Boonshaft’s Blog
#158. Amy Couldn’t Be More Correct!
Amy Poehler affirmed, “Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” Could any words describe the essence of...
#157. Reveal That Person
I once had a fortune cookie that simply read: “Circumstances do not make the person; circumstances merely reveal that person to themselves.” The power of those words have long...
#156. How Do We Show Up?
Each of us finds ourselves teaching differently than a year ago. How’s that for an absurd understatement? Our “classroom” may be a computer screen or a dozen students spread out...
#155. The Glass
Though I desperately try to be an optimist, sadly, my nature doesn’t make that easy. I envy those who always see the glass as half full. Unless I work at it, I don’t just see the...
#154. The Choice Is Ours
As we live through these uncertain, ever-changing times I think each of us would be well-served to remember the words of Bertram Carr, that we can view everything “in the spirit...
#153. It Takes Time
About 45 years ago, in an undergraduate psychology class, I learned that it took 21 days to develop a new habit. At that time, while studying to be a teacher, I remember thinking...
#152. One Will Get You Ten
No matter what teaching environment we find ourselves in now, I think we can all be well-served to remember the current research that tells us that people are like parking...
#151. Practice What?
In that so much of our students’ playing time will be done practicing at home, we can augment what they are doing to challenge them, enhance their growth, provide variety, and...
#150. The Box
Now, maybe more than ever these words of Deepak Chopra seem to describe what we as music teachers need to do every day: “Instead of thinking outside the box; get rid of the box.”...