Questions & Answers...

Last week I asked for your questions and the response was amazing. I received over 100 questions. I sorted through all of them and choose a few that I thought might have a broad appeal. I hope you enjoy!

Where do you see band in 10 years? - Jonathan

I'm not buying into the doom and gloom naysayers. In fact, I believe music education is experiencing a renaissance. The economic downturn and decreased funding “thinned the academic herd” and left fewer offerings to lots of kids which means an opportunity for growth. If you need evidence, know that instrument manufacturers are reporting higher sales than in recent years and are projecting growing demand for the foreseeable future. Beyond that, it is getting harder to ignore that music also offers a high profile and cost effective (it is cheap, trust me) educational option that helps boost academic performance. 

What’s your best travel tip? - Travis

Don’t! STAY HOME! Seriously, after spending 45 hours in the Denver Airport two weeks ago during the Polar Vortex Bomb, you’ve got a lot of nerve asking that one Travis! Jeesh, show a little sensitivity would ya!

Okay, this might not be the best tip but it’s one most people don’t know about. When booking a trip, look for flight numbers with three digits (Flight #423). Most of the time, this means it is a full jet and is not operated by a regional carrier. Smaller jets/regional carriers have more maintenance issues and fewer people and parts to fix them. So when things go wrong (and they do), you have more chances of getting to where you need to go.

Oh yeah, and don't go through Denver in March!

How do you earn students' trust and get them to buy in when you’re a new director? -Samantha

Director transitions are like elections. There will always be a small faction of students who are happy, a small faction of students who are sad, and the majority who are sitting in the middle and just want to move forward. Don’t play to either extreme. It might make you popular with one group but will make you the villain with the other. Above all, be consistent. Show up every day. Teach every day. Treat kids with respect and smile every day. You fight drama with consistency.

What some of the most successful (profitable/easy ) fundraisers? -James 

James, I have been hearing a lot about a Colombian Cartel that has met with modest success with drug trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion. If that seems too remote, consider putting that color laser printer to good use and just printing the darn money yourself. I am not printing in your state, just in case you decide to pursue these revenue streams.

I think that increased demands on kids' time and safety concerns associated with door to door sales have rendered most individual forms of fundraising to be largely ineffective. I believe in telling the parents up front what all the costs will be and let them choose to pay or fundraise. Honestly, when my own son comes home selling stuff, it frustrates me that I have to buy something I don’t want in order to give 60% of the revenue to someone other than my child’s school.

I am a fan of things that do not involve selling products and have low over head and high margins such a “a-thons, change drives, and donations.” (Ethical disclosure here: I am part of Fundraise Genius, a new startup geared specifically towards crowd sourced fundraising for music groups.

How do you deal with those days when you make great lesson plans, only to have reality set in, or everything fall apart, when the students come to class (way) less enthusiastic than you? This seems to happen more on Mondays. - Richard

Only Mondays? Heck that happened to me four days a week! You must be doing something right. In fact, you ARE doing something right: YOU ARE LESSON PLANNING. Regardless of whether the class goes your way or not, I applaud you for studying your scores and making a plan! Sounds like the kids are not as enthusiastic as you are. Consider mixing some things (or everything) up. Change seats, music, lighting, temperature, warm-ups, testing, rewards, grading, programming, etc.

I am starting out the school year at a middle school 6-8 band program with no music prior at the elementary level. What is the best progression? - Nathaniel

If you want to know how to give a giraffe a bath, you should ask someone who gives giraffes baths. I taught high school my entire career. I would sit down with a successful beginning band teacher, buy them a cup of coffee, and ask for their advice. By the way, when bathing a giraffe, you will need a ladder. 

How do you build a relationship with an administrator that constantly, publicly touts his support of your school's music program when there are awards and accolades to be announced, but not when it comes to the brass tacks of building, running, and supporting the music program? -Anonymous

Keep in mind, you have one administrator and they have 50 different programs. Consider it your job to support him and not the other way around. A bit of a paradigm shift perhaps, but effective. To get him to join your team, you must first join his. I have not yet met an administrator that WANTS to do the wrong thing, but I have met plenty that disagreed with me on what the "right thing" was. Stop by his office every couple of days with a quick hello or question. Let him know that you support him and appreciate him… See if he returns the favor down the road. If not, sign him up for every Kardashian fan mail account you can find.

No question, I just wanted you to know that I think you are wonderful in every way -Mom

Thanks Mom! I love you too. Sorry about choosing percussion, in hindsight that was a mean trick to play on you!

