One of my favorite quotes, one that I think truly encapsulates our profession, is by the remarkable Socrates, who said, “We cannot live better than in seeking to become still better than we already are.” Think about it; isn’t that what we all do? When we go to summer workshops, attend weekend symposiums, take advanced classes, or read an informative book, I believe we are living what Socrates had in mind. When we push ourselves to get ever better, we honor those profound words, and our students are the beneficiaries of those efforts.
A profound corollary to that sentiment can be found in the words of the Brazilian Novelist, Paulo Coelho, who said, “When we strive to become better than we are, everything” (and if I may add to his words, even more applicably for us as teachers, everyone) “around us becomes better too.” With every new idea we find, every new technique we learn, every new perspective we gain, everyone around us – our students – become better. And isn’t that the very essence of education at its best?
Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America
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
#302. Scatter
The next time you see your band, tell them that you are going to do a “scattered” rehearsal. Explain that they can sit anywhere in the room they want, as long as they are not in the same location, or next to the same people as usual. Preferably, they should not even...
#301. A Lesson Learned
One morning last year, while I was rehearsing an all-state band, we came to a measure in a march that had a giant crescendo to the final climatic strain. They played it fine. It wasn’t inspired. It didn’t give me goosebumps or make the hair on the back of my neck...
#300. Review More
When I start to feel the weight of all that we have to teach our students, and the tiny amount of time we have to do it, my pace starts to get faster and faster. Often the casualty of that haste is my doing less review, practice, and reinforcement, all in an effort to...
We look forward to the evolution of this exciting program, and welcome feedback on how we can further enhance the work that you do in music education.
We are excited to offer your program the opportunity to join the KHS America Academic Alliance today.