Should I Keep My EduBlog Anonymous? Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 10, 2011April 10, 20111 A reader writes: I'm currently student teaching. I'm very passionate about music and music education. A couple of years ago I felt a sudden terror when I recognized I was nowhere close to ready to be a successful teacher, and I started delving into as much material as I could and doing whatever else I could (camps, etc) to get ready. Your blog was one of the first good, free resources I found, and I've been reading ever since. So first, thank you for your contributions. This past summer I had a friend start a music blog, and I thought, "Wow, that's a great idea." I love to write, especially in reflection and with the goal of learning from my experiences. I
The Allocation Of Attention Personal by Joel Wagner - July 6, 2009June 30, 20107 Here is a brief summary of the last 19 months of my life. In December of 2007, I was getting ready for work one Friday morning. I got a phone call from one of the high school assistant band directors. He told me that the other middle school director I work with had a stroke and was at the hospital. This was a huge blow to the band program as he has been in the district longer than I've been alive. It also made for a difficult month for me that included taking two bands to the Christmas Parade the next day, taking each band to four elementary concerts on consecutive days the next week, and preparing both bands for
Life Lesson 4: Choose Your Battles General by Joel Wagner - October 14, 2008July 1, 20104 Everybody loves being right. Everybody loves to win an argument. What if we change our mindset completely? What if we aim not to win outright, but to win by letting the other person win? There are some situations where winning is vital. And there are far more situations where winning an argument will net no real benefit. These are the situations when it is okay to lose. In fact, losing may be the biggest victory of all. How do we choose? Dr. Laura Schlessinger often uses these three statements to evaluate if a battle is necessary: Is it immoral? Is it illegal? Is it fattening? If the answer to all three questions is "no," then it may do
The Honeymoon Is Over: What Killed My First Teaching Job And 7 Tips For Getting Your Next Job New Teachers by Joel Wagner - April 3, 2008June 26, 201611 As I have written before, I was terrible at classroom management. My first two years were miserable. I hated teaching. Then it happened. I absolutely believe that I would be the same teacher today that I was then if it had not happened! You see, I wasn't fired but in a moment I lost my first teaching job. What happened? We had a friend of mine come in to work with the high school band and the two junior high bands. He is a retired band director and is an outstanding clinician. He came and worked with all three bands. My band (the second junior high band) was bad. I knew that. I had kids who would talk back to me and just
Principals Gone Wild General by Joel Wagner - March 28, 2008July 2, 20101 I like my principal. In fact, I like every principal I have worked with and for. I read a news article today that concerns me and makes me glad that I have had great administrators to work for thus far in my career. Then I got home and looked for a few more. Here's what I came up with. Teachers say principal threatened to kill them if TAKS test scores didn't improve Private school director's explicit poems draw fire Principal on leave after kids eat on floor I also found this video. Crazy stuff.