Can we fix music education by adopting a more reasonable method of class scheduling? -Jeremy

In short, NO! It is not about “reasonable methods of scheduling,” it is a question of time. Increased rigor and accountability, coupled with higher graduation requirements only work if there is adequate time to meet those requirements. "A" hour classes and summer school are now the home of any kid wanting to keep music in their day for all four years. This isn’t about reasonable class scheduling so much as it is about needing to extend the school day and or year!

What do you suggest for dealing with a (percussion) section that NEVER listens. - Mike

Scotch! Not for them, for you! Seriously, if I knew the answer to that I would write a book and be rich. As it stands, I have written six books and am not rich, so clearly I am not the guy to ask, plus I am a percussionist, so I am sticking with my answer… SCOTCH!

Hope you enjoyed! Have a great week!

- Scott

p.s. Check out tomorrow's email for something kind of fun.

Chess, Big Mac's and Music to Your Ears

Tanitoluwa Adewumi, age 8, skidded around the empty apartment, laughing excitedly, then leapt onto his dad’s back. “I have a home!” he said in wonderment. “I have a home!”

A week ago, the boy was homeless, studying chess moves while lying on the floor of a shelter in Manhattan. Now Tani, as he is known, has a home, a six-figure bank account, scholarship offers from three elite private schools and an invitation to meet President Bill Clinton.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote last weekend that "Tani is a reminder of the principle that talent is universal, even if opportunity is not. As a Nigerian refugee who had learned chess only a bit more than a year earlier, [Tani] had just defeated kids from elite private schools to win the New York state chess championship for his age group. He lugged a trophy nearly as big as he is back to the homeless shelter."

Now, the story gets even better!

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After Kristof’s column appeared a GoFundMe drive was created and raised more than $200,000 for Tani, his parents, and his brother. A half-dozen readers offered housing — in a couple of cases, palatial quarters. Immigration lawyers offered pro bono assistance to the Adewumis, who are in the country legally and seeking asylum. Three film companies are vying to make movies about Tani.

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The best part of all is that one week after being homeless, with the world as their newly found oyster, the Adewumis chose to; 

• Forgo the opulent homes in favor of a modest apartment they could afford.

• Use the $200,000 to start a foundation helping other homeless refugees.

• Take on a third job that was offered so as to be self reliant.

• Return to PS116, their local public school.

Kristoph wrote, "The family was tempted by the offers of full scholarships at top private schools. But Tani and his parents decided that while he might accept such a scholarship for middle school, he would be loyal and stick with the public elementary school, P.S. 116, that taught him chess and waived his fees for the chess club.

'This school showed confidence in Tanitoluwa, his mom, Oluwatoyin Adewumi, told the P.S. 116 principal, Jane Hsu. 'So we return the confidence.' And then, overcome with emotion, the mom and the principal hugged.”

In an era of school choice, with every option on the table and their child’s future at stake, they chose a public school. 

I don’t think I am incorrect in saying that Americans are a spoiled bunch. Myself included. We take things for granted that others in less fortunate places do not. We ignore the good and complain about the bad, when truly there is little to complain about. The Adewumi’s story is exceptional but not necessarily unique and serves as a reminder of the work our public schools do on a daily basis for the fifty one million students it serves.

We pick kids up and take them home.We feed and clothe and care for them before, during, and after school.We exercise their bodies and their minds.We provide structured, supervised, and safe social interaction.We expose them to art, music, poetry, and other forms of beauty.We provide therapy, counseling, and intervention when needed.

And it’s not just the WHAT we do, it is the HOW and SCALE that we do it on. To put it all into perspective, America’s public schools:

• Help more people each day than Amazon.

• Employ more people than the federal government.

• Have a higher customer satisfaction rate than Mercedes, BMW, and 32 other auto-makers.

• Teach a foreign language to a higher percentage of people than Rosetta Stone and DuoLingo.

• Have a lower failure rate by far than other small-medium sized businesses.

• Serve more Americans food each day than McDonald’s and Burger King COMBINED.

• Have four times more locations than Walmart, Target, Krogers, and Costco COMBINED.

• Transport more people each day that Uber, Lyft, and all airlines COMBINED.

• Provide physical activity for more students than all sports COMBINED.

• Watch more children before & after school than all child care companies COMBINED.

• Provide music to more children than Apple Music and Spotify.

