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A New Year: A Better You

November 19, 2024

A New Year: A Better You
by Kirby Swinney

Wise Owl

The new year brings a time for a fresh start; new ideas, new attitudes, new directions and a reflection on where we have been and where we want to go. When I sat down to write my latest quick note article, I started coming up with a few words that I felt were relevant to what I wanted to write about. Surprisingly, all ended in "ate." Maybe I was hungry? After all, the new year has brought on a diet! Seriously, the suffix "ate" means having the appearance or characteristics of. It also indicates the product of a process. Here are the words that I chose to discuss (listed alphabetically). Do you possess these characteristics? If not, the new year is a good time to consider a change for the better.

Advocate

  • Do you stick up for your profession in your community, school, classroom and beyond?
  • Do you stick up for students that choose to focus on music?
  • Do you encourage talented musicians to consider a career in music?

Anticipate

  • Do you look ahead or just "wing it" or procrastinate? (hour-to-hour, day-to-day, week-to-week, etc.)
  • Do you have a solution to a problem before it occurs?
  • What plans and goals do you have for next year? For five years? How will you get there?

Delegate

  • Are you a control freak?
  • Do you use the talents of your staff to the maximum?
  • Do you develop leadership in your students through increased expectations and responsibilities?
  • Do you involve your parents in ways that make them feel like they are making a meaningful contribution?

Educate

  • Are you playing music that actually expands your students' abilities?
  • Are you sight-reading often enough? Are you reading a variety of styles, textures, etc.?
  • Are your students showing a heightened interest in band/orchestra?
  • Is there a true love and desire to make music in your ensemble?
  • Do your students succeed after they have moved beyond your program?

Innovate

  • When was the last time you tried something new?
  • When was the last time you created a new idea on your own?
  • Are you willing to break up the routine and take a risk even if your idea fails?
  • Do you believe there is only one way to get things done? Your way?

Motivate

  • Are you motivated?
  • Do you finish a rehearsal excited by the results and wishing you had more time?
  • Are your kids energetic about day-to-day happenings in your classroom?
  • Do you encourage students to go the extra mile (solos, ensembles, honor groups, playing outside of class)?
  • Do you wait for kids to ask for extra attention, or do you offer/encourage it regularly instead?
  • Do your kids come in early on their own to practice?

Relate

  • Do you isolate yourself from your students and staff?
  • Do you try to learn about your staff and students' interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc.? In other words, do you get to know them, or are they just a kid in your class that you need in order to have a band?
  • Is the selected repertoire relevant to your students? Do they find it boring?
  • Do students feel comfortable bringing a problem to you or are they too intimidated?

Self evaluation is sometimes scary but also a great way to take a closer look at not only where you are but where others see you as being. These questions are just a few that came to mind in just a few minutes. There are many others that may need an answer in order for you to do a thorough inventory of where you are as the new year and a new semester begins. I encourage each of you to take a few steps back from your world and take a fresh look from the outside looking in. It can only help! Happy Belated New Year to all!

Kirby Swinney Kirby Swinney graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1982 with a degree in instrumental music education and retired in 2014 after teaching band for 30 years in the Oklahoma communities of Weleetka, Dewey, Choctaw and Shawnee. Kirby joined the Palen Music Center team in OKC in 2014.

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