Baggage Fees and lessons learned at 27,000 feet

As I write this e-zine, I am flying the friendly skies, headed for parts unknown. Having done this more than a few times, you would think flying would get old, but for me, it doesn't. I'm not saying that travel is all wine and roses, but there are experiences to be had and sights to be seen that can't be had any other way.

You have your daily commute and I have mine. They are likely very similar, just at different altitudes. We also likely spend them in similar pursuits, thinking about the day ahead and the ever growing to do list. Throughout my travels, I have learned a few things that I thought I might share... Will you indulge me?

• Baggage fees serve an important purpose. Admittedly, these fees are likely a cash grab by monopolistic industry, but it does serve as a behavior modifier... It encourages people to pack less and travel lighter. On planes and in our lives, unnecessary baggage weighs heavy upon on and weighs us down. Perhaps if our professions and lives had fees associated with the burden of baggage, we would carry less of it and be more nimble.

• Loyalty matters. Frequent fliers know that loyalty to an airline is EVERYTHING. Frankly, it's less about the good days and more about having someone on your side during the bad ones. The perks of a good seat or boarding the plane first pale in comparison to the benefit of having someone on your side when a flight is cancelled and you are trying to get home. As I said, loyalty yields the greatest gain on the worst of days. Think about that next time you are in your principal's office with an upset parent.

• The seat is less important than the person sitting in it. First Class, Business Class, Economy Plus, and Advantage Select are all ways that the various airlines indicate the most desirable seats. For me, it is less about legroom (I require very little) and location, than it is about than the person I am placed with. On more than one occasion, I have laughed my way through the skies engrossed in conversation sitting in a middle seat. I have also been trapped with an upgrade next to a "first class a$$." The quality of the trip is not dependent upon the seat but the person sitting in it. Sometimes the best of people can make the worst of circumstances more bearable, so when possible, choose your travel companions wisely.

It has been said that, "The lesson will continue to present itself until the student truly learns it." In this way, I am still the student. I struggle with these things as much as anyone. I, too, am working to carry less baggage, be more loyal, and surround myself with the best people possible. Perhaps you might be interested in joining me as my travel companion. After all, I am working to surround myself with nothing but the best.

There is more to share, but I have another plane to board, and another lesson to be learned.

Have a GREAT week and good luck in all of your performances this week!

The nut & bolt and the October plateau...

We interrupt our normally scheduled email with this important message. Fear not (or fear), Scott will return next week with his (un)usual snarky and slightly useless insights. We should also note, this email was comprised at an unreasonable hour, so please be forgiving if we missed dotting an "i" or crossing a "t."

Tonight, I received SIX calls from phone calls from frantic directors whose groups had HIT THE WALL, or as I call it, the October plateau.

You know what I'm talking about. We've all been there. You go to rehearsal each and every day, but nothing seems to be getting better. The kids are grumpy, the staff is even grumpier and you are scanning Monster.com for a new career. Sound familiar?

While their specific circumstances differed slightly, the callers were all looking for the same thing; a group activity that would lift their group out of the doldrums, rekindle their spirit, and remind them why this activity is so important.

As I put together my thoughts and ideas, it occurred to me that some of you might also be in need of a similar sort of thing. 

So, I scrapped this weeks newsletter and decided to send you this video instead. 

I want to share with you a very special activity I did with my students during difficult times called The Nut and Bolt. It was one of my favorite teaching traditions and I can't believe I waited this long to share it. 

Should you decide to use it, you can show this video, or use a script that I am attaching. Fear not, no one needs to know this came from me. Take credit and enjoy the experience and the effect it has on you and your students. 

If you decide to so this activity, just go to your local hardware store and purchase one bolts and three nuts for every student. It should be less than ten dollars as you can buy them in bulk.

I am also attaching a copy of my 50 quick ideas for sectional bonding. It comes from my first book Leadership Travel Guide. If you have questions about the activity or the documents, please feel free to contact me at any time.