But most importantly, we provide a host of quality adults to serve as role models, sherpas, and servants on children’s pathways to adulthood. Yes, you are proud to be a music educator, but sometimes we forget to just be proud to be educators. We don’t just serve America’s future, we ensure the SUCCESS of it!

And that should be music to EVERYBODY’S EARS.

p.s. I am thinking of doing a question & answer blog next week. Send me your questions, doesn't have to be music related. I will attempt to answer anything!

p.s. Sound Leadership, is now back in stock and shipping. Thank you for your patience.

Operation Varsity Blues, Snowplows, & My Failure as a Teacher

While the rest of America is obsessing over the college admission bribery scandal, I am too busy reminding my boys to clean up their mess, practice their piano, and close the cabinet they opened to care very much. As a former guidance department chair, my wife is a little obsessed with it, but it hasn’t slowed her down from packing their lunches, doing their laundry, and planning their playdates.

Are we doing too much? Perhaps, but we're not alone in doing it.

A recent poll conducted by The New York Times and Morning Consult showed that if parents don't stop handling things for their children, the fall out is significant when they become adults. Children of these parents are often woefully unprepared not just for post secondary schooling but life as an adult.

Helicopter parenting, the practice of hovering anxiously and monitoring your child’s every activity, is so commonplace that it has become more of a norm than an outlier. Taken to an extreme, these Hollywood parents have resorted to lying, cheating, and bribing their children’s way into college.

Code-named Operation Varsity Blues, the college entrance bribery sting operation has shocked the country as privilege and wealth were traded for access and opportunity at some of America’s most prestigious universities. Celebrities and millionaires buying their children’s way into college is certainly an extreme example but the underlying desire to help, assist, and shield children from risk, failure, or disappointment is as common as can be regardless of your social status. It even has a name. It's called Snow Plowing.

And in it’s less outrageous — and wholly legal — form, lawn-mowing and bulldozing (synonyms for snow plowing) has become more and more commonplace among not just the privileged elite, but for the everyday child.

After reading the article I sat and reflected on my own children and my parenting choices. Was I guilty of snowplowing? Yes. The sad part was, my snowplowing lifestyle was not just limited to my personal life, but extended into my professional life as well. As band director, did I ever:

• Choose literature that shielding my students from risk or exposure? Yes.

• Attend an event or contest that best suited my ensembles? Yes.

• Feature an accomplished soloist over a novice in order to score higher? Yes.

• Ask my music arranger to write to hide exposure to error? Yes.

• Excessively remind my students to practice instead of having them fail? Yes.

• Ever take a pollyanna approach to take a negative and make it more positive? Yes!
  

OMG! I’m not just a snowplow, I am a world class SNOWBLOWER!

I am sure at the time I was able to justify my choices. I am sure that they were rationalized with educational objectives and couched in student centered decision making. But, I am also relatively certain that there was some risk aversion going on as well. While stating that I was making my decisions for the good of my students, I am certain that there was an element of self-protection involved as well.

Being a music teacher involves risk. Unlike most other educators, our product/performance is on display for the world to see, hear and be judged (literally). Then our results are published for all to cheer and jeer. 

Knowing this, can you blame me for snowplowing? Can you see a little of it in yourself? I suspect so.

Darwinian thinking states that the strongest will survive. And that placing oneself in unnecessary peril is not an act of strength and bravery but one of cowardice and stupidity. We do what we must to avoid risk and exposure to pain. We seek to find more joy and hide from most anguish. In short, we do what is necessary to not just survive, but thrive as a person and a professional.

Is it right? I don’t know. If I were to return to the classroom would I continue to be something of a snowplow? I suspect so.

As a parent and a professional, I am trying to do what is best, and protect those in my charge. I mean no harm and do it from a place of love. Have I crossed the proverbial line into a place where I should be wearing snow pants? Perhaps, but it's hard to know since I don’t know where that line is. Can you show it to me? I lose sight of it from time to time.

All I know is, look out Ivy League, because here come the Lang boys! 

Now, anybody got 100K I can borrow?

Have a great week.

p.s. In all candor, when I was stuck in the Denver Airport for 44 hours last week due to the Polar Vortex Bomb, my mother checked in on me every four hours and even offered to buy my hotel room. So yeah, I come by my snowplowing naturally.

p.p.s. If you ordered a copy of Sound Leadership, please be patient. I ran out of stock TWICE! Your books will be there shortly.

p.s.s. I am playing around with the look and feel of the newsletter. Give me some feedback.

