Creating Really Useful Educational Opportunities General by Joel Wagner - July 25, 2010July 25, 20101 If you've read much on my blog, you know that I do not have the traditional mindset of most educators. I have no problem with kids dropping out of school as long as they are doing so as a means of furthering their education. I don't think that a college education is essential for success in the world. In fact, I know that it's not. I recently was watching to a TED Talk by Cameron Herold (@CameronHerold on Twitter) that challenged me and also reinforced some of my previously-held views and articulated them in a way that shed new light on them. The talk was entitled Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs. You should watch it. If nothing else, you
10 TEDTalks of Music Education Greatness [VIDEO] Music Education by Joel Wagner - June 15, 2010June 30, 20100 One of the greatest parts of being a band director is that what I do really matters. Beyond the students acquiring a skill of playing an instrument or working together as a team, there is this aesthetic element of education in the arts that is just absent in most every other line of education. I'm not discounting the importance of grammar or math or science or social studies or athletics or technology education or whatever else might be offered. Were it not for those, I wouldn't have the amazing opportunities that I have. Plus, Texas law says that students have to pass all of their classes in a grading period before they are even allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.