The Life Skill I Learned Through Teaching the Marching Arts

I vividly remember the night before my first rehearsal acting as the coordinator for a front ensemble. I had a few years of prior teaching experience under my belt, but this was the first time that I would be the one calling the shots and I would be the one running rehearsals. I was extremely nervous and had set up a call with my former instructor to give me some tips and tricks to help set me up for success for the upcoming rehearsal with a new program.

I thought the call was going to lead to some incredible insight that would automatically make me an amazing teacher. Something along the lines of "say these magic words and the kids will play great". However, you can imagine my surprise when he said to "just remember the Golden Rule". At the end of the day, treating students how I would want to be treated became my foundation as an educator. This doesn't mean my students got to do whatever they wanted. In fact, it's far from that. But having the decency to show every student respect without a superiority complex was my ticket to working with many of the best marching programs in the state of Michigan.

Treat others how you want to be treated. It's really a simple concept, yet overlooked by so many within the activity. At the end of the day, we're all just humans hitting things in a gym or on a football field, and as weird as it sounds, it's poetic. I have found that when you show students this respect, they not only respect you more, but have a higher drive to want to put in the effort to get better.

This mindset doesn't just apply to the students I teach. All collaborations I would have over the course of a rehearsal, ranging from students, staff, parent volunteers, custodial staff, or the drunk people yelling in a Dayton lot, deserve human decency.

Having this mindset allowed me to form, arguably, some of the greatest (and largest) pit staffs in the state of Michigan. (Like seriously, a 7 person pit staff for a high school may be a little much...). When people ask me why I made hiring decisions or took pay cuts to bring in additional staff, it had nothing to do with the talent or musical knowledge posed by the individuals. It had everything to do with the amazing humans they were and the fact they also upheld this "Golden Rule". I expected a lot out of both my students and my team and I can honestly say, I was never disappointed.

I like to think I made an impact on the students and staff I had the privilege to work alongside. Sure, my goal was always for my students to play well. But to me, if they could also smile, have fun, and enjoy what they do, that is significantly more important than lining up the split splash cymbal lick I added into the marimba book...

I continue to grow as an educator, even as I've taken a hiatus from the activity, by employing this mindset. It's an eternal thought that will continue to carry me for years to come. Take a moment and think about the results you're getting out of your students and consider the ways you approach the staff, students, and people in your organization. There is always room for growth, and this might be the way to propel your program forward.