Bill Murray and the Brain Drain of February and March!

Imagine yourself hosting a party or a family gathering. You invite a group of friends and are celebrating a milestone or a special event. The party is going strong and you realize you are out of glassware. Not wanting to slow the momentum and energy, you sprint to the kitchen to get some glassware and you see Bill Murray in your kitchen doing your dishes.

No, you're not imagining it. It really happened.

Murray has been an iconic figure for nearly half a century. Through it all he has remained as accessible to the every day man as he is elusive to the paparazzi. To that point, for years now Bill Murray sightings have been the stuff of urban legend. In recent years, without any notice, the internationally known comedian and film star has:

• Crashed a bachelor party to offer some unsolicited advice on love. 

• Hopped behind the bar at an Austin watering hole to sling cocktails.

• Walked up to a Cubs fan desperately trying to get a ticket to the World Series and invited her to sit with him.

• Inserted himself in a Sunday family kickball game. 

• Walked onto a construction site and read poetry to the workers. 

According to IMDB, He’s popping up in so many random places that there’s even a website and a documentary by Tommy Avallone to tracking the actor’s whereabouts and activities. "The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From a Mythical Man is an inside look at rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend. Whether it be singing karaoke late at night with strangers or crashing a kickball game in the middle of the afternoon, Bill Murray lives in the moment and by doing so, creates magic with real people. "

Why does Murray do it? What’s his motivation?

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According to Avallone's, the answers lie both in Murray's films and the reflections of those he's touched in real life. “For Murray, life itself is a form of improv: When a situation arises, he meets it head-on and responds not as it should be but as he wants it to be.

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To the person, everyone who has been a part of his impromptu drop-ins says they came away from it feeling not like they'd met a movie star, but like they'd been lifted up by the experience. He lives entirely in the moment, they say, and it's never about him. 

I have never been especially good at living in the moment. I rarely savor a victory or revel in an accomplishment. My instinct is to move on and tackle the next problem. For most of my life this was more than my mentality, it was my identity, and I suspect will always be. You may be similar in this way. But, in recent months, like Murray I have felt more compelled to stop, watch, and listen. I am wanting to be a participant more than a leader and be WITH them instead of in FRONT of them.

Why do I share this? Because I know how BRUTAL February and March are for a music teachers. Registration deadlines, contest, school musicals, all-region auditions, concerts, and the like have us running ragged and always wondering, “I don’t have time to go to the bathroom, how am I going to find time to fill out a purchase order?” The demands and deadlines are as real as they are non-negotiable. But as you navigate through your day, perhaps you might remind yourself that we work with children. We create art. And that spontaneity and joy are more than a part of the artistic process, they are necessary parts of a healthy human experience. In the end, no one will remember your contest scores, they will remember how you made them think and feel.

Bill Murray’s adventures teach us an especially poignant lesson for an age when so much of life is lived outside the moment, via social media, where so many make it all about themselves. In the end, Avallone's film isn't really about Bill Murray at all, but his example. And it might be easier to emulate it than we think.

p.s. Look for a special announcement in your inbox tomorrow.

p.p.s. If you see or know Bill, please tell him he is welcome to "drop in" on any of my sessions!

The Lotto, Contest, and Being Protected by Suge Night!

Yesterday, after a delay of nearly three months, an anonymous South Carolinian claimed the $1.5 billion jackpot from the Mega Millions lottery held in October 2018. 

The winner, who has elected to remain anonymous, chose the one-time payment cash option, making the prize worth nearly $878,000,000. It is the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in U. S. history. While we don’t know “who” received the three quarters of a billion dollars, we do know “how” they won it. It turns out that while in line to buy the ticket, the winner allowed another customer to step in front to buy their ticket, leaving the benefactor of the kindness wondering what could have been.

Invariably you hear from lottery winners, "I’m not going to change, I will still be the same person I have always been.” Most people scoff at this and opine about what they would do with the money if they won. (SPOILER ALERT, mine involves having the President’s Own at my beck and call.) And, while we may never know if the winners honor their words, the sentiment does have some substantial science & psychology behind it.

In the book DRIVE, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, author Daniel Pink does a deep dive into the way our minds think and how our bodies work. The New York Times bestseller gives readers a paradigm shattering new way to think about motivation.

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"Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake,” says Pink. In this persuasive new book he asserts that "the secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world."

