Sleeping Under a Bridge? No, But Homeless Nonetheless

I didn’t understand we were homeless.  It wasn’t the “live on the streets in a box” homeless. We lived with relatives. We lived with friends. Italians are great at putting together a makeshift bed to bring in extra people. We had our own apartment for a time – but we could not afford electricity, so …

FREE Chocolate Chip Cookies! It Doesn’t Get Better Than That.

The bright spot for me was when I started Kindergarten. The first day was pretty scary, as it is for all children starting school. I recall two of the most wonderful, compassionate teachers in the world who made me feel at home right away. I looked forward to school! We even had a snack time …

Teachers: Powerful Forces for Good or Bad

Some of my teachers played a big role in my life. A great ancient Hebrew named James had this to say about teaching… “Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.” Here are some good and not so good teachers …

The brother I never knew

The Brother I Never Knew I have a wonderful sister. We went through a lot together as kids and are great friends today as adults. But we were robbed. Mom was pregnant at least 5 times. Her third child she gave up for adoption. He was taken in by a loving family. Babies 4 and …

Teachers – Your Dedication Makes a Difference. You Matter!

As we approach the end of the year, we are all feeling tired and drained – which I think we all know and expect – at least physically. But remember, we are also drained emotionally. It can cause our emotions to trick us. We may think… “Does what I do matter?” “Would a career besides …

I Wasn’t Always This Way – And I Get Better With Age

People look at me – 55, getting better looking each year, married to my high school sweetheart, parent of four, grandparent of 8, successful band & orchestra teacher, author, speaker, musician – and they think “Wow, James is so confident and sure of himself. Life has been good to him. I wish my life was …

The Beatles Had It Right – All You Need is Love

“All you need is Love. Love is all you need” So true, and advice so needed as a teacher. When they don’t meet your expectations…love them anyway. When they disrespect you…love them anyway. When they don’t work hard…love them anyway. It’s not hard to love the students who are excited about your class, who work …

Why I Love Colorado

Susan and I moved here – reluctantly – in 1992 with the Army, thinking that as soon as I got out of the Army, we would be moving to Virginia. We never left! Two of our kids were born here. We love Colorado and hope to never move away, but if God ever has something …

Keeping Up With The Times – a no win scenario?

By Guest Writer Brooke Pierson Keeping up with the times – a no win scenario? Over the years I am constantly hearing about how we need to “reach more kids”… Teach rock band! Teach computer music! Teach hip-hop! Teach what the kids are interested in. To be fair, this post isn’t about those things entirely …

Peeing on Trees and Other Early Childhood Memories

Earliest Memories “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” -Sigmund Freud This is a picture of my grandfather, my mom’s father. He passed away before I had a chance to meet him. My mom speaks very highly of him. Most children don’t remember much from their earliest …

Wait Until You See What His Mom Gave Him for Breakfast

Jill was cleaning her son Billy’s room, putting ALL the clothes in the hamper because – if you’ve had a boy, you know their clean and dirty clothes co-mingle. They know what to wear after giving it the sniff test. She tossed the pizza boxes from under the bed into the trash. She found the …

4 Tips to Being a Better Band Director Using the Acronym BAND

4 Tips To Be A Better Band Director using the acronym BAND There are four key areas that – if you focus on these and make them a priority – they can help you be a better band director. None of them have anything to do with music, but the word “BAND” does fall nicely …

With one proclamation, the President would have my unending support

If the President would simply issue the following proclamation, I would support him forever… “Let it be known that from this day forward, all marching band competitions shall be held on Fridays. All students involved in the competition shall be exempt from homework given or due that day. In addition, students not involved shall remain …

I’m Glad My Marching Band Didn’t Make it to State

The 2016 marching band season was the best to date. Our scores were some of the highest we had ever achieved. Our show was the most difficult we had ever attempted. My students were the most committed they had ever been (with lots of room for improvement). As my students attained higher and higher scores, …

Don’t Waste Your Time On New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are a waste of time! Most of the resolutions don’t last beyond the end of January. They are bound to fail. Resolutions are often not thought out, have no action steps and are rarely written down. They often lack specificity. Here are just a few examples of how to make goals better… …

Teens Today Get a Bad Rap – One They Don’t Deserve

Teens Today Get a Bad Rap Teens today get a bad rap, one that they don’t deserve. They are accused of many things and often all lumped into the same category rather than looked at as individuals. I work with teens daily. I have faith in teens! Three Myths About Teens 1. Teens are lazy …

5 Ways To Teach Kids About Gender

By Summer Stevens Reprinted with permission from GES. Link to the article online HERE. From Tolerance to Forced Approval There is an intentional attempt to indoctrinate your children to the LGBTQ lifestyle, and your church is likely doing nothing about it. This indoctrination is evident in obvious ways, such as in the mandatory teaching of …

Teens – How To Be More Productive & Accomplish Your Goals

Make Use of “Sponge Time“ I’m not talking about Sponge Bob, but about time you already have but maybe don’t know you have. Just like a sponge easily absorbs extra water, if you really look, you will see “extra time” all around you. We all get the same 24 hours in a day. Many teens …

Little Known Italian Secret Predicts Marital Success

Way way back in 1984, my 5 foot tall mom was able to predict the success of my marriage with this little known Italian secret! Does your marriage pass the test? Today, I share this secret worldwide so you can start using it yourself. Get more funny stories in my book about growing up Italian, …

I Want To Be Treated Like an Adult

Get in touch with James to have him share his story with your group, or check out some free lessons from his Why Don’t They Teach That in School course. More short instructional and motivational videos HERE.

Prayer Has Never Been Removed from Schools.

I hear Christians lamenting all the time about two Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s that “removed prayer from schools”. Those decisions did not remove prayer from schools, but removed state-sponsored prayer from public schools, and frankly I’m glad they did! Christians have always been for the underdog, for the downtrodden, for those whose rights …