School's Out...oh, wait.

I can not believe it's that time of year again. Summer has yet again flown by, and here we are with the first days of school. I've been thinking of school for several reasons...my Oklahoma school started back yesterday and my Maryland school starts training on Monday. The kids I've taught have been on my mind, particularly the last couple days, and I've been thinking of so many lessons I learned from teaching middle and high school students. There are so many...so here are a few...
*Take time for conversation.
*Work from bell to bell...there's nothing wrong with making use of every minute you have.
*You can make a lot of people happy...a lot. (but not everyone)
*Student's need to know that "can't" is a bad word, just like my parents taught me. :)
*It's more than okay to smile, to have fun.
*People think Music Appreciation is a blow-off class. Ha.
*Kids really CAN enjoy non-pop music. (!)
*Don't "save" good ideas for later...now is always a perfect time to use those ideas.
*Experiment. Try. Fail. Try again.
*The best thing about music is not found in the notes.
*Schools need classrooms where students aren't judged.
*Silence is needed. Silencing the world around you is needed.
*It's a beautiful thing to see students act selflessly. I love, love, love fostering encouragement and growth and to see students doing this with other students.
And to think...now I'm going to have stories and lessons from elementary school?! Somebody wake me up from this crazy dream!!! I NEVER thought I'd say yes to teaching the younger ones! That's what I get for saying "never!" More lessons to come...