Go 4th and Teach

The incredible Maya Angelou sat down with Oprah on Mother's Day to promote her recent book and to share the wisdom that naturally emanates from her.  Among the topics were her mother-- whom she describes as a terrible mother to young children but a wonderful mother to a young adult, her grandmother-- the woman she and her brother famously went to live with as young children in Stamps, Arkansas after Maya went mute at age 7, and also a bit about her uncle, residing with them in Stamps.   The uncle part was new to me. One of the things that draws me to watching something on Oprah's OWN network is that I agree with her philosophy of learning from all that we do: "Treat your life like a class...", she can often be heard reciting.  Because I so emphatically agree, I often watch Masterclass on OWN (new episodes air Sundays at 9) which sits down some type of celebrity that has made an impression on the viewer, the industry, or the world and allows the to speak freely a...

Me with Mr. Smith on a band trip to Virginia Beach in April, 2000. Leaving things better than you find them  is not always easy. Sometimes, you have to make a conscious effort to find a way to make a difference in your interactions at work, school, or home. A  great teacher and band director  of mine instilled in his 160 + marching band of teenagers (all of whom, by the way, were convinced that marching band was cool, simply because we got to know him) that even if you left a hotel room in the morning, you made the bed first, because that is one of the only ways you can leave something like a hotel room, better.  We traveled  from our hometown in  Massillon, Ohio  to myriad places, played great music and understood its significance, all while consistently seeking out ways to make him proud by "leaving things--leaving the world--better than we found it".  The purpose of this blog is to show how--through my years as an educator, I am det...