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Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

As we approach contest season it’s interesting to think about how we as teachers, and our students, are motivated. If you agree with Pink, and I do, techniques such as playing tests, practice records, and chair placement, while effective, actually inhibit the overall growth of the student and the ensemble. This does not necessarily mean we should approach everything as if we were a hemp wearing utopian vegan commune in the woods, but that we humans are pre-programmed to want to be challenged and that extrinsic motivators can serve to inhibit that innate desire.

Our students are programmed to think:

• If I study harder I will get an A.

• If I work harder I will get a leadership position.

• If I practice more, I will be first chair.

But is that the way we want them to think?

Do you want a student who will only learn for personal gain?Do you want a leader who works only when rewarded?Do you want a musician who only practices to beat their peers?Do you want an ensemble who celebrates the rating they received more than the music they made?Do you want to be the teacher who is remembered for their ratings more than their impact?

Of course not!

Studies show that the our minds are willing and wanting to work. And when we stray from that premise of “why” people work, we end up impeding excellence and not creating it.

After all, you don’t put in all those hours for a carrot of a paycheck do you? You don’t spend your nights and weekends at rehearsal because you fear being fired, do you? Likely not, as YOU are a model of intrinsic motivation who doesn’t just do things right, you do them for the right reasons.

So ask yourself, “What would I do after I won the lottery?” I have a sneaky suspicion that many of you would spend a portion of your winnings on your program and continue to serve music education in some way. 

Something to think about. 

Have a great week and stay warm!

p.s. If I won that much money, I would still write this e-zine, albeit from a large mansion on a remote island. You might think me guarded & distant, and you would be right. Just so you know, I won't just be "guarded" emotionally, I will physically be guarded by Suge Knight at all times. In addition, I will hire John Cena to protect ME from Suge Knight. So yeah, SOME things will change.

Glossophobia and Finding Your True Potential

This is the last part in a three part series about keeping your passion alive & Burning On!

Glossophobia, or speech anxiety, is commonly known as the fear of public speaking. The word glossophobia derives from the Greek word glōssa, meaning tongue, and phobos, fear or dread. Some people have this specific phobia while others may also have broader social phobia or social anxiety disorder.

Overall, fear of public speaking is by far and away America's biggest phobia - 25.3% say they fear speaking in front of a crowd. Glossophobia led by a wide margin over arachnophobia (spiders), ophidiophobia (snakes), arcophobia (heights), and arachibutyrophobia (fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth). Yep, according to a recent survey, talking in front of a room full of people is more terrifying than clowns, tall buildings, and lunchtime sandwich mishaps.

For those of you who suffer from glossophobia, fear not, there is help. There are public speaking coaches, relaxation exercises, books, and articles filled with peaking rules designed to ensure that your oration is met with adulation. Yes, time tested and sure fire tips, techniques that guarantee success.

And I ignore all of them.

Anyone who has ever been to one of my sessions or attended a presentation knows that my style is, well, unorthodox to stay the least. I move too much, talk too fast, sit people too close, and deliver too much content. Yes, I am the anti-speaker speaker.

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This was not a conscious decision or done with a great deal of forethought. But after sixteen years teaching and talking to kids, I had found my voice, my style, and my message. It was authentic to me and seemed to resonate with kids!

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In short, it works. At least it works FOR ME.

There is no one way to speak and if there was we could only impact or affect one type of person. I speak the way I taught, my way. Not the right way, not the wrong way, just my way. 

And I suspect you are similar in your uniqueness in your teaching, both in knowledge and delivery.

You have blessings & curses, successes & failures, and dreams & fears. You are uniquely you and have the ability to impact your students, community, and this profession in an equally unique way. 

Just know that your reach can stretch far beyond your classroom and your sphere of influence impacts more than just your students. It's important to think beyond what is immediate and right in front of you in order to know what is possible. You need to see that as you grow and evolve as a person and professional so does your influence. You many not feel or see it, but it is there for everyone else to see and believe. Sometimes you have to just trust and take the leap of faith towards your greatness. 

That is unless you have achievemephobia (fear of success). 

And yes, we can help with that too. 

Stay tuned for a big announcement!

Granularization and My Music Education Sommelier!

Granularization and My Music Education Sommelier!

Carla Marina Marchese is a Honey Sommelier. Yes, that’s correct, and not just your ordinary run of the mill one, she is an internationally respected and revered honey expert.

In a recent article she explains that, "When we taste honey, we don't do the ceremonial swirl — the wine expert's ritual — before we sniff. Honey sommeliers smear. 

