Society tells us lots of things these days.
Wanna get skinny?
Don't buy that burger. Try some tofu.
Wanna get rich?
Don't buy that extra grand latte with the expresso shot. Buy this financial course.
Wanna relax?
Scroll and click.
Wanna be a better teacher?
Buy and memorize “this” book and attend “this” professional development workshop.
Wanna be a better musician?
Buy “this” more exorbitantly expensive instrument/piece of equipment/technology.
Wanna find God?
Buy and read “this” book on a certain day of the week in a certain building. And don’t forget to make a donation on your way out.
Does any of that actually work?
Let me ask you a more pointed question:
Does any of that work for you?
One more question.
Why listen to me?
Because I was once you and encountered the issues that most music educators struggle with in their classroom.
Not “sorta” you – but you.
No matter where you are in your career as a music teacher, I was once there.
Not “sorta” there – but there.
The techniques and ideas I present are the result of not just years but decades of experimentation, research, refinement, and re-calibration.
They work.
And if you noticed, I’m not asking you to open your wallet; only your imagination and curiosity for something that might actually be . . . better.
First, the three words that empowered a chunk of my growth came from my former principal Jack Jadach: “Addition by subtraction”.
Strip away the old presumptions, jettison distractions, focus on the system to achieve the goal, and accomplish more with less.
For now, I'm going to stay in the realm of your 7.5 hour classroom job and your wallet.
Any significant change in your 7.5 hour job will have to be substantial, sustainable changes - changes that you can keep up for the long run and ostensibly turn into lifelong personal habits.
As far as your 16.5 hour business goes, if you want more money in your pocket, you will have to make changes. Start by keeping track of your money. I know it doesn't sound sexy and it involves math and numbers, but it pays off. I am always amazed at how many people don't know what their “number” is.
Without the assistance of a book, place, or day of the week, I religiously knew what that number was.
You may think by cutting back on that latte or magazine or online subscription that you are going to save some money in your 16.5 hour business but unless you make substantial, sustainable changes, it will barely be a ripple on your financial pond.
If you want sizable results, it's going to take some bold strokes. Start today.
Those strokes start with sustainable short little lines that we draw in the sand. These are the lines that we tell ourselves (as well as others) that we aren’t going to cross again. Stay away from those lines long enough and you’ll turn that sand into stone. More on that in another post.
In any case your personal business requires several different strategies: a one year plan, a five year plan, a ten year plan, a twenty year plan, and a retirement plan. You need to start working on these as soon as possible.
No one can do this planning but you – but you will need the help of others to bring these plans to fruition. What skill sets will you need to acquire? You must understand that to enjoy the benefits of solid planning, you’ll have to anticipate some of the obstacle you’ll encounter along the way. Plan for both the good and bad that loom up ahead.
As far as gaining more time and momentum in your 7.5 hour job, I can tell you that two techniques I've outlined on these pages will give you immense amounts ofnewly found time with your students.
Using “stop and go” will drastically cut back on management waste where you find yourself looking for five hundred different ways to say “stop talking” or “pay attention”. Kids respond 60,000 times more to what they see than what they hear, but sure, keep saying “stop talking”.
If you are in an elementary music room, employing “pilot and co-pilot” will create a franchise of pygmy-sized teachers who will do your bidding on an hourly basis.
You don't even have to pay them.
They will teach their peers better than you probably will and make connections that you never thought were capable of with other students. “Pilot and co-pilot” will give your program momentum as well as time.
These two techniques alone will create hours and days of teaching time during your 7.5 hour job. The compounded gains over a career spanning twenty, thirty, or forty years is astronomical. These are gains that are yours for the taking. If you seriously analyze your teaching, you will undoubtedly find even more opportunities to streamline your teaching and find more instructional time in your classes.
If none of this appeals to you, then by all means, keep looking for one more way to say “stop talking”.
Mime it like Marcel Marceau.
Say “Acha kuzungumza!” if Swahili floats your boat.
Or you can do it like Cheech and Chong’s Sister Mary Elephant.
Wanna get skinny?
Don't buy that burger. Try some tofu.
Wanna get rich?
Don't buy that extra grand latte with the expresso shot. Buy this financial course.
Wanna relax?
Scroll and click.
Wanna be a better teacher?
Buy and memorize “this” book and attend “this” professional development workshop.
Wanna be a better musician?
Buy “this” more exorbitantly expensive instrument/piece of equipment/technology.
Wanna find God?
Buy and read “this” book on a certain day of the week in a certain building. And don’t forget to make a donation on your way out.
Does any of that actually work?
Let me ask you a more pointed question:
Does any of that work for you?
One more question.
Why listen to me?
Because I was once you and encountered the issues that most music educators struggle with in their classroom.