A barbecue with my Solar Interstellar Neighborhood!

This past weekend, my wife and I took our boys to the Griffith Park Observatory. In a thinly veiled attempt at good parenting, I meandered from exhibit to exhibit, trying to read one step ahead of them so as to be able to appear educated and informed. Again, this was a thinly veiled attempt.

We happened upon a talk being given by an astrophysicist who appeared to be all of twelve years old, during which she demonstrated the relative size of the Earth when compared to our Solar System and galaxy.

Look, I don't want to get all smarty pants on you guys, or use any of them fancy shmancy words, so let me just put it in simple terms you can understand. Compared to the known universe, the Earth is like a tiny dust particle spinning around in my Dyson vacuum cleaning chamber after not having emptied it for six years. Yes, I scientifically verified that fact to be true. (Editor's note: Scott just made that up, but you probably knew that!)

I thought the earth was HUGE! Man, was I wrong.

Not only are we the sickly little brother to our brother planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, but it turns out, our Solar System is equally UNIMPRESSIVE when compared to galaxy and universe! (Editor's note: I removed Scott Uranus joke... You're welcome).

Yep, that's right, after you leave our solar system, you wander through the Solar Interstellar Neighborhood, out to our Milky Way Galaxy, towards the Local Galactic Group, through the Virgo Supercluster, towards our Local Superclusters and into the known Observable Universe.

When I said the Earth was a spec of dust, I believe I may have over-estimated our size. (Editors note: What?! Scott guesstimating?! SHOCKER!).

I have never been to space, nor have my neighbors in the Solar Interstellar Neighborhood invited me over for a barbecue, so it is hard for me to conceive of the scale of it all. The Earth is my home and is my only frame of reference, so I am sticking with my story. The Earth is HUGE! (Editors note: Notice how hard concrete evidence fails to sway Scott. Is anyone else concerned by this?)

When I taught, I was convinced my band program was HUGE as well. I saw everything through the lens of my four walls and the students that passed through it.

Sure, I knew that there was also a really good choir and orchestra program just down the hallway, but the band was my epicenter. Yes, I was fed by two middle schools and six elementary schools, but we were a big deal! Yes, there were five other highly successful high school music programs in my district, but they weren't like us. Yes, I know that Phoenix is the fifth largest city in America and just one of fifty states, but my program was special. Yes, I know that music making exists from birth to death and that is it supported by industry partners, manufactures, record labels, and traditional and social media. And yes, I know that the financial size and scope of all of this is equivalent to Black Friday at Amazon. Of course, music education exists on every continent, but not like it does in America.

But I remember us as being HUGE... Weren't we?

• Yes, we were huge... to a bunch of kids who had nothing else to do.
• Yes, we were huge... to a bunch of kids who had nowhere else to go.
• Yes, we were huge... to a bunch of kids who had no one else to look up to.
• Yes, we were huge... to teenagers in search of success and achievement.
• Yes, we were huge... to a bunch of parents who were trying to raise good kids.
• Yes, we were huge... to a school community that needed something to be proud of.
• Yes, we were huge... to twenty four year old teacher wanting to make a difference.

Even when compared to the vastness of music education, to the people that mattered, we were HUGE and so are you!

Now if you will excuse me... I need to take care of something that's bothering me.

(Editor's note: Scott left to empty the vacuum.)

CAUTION! Children NOT at Play!

America's school yards, playgrounds and ball fields are becoming increasingly barren as decision makers look to increase their student performance by squeezing out recess in favor of more desk time. In short, more and more American schools are willing to sacrifice children's "play time" for "academic time."

In a desperate attempt to increase academic achievement, many schools are abandoning, or reducing, time spent outdoors in hopes that it will lead to increased standardized test scores. They do this despite the growing body of evidence suggesting restricting time at play is in fact restricting student learning.