Smear it on the sides of the glass like this," she says, using a tiny plastic spoon. Once the honey is smeared, I can stick my nose in the glass to properly evaluate the aroma, then spoon a dollop onto my tongue.” 

Listen, I’m the type of guy who keeps honey in a teddy bear container and if blindfolded would struggle to taste the difference between a fine honey and Louisiana Hot Sauce. But then again, I am just your average Joe while Carla is among the world’s leading honey experts.

Article author Jason Wilson writes that "When she detects a metallic taste in the honey, she knows the beekeeper has likely used rusty equipment. When she tastes too much smoky flavor, she knows the honey came from an inexperienced beekeeper who uses too much smoke because he’s afraid of bees. Which is to say Marchese’s palate is so finely tuned that she can literally taste the beekeeper’s fear in a smear of honey."

Mustard. Honey. Hot sauce. Welcome to the era of surprisingly specific expertise. The Sommelier of everything is here!

Granular specificity is not just reserved for those with fine honed pallets and super taster taste buds (and yes, that's a real thing, too). The are mechanics who only work on carburetors from 67 Ford Mustangs, surfing instructors that only teach dogs, and authors whose sole source of prose is contained within a fortune cookie.

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Generalization is out and specificity is in. And music education is not immune to the to granularization movement. In fact, in many ways, we are leading the charge.

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In the past thirty years music education has evolved to the point that many programs now have specific and unique show designers, program coordinators, movement specialists, choreographers, drill writers, music arrangers, instrument specialists, and drill instructors. We have apps, tuners, iPads, and instrument specific private lesson teachers to help us ensure with great specificity and micro accuracy that we are playing what we are supposed to, when we are supposed to, and where we are supposed to. And if not, a flock of pseudo instructors will swarm on you like bees on honey!

The age of specificity is here and brings with it a level of knowledge that speaks of expertise and craftsmanship. Being an expert implies additional education & training along with an extensive track record of success. It speaks to a deep understanding not just of the mechanics of the object but the art of it as well. It is the summation of a life’s body of work and a deep and abiding passion for the subject matter. Which is why I am proud to announce that I am changing my title to:

Secondary Education Music Education Leadership Sommelier! © ®

Yes, like a wine Sommelier, I can walk into a room and smell the fear of a young teacher. I can detect the slightest notes of procrastination and lack of accountability among the body of students. I can read body language and detect the slights after nodes of disengagement and apathy. I can speak with direction and distinction and is implied with pedagogical pedigree. 

How can I do this? Because I have dedicated my life to being a Secondary Education Music Education Leadership Sommelier (I just like writing that).

Others outside the profession might think it odd. They might think my job weirdly specific or far to narrow in scope. That’s ok, I don't understand their honey, and they don't have to understand my music. The world is plenty big enough for us to coexist.

And so is the world of music education. Despite it's narrow scope, the space is large enough for all of us to coexist and compliment one another, while being different.

Last week’s response to my "Burn In" e-zine was among the highest I have ever received. In that newsletter I suggested that in order to keep from burning out, you needed to burn on! My point was that inside this seemingly small profession are hundreds and hundreds of more granular pursuits. Opportunities to explore passions and professional pathways that can excite and engage as if we were new teachers once again. And that the specificity of these pursuits is not a liability, but an asset and an opportunity. 

The question is, what is your Sommelier?

Last week, I stated a problem. This week, I propose a pathway. Next week I will provide a solution.

Stay tuned and have a great week.

Scott Lang
Secondary Education Music Education Leadership Sommelier

WORKING HARD AND BURNING ON!

I was recently interviewed for an article on music teacher burnout. The author was not an educator and asked questions similar to those that might be asked of a banker, dentist, or any number of other non-music professions. After a few minutes, I stopped her and asked if she had any exposure to music education. 

She excitedly replied that her daughter was in the fifth grade and had just started the saxophone, but other than that, she did not.

I proceeded to give her a crash course in all things music education: the early mornings, late nights, and endless weekend events, musicals, marching band, angry parents, cranky adjudicators, and the ever evolving standard of excellence. I told her stories of sleep deprivation, missed meals, and the quandary of breaking down one class, preparing for another, and using the restroom during the six minute passing period.

Needless to say she was a bit overwhelmed.

She said, “I had no idea it was like that. Do you have any tips for people wanting to avoid it? Maybe an outside hobby, exercise, or more time away from school?”

"Yes, I have one tip," I replied. "WORK MORE!"

After a brief pause she replied, "I don’t understand, work MORE?"

