Do you ever get frustrated with the progress of your ensemble?  Me too.  But no matter the cause of our frustration, no matter the hurdles we must jump, no matter the tiny steps we might have to have our students take, no matter the repetitions needed, no matter anything, we must remember the words of William Purkey and John Novak that remind us that “Education is fundamentally an imaginative act of hope.” An imaginative act of hope!  Words more profound I have scarcely heard.  Reading it is easy.  Remembering it in those frustrating moments is harder.  Acting upon it is even harder.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. Dr. Boonshaft is currently on the faculty of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where he is Professor of Music and Director of Bands. He has also been named Director of Education for KHS America. He was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.”

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