Not “sorta” you – but you.
No matter where you are in your career as a music teacher, I was once there.
Not “sorta” there – but there.
The techniques and ideas I present are the result of not just years but decades of experimentation, research, refinement, and re-calibration.
They work.
And if you noticed, I’m not asking you to open your wallet; only your imagination and curiosity for something that might actually be . . . better.
First, the three words that empowered a chunk of my growth came from my former principal Jack Jadach: “Addition by subtraction”.
Strip away the old presumptions, jettison distractions, focus on the system to achieve the goal, and accomplish more with less.
For now, I'm going to stay in the realm of your 7.5 hour classroom job and your wallet.
Any significant change in your 7.5 hour job will have to be substantial, sustainable changes - changes that you can keep up for the long run and ostensibly turn into lifelong personal habits.
As far as your 16.5 hour business goes, if you want more money in your pocket, you will have to make changes. Start by keeping track of your money. I know it doesn't sound sexy and it involves math and numbers, but it pays off. I am always amazed at how many people don't know what their “number” is.
Without the assistance of a book, place, or day of the week, I religiously knew what that number was.
You may think by cutting back on that latte or magazine or online subscription that you are going to save some money in your 16.5 hour business but unless you make substantial, sustainable changes, it will barely be a ripple on your financial pond.
If you want sizable results, it's going to take some bold strokes. Start today.
Those strokes start with sustainable short little lines that we draw in the sand. These are the lines that we tell ourselves (as well as others) that we aren’t going to cross again. Stay away from those lines long enough and you’ll turn that sand into stone. More on that in another post.
In any case your personal business requires several different strategies: a one year plan, a five year plan, a ten year plan, a twenty year plan, and a retirement plan. You need to start working on these as soon as possible.
No one can do this planning but you – but you will need the help of others to bring these plans to fruition. What skill sets will you need to acquire? You must understand that to enjoy the benefits of solid planning, you’ll have to anticipate some of the obstacle you’ll encounter along the way. Plan for both the good and bad that loom up ahead.
As far as gaining more time and momentum in your 7.5 hour job, I can tell you that two techniques I've outlined on these pages will give you immense amounts ofnewly found time with your students.
Using “stop and go” will drastically cut back on management waste where you find yourself looking for five hundred different ways to say “stop talking” or “pay attention”. Kids respond 60,000 times more to what they see than what they hear, but sure, keep saying “stop talking”.
If you are in an elementary music room, employing “pilot and co-pilot” will create a franchise of pygmy-sized teachers who will do your bidding on an hourly basis.
You don't even have to pay them.
They will teach their peers better than you probably will and make connections that you never thought were capable of with other students. “Pilot and co-pilot” will give your program momentum as well as time.
These two techniques alone will create hours and days of teaching time during your 7.5 hour job. The compounded gains over a career spanning twenty, thirty, or forty years is astronomical. These are gains that are yours for the taking. If you seriously analyze your teaching, you will undoubtedly find even more opportunities to streamline your teaching and find more instructional time in your classes.
If none of this appeals to you, then by all means, keep looking for one more way to say “stop talking”.
Mime it like Marcel Marceau.
Say “Acha kuzungumza!” if Swahili floats your boat.
Or you can do it like Cheech and Chong’s Sister Mary Elephant.
My techniques work.
Take a chance on something different.
Create something that’s superior - but try this first.
If you choose to keep doing things the same old ineffective way, you are willfully turning yourself into a calcified, nagging, tedious caricature of Charlie Brown’s trombone-sounding teacher.
Don't use “pilot and co-pilot”. Live a 7.5 hour life of willful ignorance.
Find something that works better. Go right ahead - but try this first.
If you don't try out these two teaching techniques, you know you're squandering educational capitol right under your nose and not compounding the positive efforts for your students.
Make some big changes. Get some big results.
Like I always teach “sing big, dream big”.
A “new you” is possible – in both your 7.5 hour job as well as your 16.6 hour business.
And if a “new you” is possible, the sky's the limit for your students.
Take a chance on something different.
Create something that’s superior - but try this first.
If you choose to keep doing things the same old ineffective way, you are willfully turning yourself into a calcified, nagging, tedious caricature of Charlie Brown’s trombone-sounding teacher.
Don't use “pilot and co-pilot”. Live a 7.5 hour life of willful ignorance.
Find something that works better. Go right ahead - but try this first.
If you don't try out these two teaching techniques, you know you're squandering educational capitol right under your nose and not compounding the positive efforts for your students.
Make some big changes. Get some big results.
Like I always teach “sing big, dream big”.
A “new you” is possible – in both your 7.5 hour job as well as your 16.6 hour business.
And if a “new you” is possible, the sky's the limit for your students.
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