In a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly, Jack Shonkoff, the director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, makes the case for more play, not less. He states, "It's not taking a break from learning when we talk about play," while rattling off a litany of cognitive, physical, mental, and social-emotional benefits. "Play is one of the most important ways in which children learn."

In the mid-2000s, the federal No Child Left Behind education law, which emphasized test scores, prompted some schools to scale back recess (along with art and music) to spend more time on math and reading. Some schools went so far as to eliminate recess for the lowest academic performers, who, some would argue, need the physical break the most.

Yes, there are multiple studies which speak to the importance of "play." And there is NO substitute for recess. But I can't help but wonder that as student mature and recess is no longer an option, if the same benefits don't hold true for musical play. While I am not aware of any academic studies, I know that similar to recess, music reaches parts of the mind untouched by desk learning. In addition, the "soft skills" associated with personal and social interaction found in music ensembles can not be easily replicated while sitting in rows of desks.

To my way of thinking, playing music is play time! Music education is more than learning a language or training ones embouchure. It's more than notes on a page for pressing the right spot on a fret board. Music is about PLAYING an instrument. You can not participate in music without PLAYing an instrument. Beyond the play, music teaches the WHOLE CHILD in a comprehensive way not found anywhere else.

• Music is where the physical meets the intellectual. 
• Music is where cerebral moments and emotional ones occur simultaneously. 
• Music is where academic and aesthetic go hand in hand. 
• Music is where every individual is challenged but done so in a group environment. 
• Music is where learning through play is playing while you learn.

Music isn't a substitute for other coursework, nor is it an impediment. Music can and should stand side by side with any other course when it comes to academic weight and rigor. Music can reach children in a way that other curricula can't and reach places in children that would otherwise remain untouched. In short... music matters.

Yes, in music we play... And according to the latest studies, so should everyone else.

Just my thoughts, now stop reading and go play!

My Exhaustion and the Fulghum Pharmacy

"You look tired Scott. I've never even seen you look like tired, much less THIS tired! Everything okay?"

Joel was the third person to say that to me in as many days. He was right. I was beat down dog tired and struggling to keep up.

I thought I was doing a better job of hiding it. I thought my game face was better than that. After all, I make my living putting on "the game face." I am good at the game face, heck, I am MISTER GAME FACE!

Well, at least I thought I was.

Listen, I lived a blessed life and I am grateful for every moment of it. And I understand that I am in a world of my own making and that I am free to change it at any time.

But knowing all of this doesn't make me feel any better. My problem wasn't what I knew, it was what I was feeling... Overworked, overwhelmed, and overlooked.

I am fully aware that as we approach the end of September that I am in good company. It's likely that many of you share these emotions. You know what you do is important, but you don't FEEL that way. Knowing is not always feeling.

When I am at the bottom, when I am beat down, when I need help, I have a drug of choice that I turn to... Robert Fulghum. Yes, the author of All I Really I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I have all of his books, have read them multiple times, and have even had the pleasure of seeing him speak live.

The effect he has on me is as inexplicable as it is immediate. His writing speaks to me. He makes me think, and perhaps more importantly, makes me feel. He is my spiritual sherpa, surrogate grandfather, and kindred spirit.

In desperate need of a pick me up, I slumped up to my office in a sullen mood, grabbed one of his books and started to read. Almost instantly I felt better. Panacea or placebo? I don't care! I FELT better.

Wanting more of this drug (and who wouldn't?), I went to his website in hopes of finding a new book to read or a new morsel of goodness to chew upon and there it was... Right there on the front page. It was like he was waiting for me to arrive and had written me a personal note.

---

Why do I continue writing? To be useful.

Often, without realizing it, we fill important places in each other's lives. It's that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage, the family doctor, teachers, coworkers, and neighbors. Good people who are always "there," who can be relied upon in small, ordinary ways. People who, by example, teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the daily-ness of life.

I want to be one of those.