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From my experience, we don’t burnout because of the workload. We burn out because we’ve lost the fire for what we do. Hence the term, burn-out. Our fire is out! The solution to burn-out is not running away, it’s staying and building a new fire.

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Listen, speaking from experience, if you teach long enough burnout is unavoidable. If you believe the stats, 52% of YOU are at risk for leaving the profession. Why? Well, we are the most lateral profession on the planet. If you are a really good bank teller, you get promoted to Head Teller. If you are successful at that you move on to Assistant Branch Manager, which is obviously a gateway to Branch Manager. If you find success they you move up to the corporate offices and you become a District Manager, with an eye on joining the executive team with an office in the C-Suites and the seven figure salary.

If you are a world class educator… Well, you get to stay there for thirty years and eat bad cafeteria food. 

In today’s world we not wired to do the same thing for thirty-five years and we shouldn’t be embarrassed to acknowledge that. Burnout isn’t bad. And, we have to stop acting as if it were. It's you bodies way of telling you that it's time for change. 

• I cannot lift weights the way I did when I was 25

• I cannot eat or drink the way I did at 25

• I cannot sleep the way I did at 25

• I cannot run the way I did at 25

I cannot teach the way I did at 25. Nor should I. I am smarter, more skilled and efficient, thus freeing up time and energies for something new and challenging.

Burnout is in part WHAT we do, but also in HOW we do it. In order to avoiding burning OUT of our profession we have to burn IN to what we do. We have to reinvent both the what and the how we do things.

Yes, burnout is painful, but remember the good with the bad. Being burnt out means you:

• Pursued excellence at a high level

• Invested in something in a deep and personal way

• Dedicated years to perfecting a craft

• Gave generously of your time and talents

• Put the success of children above your own well being

The answer is finding something NEW inside of something OLD. For instance, when I started to feel the pangs of burnout: 

• I took on additional responsibilities of department chair and construction coordinator.

• When that wasn’t enough I served on my constituent board.

• After a few years when the burn out returned I became an administrator.

• After returning to the classroom. I wrote a book.

• When the fire started to diminish, I started a leadership company.

• After eight years on the road, feeling a bit crispy, I created Be Part of the Music.

• Seven years later I began business consulting.

Each one of these new endeavors required more time, more effort, and more work. But, with each added responsibility came the joy of finding our profession anew again. I was able to learn new things, make new mistakes, and surround myself with new people. These events didn’t diminish my career, it extended and enriched it beyond measure. New technologies, opportunities, and schools have made our profession more diverse and open to opportunity than ever before. The landscape of music education is filled with opportunities and options that present endless options for someone who is looking to spark a new flame and re-build their once powerful fire.

So let me ask you, what would keep your burn-on? Is there a new role you can assume, side-business you can start, or thing you can create? Is there a problem you can solve or someone you can help? Is there something that makes you smile or keeps you up at night?

If not, then think in it. If so, then chase it! Because the solution to BURNING OUT, is BURNING ON!

p.s. In the next couple of weeks you will be hearing about new projects that have me burning on. Stay tuned.

KonMari and My Unsubscribe Button

Marie Kondo is an internationally recognized Japanese organizing consultant-turned-author whose book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, re-popularized the idea that the first step to achieving inner peace is to give away the useless piles of things you’ve accumulated over the years. 

Through her four best selling books, and the recently released series on Netflix called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, she has helped millions of people not just declutter their homes but also declutter their lives and relationships. She was recently named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people and has created an international movement causing thrift stores to explode as people downsize belongings and embrace a more minimalist life.

At its very essence, Marie’s method, the KonMari method, has people sort through each and every thing in their lives and ask the simple question, “Does this spark joy in my life?” If the answer is no, then the object is “thanked” for being a valued part of your life and discarded with respect. As a part of the cleansing process, she sorts all objects into five categories:

1. Clothing

2. Books

3. Paper

4. Miscellaneous

5. Sentimental

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Her method advocates that by separating all items and focusing singularly on one group at a time, you are best able to hone your sense of “joy” and make good decisions about what things are truly important and what things are just getting in the way.

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Her advocates say that her approach has changed lives, improved relationships, and even saved marriages. It’s not about the cleanliness per say but it is about removing things that distract us from what is important while lowering the stress levels in our relationships.

Admittedly, I am an easy covert. I am a minimalist by nature and find a sense of peace in simple & decluttered places. My wife and I differ in this area. When I suggested we try the KonMari method (which she already knew about), she laughed and said, “Okay, all my things spark joy! So leave my stuff ALONE!” 

