Chapter 17: Christmas Spirit

President Thomas S. Monson said, "To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ." One of my favorite Christmas stories illustrates this point extremely well. Maybe you've heard/read it. Maybe you haven't. If you have, it doesn't hurt to read it again. If you have not, please enjoy The Symbols of Christmas.

Symbols of Christmas

Late one Christmas Eve I sank into my easy chair. Admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing... The kids were in bed, the gifts were all wrapped, the milk and cookies were in their place for Santa. It wasn't long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me into a deep sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I opened my eyes and there stood Santa Claus himself next to my Christmas tree.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him. But he was not the "jolly old elf" of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed with tears in his eyes.

I had to ask, "Santa, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" "It's the children," Santa replied sadly. "But the children love you," I said. "Oh, I know they love me and the gifts I bring them," Santa said. "But the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas. It's not their fault. It's just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children."

"Teach them what?" I asked. Santa's kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. "Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear and touch is much more than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly represent."

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on the fireplace mantle.

"Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen with its unchanging color represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that man's thoughts should turn heavenward as well."

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. "The star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise of the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises and that the wise will still seek Him."

 "Red," said Santa, "is the first color of Christmas." He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. "Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life giving blood that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God's greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave His life and shed his blood for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the color red it should remind them of that most wonderful gift."

Santa found a bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. "Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep."

 Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room.

"The glow of the candle represents how man can show his thanks for the gift of God's Son that Christmas Eve long ago. Teach the children to follow in Christ's footsteps... to go about doing good. Teach them to let their lights shine before men that all may see it and glorify God. This is what is symbolized when the twinkling lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God's precious children, their light shining for all to see."

Again, Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped candy cane. As he hung it on the tree, he spoke softly, "The candy cane is a stick of hard, white candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. The shape 'J' to represent the precious name of Jesus who came to earth as our Savior. It also represents the crook of the Good Shepherd which he uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus so that we can have eternal life. Teach these things to the children."

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh fragrant greenery and tied with a bright red bow. "The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It contains the colors of red and green and the heaven turned needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its color reminds us of Christ's sacrifice. Even the wreath's very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ's love. It is a circle without beginning and without end.

These are the things you must teach the children."

"But where does that leave you Santa?" I asked. The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa's face. "Why, bless you, my dear," he laughed. "I, too, am only a symbol. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving.

If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I'll ever be forgotten."

"I think I'm beginning to understand at last," I replied. That's why I came," said Santa. "You're an adult. If you don't teach the children these things, then who will?"

-Author unknown-

In this season of commercialization of Christmas, let us teach our children (and adults) to remember the Spirit of Christ. I testify that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. I know He lives and I know His gospel is true.

Chapter 16: Good vs. Evil

While watching a TV show recently, and remembering a comment that a friend made a while ago, I have come to the conclusion that whenever there is a fight between good and evil, it is never a one-on-one fight.
Good never fights alone, and Evil never has friends. Let me also say that I am arguing with the assumption that Good has multiple primary heroes, whereas Evil generally has only one primary villain.

If you think about it, you realize I am right. Let me elaborate with examples from a few classic books. Harry Potter had his friends Hermione and Ron and Hagrid (to name a few). Sure, Voldemort had his Death Eaters, but were they really his friends? They were more like his slaves. Also, think back to the last book, where Harry and Voldemort were duking it out and Voldemort "kills" Harry and they end up in what Harry describes as the train station. Harry had Dumbledore (who for the sake of argument I will say represented all of Harry's friends), but Voldemort was alone.

Next example: Chronicles of Narnia. In the first book, the White Witch kills Aslan. Lucy and Susan were nearby. However, when Aslan returns the favor, she dies alone.

Next: Lord of the Rings. The primary heroes are the Nine Walkers, and the primary villain is Sauron. You can argue that Saruman was a primary villain, and I will (somewhat) allow it, because they were in different parts of the world with different purposes.

Now I come to the comment that a friend made to me once. This friend had made the observation that in every book/movie is...I believe the word I am searching for is archetypical... of Jesus Christ, in that everybody needs a Savior, or in other words, someone (a hero) to do what nobody else can.

To elaborate this point, I return to the previous examples. Harry Potter was "the Chosen One". Frodo was the Ringbearer. Aslan died to save a traitor. All of these characters did something that nobody else could do.