You may be one of those, yourself. There are those who depend on you, watch you, learn from you, are inspired by you, and count on you being in their world. You may never have proof of your importance to them, but you are more important than you may think. There are those who couldn't do without you. The rub is that you don't always know who. We seldom make this mutual influence clear to each other. But being aware of the possibility that you are useful in this world is the doorway into assuring that will come to be true.

My way is to keep writing and sharing that. What's yours?

-Robert Lee Fulghum

---

My way is to serve music education and the people who call it their profession.

I would like to believe that out there, in a classroom somewhere, there is someone, young or old, who depends on me, learns from me, is inspired by me, and counts on me. I may not always KNOW it, but I always FEEL it. I am useful because I have you!

Thank you, Robert, for reminding me of that.

I'm GREAT with numbers but BAD at math!

It's true. My lack of love for all things math related has been well chronicled here and in my workshops throughout the years. Why started as a rough patch in the 8th grade became a bad break up between me and geometry during my sophomore year of high school. We haven't spoken sense.
I'm not saying that I wasn't at fault in the breakup, but let's just say to my way of thinking, I was more Katie Holmes than Tom Cruise in this relationship. I would use the more topical Brad and Angelina reference, but I'm not sure who I would be in that case.
As I said, I am bad at math but great with numbers. I'm kind of a data geek. I am fascinated by numbers and how they shape (or don't) our decision making process, specifically in music education.
For instance:

• If I told you that 9% of students and 7% of teachers are absent on Mondays, would you change learning new drill to Wednesday?
• If I told you that student learning is optimal at 72 degrees, would you change the thermostat setting in your room?
• If I told you that 35.77% of music was written in just four keys, would it change the way you practice scales and arpeggios?
• If I told you that 58% of students who start an instrument quit prior to high school graduation, would you approach recruiting differently?
• If I told you that New York has the highest average median wage and lowest unemployment for a music educator, would you put your house up for sale?
• If I told you that color pallets (numbers) change the way students learn and process information, would you change the light bulbs when you rehearse certain pieces
• If I told you that 50% of you are going to leave the profession, would you change the hours you work?
• If I told you I get sleepy after lunch, can we just schedule all of my productive meetings for morning and my afternoon meetings at Starbucks?

You might find these factual tidbits interesting. It might pique your curiosity or validate something you have long suspected. You might even want to call me Cliff Clavin. But, will it inspire a call to action or invoke a significant change? More than likely, not.

l do believe a better understanding of how we learn is important. I believe that better data can lead to better outcomes. I believe that understanding scope and sequence matters and that teaching through better literature makes a difference in how and what students learn.

Yes, I believe in all of this because I believe in numbers, but I don't understand the "math."

Math [math-uh-mat-iks] noun. (used with a singular verb) the systematic treatment of magnitude, relationships between figures and forms, and relations between quantities expressed symbolically.

I want to understand the systemic questions of greater magnitude and the relationships between them. In reference to the above points, I want to understand:

• Why we still teach on a traditional Monday-Friday, 8-2:30 schedule.
• Why we have kids in outdated facilities that impede learning.
• Why our approach to pedagogy is based more in history than science.
• Why some students quit music and others don't.
• Why some places/cities/people in America value music education more than others.
• Why we still believe that teaching and learning occurs only in rooms with numbers.
• Why we have done so little to keep ourselves from self-destructing as a profession.
• Why I don't just quit and get an afternoon job as a barista.

Numbers provide data. Math provides context. Numbers provide information. Math provides perspective. Numbers tell the science. Math tells the story. Numbers are finite and concrete. Math is infinite and convoluted.

Numbers are information. Math is the treatment of magnitude, relationships between figures and quantities.

The NUMBERS I understand. It's the MATH that has me perplexed.

But then again, I am good with numbers, but bad at math.

Have a great week!

