#298. Just One Thing

by | Jan 20, 2026 | Boonshaft's Blog

At a music education symposium last week, I was asked a question that really gave me pause. Actually, it stopped me dead in my tracks. Ready? Here it is: “Dr. Boonshaft, if you could change one thing about yourself as a teacher, what would it be?” See why I was floored? So, I responded with a cute, “Oh my, there are so many things, do you have a few hours!” I thought that would get me off the hook. It didn’t. The person came right back with, “give me the one thing.” So I did. But far more important than my answer, is your answer. So, I ask you, “If you could change one thing about yourself as a teacher, what would it be?” Then we have to answer the follow-up question: “what’s stopping us?”

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft, Director of Education for KHS America, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. 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.” Dr. Boonshaft was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

The content of this Blog article or Banded Story is the intellectual property of the author(s) and cannot be duplicated without the permission of KHS America and/or the author(s). Standard copyright rules apply.

RECENT BOONSHAFT'S BLOG POSTS

#310. Rehearsals

#310. Rehearsals

by

T. S. Elliot stated that “the journey, not the arrival matters.“ I think we can all agree with that wonderful thought. As teachers, that is our stock-in-trade. It is what we dedicate our professional lives to. It surely describes the big picture of our time with our...

#309. Believe

#309. Believe

by

As you walk into your classroom today, remember these words of Anatole France, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” We can follow the advice of the remarkable sentiment: “To achieve all that is possible,...

#308. Why Make It Vivid?

#308. Why Make It Vivid?

by

When rehearsing an ensemble, one of the challenges is to convince our musicians that they must make the piece not only come to life, but do so incredibly vividly. The best way I have found is to ask them how many times we will rehearse a piece before a...