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Kicking Off the School Year

A new school year is upon us! Here I am, like so many other band directors in the middle of August, sitting amidst an ever-building tsumani of tweets, e-mails, social media updates, and to-do lists for my to-do list, and it is at this particular moment that I decide. It's gotta be NOW. Now is the time.

Today is the day I start my teaching blog!

Yes, I know I'm crazy. But hear...er, read... me out. 

This past year, I made it a goal to start a Student Leadership program for my students. Those students interested in leadership positions for the next school year were encouraged to attend, but any and all students interested in coming were welcome to come as well. So once the marching season completed, our Leadership Seminars began to read Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. We met about once a month for an hour or so to discuss a new chapter, new habit, and visualize what it would look like in our lives; whether it be band, personal, academic, or otherwise. There was one chapter in particular that had a huge impact on me: Put First Things First. In it, he discusses the difference between urgent and important, and that if we spend all our time putting out fires and never focusing on what's important, we are missing out. 

If there was ever a group of people in need of more humanity and less urgency, it is certainly band directors. It's very easy to get caught up in that tsunami of urgency. It can be all-consuming. And if you're not careful, it will take you out before you've even realized you've been hit. There's never enough time to even begin to make a dent in those to-do lists, let alone make time for the important things. 

Which brings us to this moment. Ta-da! This is my effort to focus on the important things. I'm hoping this blog will help me keep my saw sharp, hone my craft, and give me some space to write, think, reflect, and focus on my teaching. 

I know, I'm still crazy for starting this. But a lot like teaching, it's all about the journey. So here's to all of us on the road and may we "Keep Moving Forward." (-W. Disney)

Lauren Staniszewski
Band Director
Stoney Creek High School
Rochester Hills, MI
@LStaniszewski1 (Twitter)

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