My Net Worth Versus My Self Worth

 
As someone who is self-employed and the sole income provider for our household, I am always watching and worrying over our finances. Like many of you, I have a mortgage, a couple of cars, a wife, and two kids that are the center of our universe. They are involved in just about everything you can imagine and are never left wondering where their next meal is coming from.
We have insurance for our house, cars, health, and even our lives. Man, that is the business I should have gone into... Insurance!

With whatever is left over, we try and save for our kids education and the hopeful idea of retirement, but it's not always easy.

In an effort to sleep at night and keep my inner demons at bay, we met with our financial advisor who very seriously punched a bunch of numbers into his computer to try and determined our "net worth." Truly, a number this small should have not required this much work! My first grader, using his fingers and a couple of toes, could have figured this one out. Let's just say, we won't be yacht shopping anytime soon.

"That's my net worth?" I said in disbelief.

Had we missed something? Did I mention I have a shoebox full of baseball cards from 1976 in my closet? How are those not worth something? I have a mint condition Reggie Jackson and a Pete Rose still in the package WITH THE GUM! This can't be real! I mean, each and every year we cut a few corners and save a little more and this is what we have to show for it?
In a nutshell, your net worth is really everything you own of significance (your assets) minus what you owe in debts (your liabilities). Assets include cash, investments, your home, cars, or anything else of value you own minus your liabilities and obligations.

• What about my beautiful wife and two knucklehead kids?
• What about all of the people I love and love me back?
• What about all of the memories I have made with my wife and kids?
• What about the students I have taught and the music we have made?
• What about the places we traveled and the things we saw?
• What about the early mornings, late nights, and long weekends we spent together?
• What about the leadership retreats, honor bands, and private lessons?
• Are you telling me those have no value? That they aren't worth anything?

It was then that I realized that my net worth had nothing to do with my self worth. Yes, I was reeling from the fact that my net worth is so small, but beaming from the fact that my self worth is so large. Given the choice, I will take the latter every time.

As a teacher, you will always struggle with your net worth, but should never question your self worth. You can't calculate your worth using a computer and an algorithm. You can't place a numeric value on your impact on the lives of young people. You can't confine your life's work to an Excel spreadsheet.

You are measured by more than your net worth, you are measured by your self worth.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Airport Bars, Bookstores, and Celebrity Magazines

I travel a lot... And I mean A LOT. Just so we're clear, my travel life is more akin to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles than it is to Up in the Air. There is virtually no major airport in America that I have not frequented over the past decade. Honestly, some are more of a second home to me than an aeronautical pass through.

Want to know where the working power outlets are? I'm your guy. Want to know where to get the best eats or seats? Shoot me a text! Interested in ways to make your unexpected and unwanted overnight stay in Concourse A more bearable? Give me a call.

Regardless of where you travel, every airport in America has two things in common: bars and bookstores. I suspect that they both exist for the same reason, boredom. But for the sake of professionalism, we will only chat about bookstores.

Airport bookstores typically contain only three types of products: celebrity gossip mags, leadership books, and gum. Lots and lots of gum. Despite my wonderment, these products wouldn't be on the shelf if people didn't buy them, but why? Why are people so obsessed with celebrities, gum, and leadership?

While I can't speak for the first two, our obsession with leadership is nothing new.
If you look back long enough, you will find that people have been looking to define and understand leadership for a VERY long time. The likes of Plato, Confucius, and Sun Tzu pondered the concept of leading long before indoor plumbing and the internet. Despite thousands of years of research and tens of thousands of books on the subject, do we have that many more leaders today than in times past? We know want better leaders, but how do we make them?

Schools teach that knowledge is power and that information is paramount in the decision making process. Seems obvious enough. But, is it true? Your students all know the importance of eating right and yet McDonald's still exists. They know the importance of getting enough sleep, but most of your students are powered by a dangerous concoction of caffeine and energy drinks. They know the importance of practicing, but...

So where is the power in knowledge alone?

