All too often, I’ll ask a student to do something, and when they do, I take comfort and pride in the fact that they did it. At those times, I find myself feeling there should be...

Ken Blanchard wrote, “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed...

When I think of all the goals we set for our students, of all the hopes we have for our teaching, of all the things we want to linger as our influence on them for the rest of...

For many of us, our “second-period concert band” of 76 students has become four sections of 19 students, our 42-minute rehearsal is now a 30-minute Zoom meeting, seeing our...

Of all the tools we have as teachers, wouldn’t you agree that praise certainly numbers among the most powerful. When students feel pride in their accomplishments from us praising...

Let’s face it: teaching is hard, tiring and downright exhausting. Sometimes frustration and fatigue can allow us to lose sight of what’s important – of what’s truly important –...

If you’re like me, every Zoom session I’ve been part of has regularly been filled with people speaking with their microphone muted only to have their silent mouthing on the...

John C. Maxwell stated, “Success is due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them. I think it is fair to say that we, along with our...

Through his research, Dr. John Gottman concluded that successful relationships follow “The Magic Relationship Ratio.” That magic ratio is 5:1. In a successful relationship, for...