliminate Junk Food Increase Healthy Foods Kill Your TV Declutter Your Desk Declutter
The State of the Blog: 09/01/07 Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - September 1, 2007July 5, 20100 The most popular post I made to the blog in the entire month of August was The State of the Blog: 08/01/07. I glanced through it again today and was impressed by the changes that have happened in a month. Specifically, in the readership and authority arenas. it's funny how a little change each day is much less noticeable when viewed daily than it is when viewed from a greater distance. While numbers fluctuate from day to day, FeedBurner tells me that I have averaged 52 subscribers throughout the last 30 days. That number is up to 60 as of this morning. A month ago, we were hanging at 35. My Technorati Authority number has gone from 13 to 24
To Shut Up Or Not To Shut Up? That Is The Question General by Joel Wagner - July 20, 2007July 5, 20105 So I wrote Shut Up And Teach! yesterday and have gotten mixed reactions from it. Some have argued that my points were good while others have complained that I am advocating tying the hands and muzzling educators to prevent them from fighting for social justice. People have even gone so far as to write articles in response. Whatever the case, I enjoy the conversation that has developed. This tells me one of two things. Either: I am completely wrong and totally out of line I am at least partially right and hitting too close for comfort Investigating the arguments I am completely wrong and totally out of line These arguments include the facts that some school
The Source Of Motivation Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 28, 2007July 5, 20101 We've all seen them. People who are able to motivate large numbers of people to do things as a team. Great coaches, teachers, politicians, and even dictators. All of them are great motivators. Until recently, I would have agreed with that statement. I sat down this week and began reading through Bandmasters Review, the official publication of the Texas Bandmasters Association. The first article is entitled "The Real Key to True Leadership" by Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser. In the article, Dr. Lautzenheiser argues that motivation can only come intrinsically. He refers to any attempts at extrinsic motivation as merely manipulation. Powerful stuff there. So what is the source of motivation? Etymologically, the word "motivation" comes from the Latin word motere. This
9 Reasons To Quit Teaching (And 10 Reasons To Stick) Why Teachers Quit by Joel Wagner - June 18, 2007August 9, 201679 Life as a teacher can be awfully challenging. While the challenges change as we gain experience, there are always new ones. It can be an awfully lonely time for many teachers. This article looks at 9 reasons to quit teaching and also raises 10 reasons to stick with teaching. Think of the many reasons you have to quit teaching Bad students Bad administrators Bad curriculum Too much paperwork Too much negativity Too much responsibility Not enough time Not enough credit Not enough PAY Face it, you are not as good of a teacher as you could be. You're not living up to your potential. Nobody is. Where am I? Seth Godin says that you are in The Dip (What's The Dip?). This is that place
How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy? (Or At Least How Do I Keep Them At Bay) General by Joel Wagner - June 12, 2007June 13, 20125 This article is part 6 of the series Questions That Will Save Your Career. Please read the other articles in the series.How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?How Do I Keep My Students Interested?How Do I Keep My Students Learning?How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy?How Do I Keep My Sanity?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Interested?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Learning?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?10 Years of
How Do I Keep My Students Engaged? General by Joel Wagner - June 8, 2007June 13, 201210 This article is part 2 of the series Questions That Will Save Your Career. Please read the other articles in the series.How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?How Do I Keep My Students Interested?How Do I Keep My Students Learning?How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy?How Do I Keep My Sanity?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Interested?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Learning?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?10 Years of