Admittedly, her angst comes from me, maybe, throwing away some of her things in the name of decluttering or from the time I completely emptied our closet into the tub while she was away on a trip. Those things did not spark joy, and per the KonMari method, but sparks did fly!

When you hear music teachers, or students, talk about their programs, you almost always hear the words “home” and “family.” And for many of our students it is more than a metaphor. And like a well lived in home, our rooms are full of stuff and can become cluttered with things once valuable and useful but are no longer needed, relevant, or bring anyone joy. Perhaps we could conduct a KonMari experiment on our rehearsal spaces and offices. The translation to a music room is almost seamless. When I look at the five categories of Marie’s method I see them easily converting to our second home/rehearsal space:

1. Uniforms

2. Music & method books

3. Paperwork & emails

4. Miscellaneous 

5. Trophies, plaques, and photos

Everything has its place and time. And times and places change and we have to change with them, both personally and professionally. Think of: 

• A trophy that was valued at one time but is not relevant to current students

• The Eb alto horn that no longer is played but occupies a locker

• The old color guard silks that are no longer used

• The broken chairs, stands, and bows that take up space

• The fax machine that sits in a closet or CDs that are no longer used

• The email/voicemail box that is overflowing with messages

Please understand that this activity and blog are not about "Tidying Up". Far from it. It's about viewing removing things from your professional life and space that no longer spark joy. It's about honoring the past but looking toward the future. It's about decluttering your heart and mind as well as your space, for you and your students so that you can spend more time and energy focusing on the things and people that...

Spark joy!

Happy “KonMaring!"

p.s. If this blog does not spark joy... Please feel free to whisper a "thank you,” and unsubscribe. If it does spark joy, then share with a friend. 

The Grading Curve and the Merits of Sitting Last Chair!

The Boston Globe recently released a report on the post secondary success of its cities top high school graduates. The Valedictorians Project chronicles the post secondary lives of the best and brightest their schools had to offer. The multi-year study chronicled the lives of these academic all-stars in the decade that followed their graduation and the results were shocking to say the least. 

After interviewing the top graduates from the cities public schools they found that:

• One in four failed to get a bachelor's degree 
  
  

• A quarter wanted to become doctors, but none did

• Forty percent make less than $50k a year

• Four have been homeless at some point

• Many who achieved college degrees were still struggling

How is this possible? These students studied hard and set off to change the world. But what the study found was that in more cases than not, the world changed them.

This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. After all, they had put in the time and done the work. They had made the sacrifices necessary to stand among the elite. How could this be possible? It turns out the answers are as varied and as complicated as the lives of the students who participated.

To be clear, the report is not an inditement of these schools or their teachers but rather tries to understand all of the complex factors associated with student learning and academic success, including poverty, gender, race, and opportunity. 

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For me, it begs us all to ask the question, “Are these schools failing to serve their children, or is the community failing to serve their schools?”

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For instance, the report stated, “many of Boston’s top students are “doubly disadvantaged” at college because they are financially struggling and have little in their background to prepare them for higher education. Thrust into an alien, privileged world, they try to get through classes while holding down jobs, coping with crises back home, or even struggling with limited English. A number of valedictorians said that they experienced culture shock, social isolation, and a deep disconnect with college classmates, sometimes going so far as to switch schools or drop out." The study also noted that, "Valedictorians from the cities and towns surrounding Boston have fared much better than their counterparts in Boston public schools. The suburban graduates were about two and a half times as likely as the Boston students both to earn an advanced degree and earn more than $100,000 a year.”

So, is it better to be a Valedictorian in the inner city or the class clown in the suburbs. This recent report seems to indicate the latter.

If we were to conduct a similar study with student musicians, I wonder what the results would be? For instance, would it be better:

• To be last chair in a strong ensemble or first chair in a weak one?

• To be a lead player in a weak school or a weak player in a strong school?

• Be an alternate in a nationally recognized marching band or drum major of a weak one?

• To struggle at Juilliard or shine at a lesser school?

I do not know the answers to these questions, but I have my thoughts and theories. Winton Marsalis once said, “Don’t let my prejudices become yours!” So I will keep them to myself. But what I do know is that much like the students studied as a part of The Valedictorians Project, the reach, depth, and value of what EVERY child receives as a part of their school music experience (and from YOU) cannot be fully measured until long after they are gone.