Knowing is easy, doing is HARD. Yes, information and knowledge are important parts of being a leader. But leadership is not just information, its the willingness to act upon it. That is what makes music the perfect laboratory for creating and training student leaders.

• Music measures not just what leaders know, but what they do.
• Music provides opportunities to not just learn about leadership, but practice it.
• Music challenges leaders on an intellectual, physical, and personal level.
• Music provides leadership opportunities for every type of leader.
• Music provides for real time feedback from peers and adults.
• Music provides students a safe place to fail and try again.
• Music provides a culture that embraces the concept of servant leadership.
• Music teaches leaders when to lead and when to follow.

Unlike other curricula, in music students don't just study leadership, they practice it on an almost daily basis. They don't just learn about leadership, they actually do it.

Listen, information is important and knowledge can change a person. In the hopes of bettering myself and my looks, I just read an entire article about George Clooney. Next time you see me, you will have to let me know how well it worked.

Gotta go, my plane is boarding. Just wish I had bought some gum.

Kids Will Be Kids... at Least for Awhile

"Today's kids are immature, self-absorbed, and just need to GROW UP!" This is a comment I hear from teachers on an almost daily basis. And, I must confess that I have shared a similar sentiment on more than one occasion.

However, just yesterday, I was talking with a former student who credited his band experience with helping him to be the adult that he is today. But when did that happen? I don't remember him being particularly grown up when he was in my class. I remember him trying to raise a baby rat in his band locker...

So when did he become a grown up... 21? That seems like a good age to be a grown up. After all, that's our legal drinking age.
Maybe even younger. Eighteen? That's when he become emancipated, assumed liability for his actions, could vote, and could have even served in our nation's military. Yes, perhaps it was when he turned 18. Right? Or maybe not.

After all, you're allowed to watch adult movies at 17, drive at 16, and hold a job as young as 14. You can deliver newspapers, babysit, or work for your parents even younger than that. When you enter middle school at 12, you can choose "career education" tracts to help plan your pathway to adulthood. And, with today's technology and social media, 10 year olds have often seen more tragedy, violence, and sadness than people twice their age did a decade ago. It seems that kids are exposed to adulthood younger than ever before.

So when did he grow up? It did not happen in my class. I was there. I would remember it. And trust me, locking his best friend in a tuba case is not grown up!

Maybe he wasn't grown up, but he was in fact growing up.

Growing up is not defined solely by time, but by experiences. He grew through trial and error. He grew during good times and even more so during bad ones. He grew when I challenged his mind and body. He grew up when his soul was nourished. He grew when expectations were set, and passions were ignited. He grew when boundaries were drawn and consequences were assigned. He grew before, during, and after school and on weekdays and weekends!

I was right, he wasn't GROWN up when I taught him, he was GROWING up.

There is no singular time or seminal moment which defines a young person's passage into adulthood. It is as different as the children who experience it. We never really know WHEN kids grow up... But we do know WHERE: in your rehearsal room!

Yes, right in front of your very eyes it is happening. You may not always see it, but trust me, it's happening. Not just in front of you, but because of you.

They are GROWING up. Well... Most of them.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

I am a green type guy. My wife has me reduce, reuse, and recycle on a regular basis. Yes, I even know the difference between type 2 and type 3 recycleable products. Well... Actually, I don't, but my wife has explained it to me several times!

Despite all of that, I generally try not to "re-cycle" articles. It's not that the ideas aren't current or relevant, it's just that... Well, it makes me feel lazy! You know, like I took the easy way out and didn't dig deep to find something new and fresh.

But recently, I received a request to re-print an article from three years ago called, "A Night of Firsts..." The teacher who wrote to me said she had read it before every first football game but could not find her copy. She encouraged me not to just to re-send it to her, but to reprint it for everyone. Her letter was so sweet and passionate, I decided to honor her request.

Here's to Beth and my attempts at bein' green.