I conclude this chapter by saying that there may be flaws and gaping holes in this theory of mine, but I don't really care. It is nothing more than the interesting ramblings of an interesting mind.

Chapter 15: Movie Music

This chapter may be shorter than some of the others, but that's okay. It makes for easier reading.

I am of the correct opinion that music can make or break a movie. If you think about all the movies you've seen, you will agree that I am right.

Some time ago, my wife and I watched a horrible movie. This movie was called Chronicle. It had no plot, very little special effects, no credits, and absolutely no music whatsoever. Basically, it looked as if a couple of kids had picked up a camera and started filming with no idea what they were doing. Now, maybe if they had had some music it might have been better (although I rather doubt it). The point is they had no music and so "broke" the movie and ruined it for us.

On the other hand, you have the movies that everybody loves: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and so forth. Why does everybody love these movies? Because the music made them exciting. Every time something exciting, creepy, eerie, or sentimental happens in a movie, the music is there to back it up and intensify the emotion.

So to summarize, I repeat what I proclaimed at the beginning of this chapter. Music can make or break a movie.

Chapter 14: Idiomatic expressions from a Veggie's point of view

Some of you may be wondering about the title of this chapter. At the end of this chapter, the title will become clear (I hope).

Anyways, some of the idioms that we use in American English can sound somewhat ridiculous if you think about them. I will include a list of some idiomatic expressions, along with my thoughts on some (not all) of them.

First is the phrase "up a creek without a paddle". Personally, I would rather be up a creek than down it because downstream, or down the creek if you will, is where all the waterfalls are. But if you are up a creek, you still have time to get to shore before arriving at said waterfalls.

Next, the term 'pet peeve'. You can have pet dogs, cats, rats or any other animal. You can even have pet rocks! So now imagine the absurdity of having a pet peeve. Can you put a leash on it and take it for a walk? What does it eat/drink?

I follow that with the phrase "drive me up the wall" or "drive me crazy". They mean the same thing, they are just different ways of saying it. If something (or someone) is driving you crazy, I just say one thing: Take away its license. If that doesn't work, take away the keys. Then you must question when and how did this person or object learn to drive?

Next on the list is 'shoot the breeze'. This presents to me a rather comical mental picture of a redneck hillbilly (stereotypical of course) with a shotgun aimed at the wind that's gusting through his yard. Need I say more?

Some other expressions are "head over heels" and 'train of thought', along with a classic "human race". "Head over heels" makes me think of a loaf of bread, and the thought of bread that has a head is just creepy. I know that you can make bread into shapes including heads, but that's different.

Switching gears now (which by the way is another idiomatic expression that sounds ridiculous). My wife showed me a video of  what I will call a rant about vegetables. This made me think of a song I heard years ago that goes along the same lines. So I included it in a video playlist, and then added one more video that goes with the phrase "train of thought". So hopefully you now understand the title of this chapter...

Chapter 13: Zoo Wisdom and Other Stuff

So, while reading the scriptures with my wife the other night, we came across a verse in the Book of Mormon that intrigued me. The verse was Alma chapter 2, verse 5. (For those of you who don't know, the Book of Mormon is a book of scripture for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly known as Mormons). So this chapter is talking about a man who wanted to be king, but an election denied him. The verse in question reads thusly: "And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and wonderful contentions one with another." Amlici was the man who wanted to be king. The phrase that caught my attention is "wonderful contentions". Since when are contentions wonderful? Later in the Book of Mormon, the Savior Himself teaches that "contentions are not of me, but are of the devil" (see 3 Nephi 11:29). Wouldn't that imply that contentions are the opposite of wonderful?

Like I said, I was intrigued, and so I decided to research the word wonderful as it would have meant in the year 1830 (which is when the Book of Mormon was translated and published). I came across an 1828 version of a Dictionary of the English Language, which gave me this definition of the word 'wonderful': Adapted to excite wonder or admiration; exciting surprise; strange; astonishing.

I chose to focus on the word 'strange', so when you replace wonderful with strange, the verse makes sense to me. Just so you know, that is one of my methods of studying something I don't quite understand.

On to other things. My family's recent excursions to the zoo inspired me to watch (again) the movie We Bought a Zoo. I found three nuggets of wisdom that I am choosing to include here. Nugget #1: Girls will talk to you about anything. The secret to talking is listening. I think it should be fairly obvious why I chose that nugget.

Nugget #2: Sometimes, all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. This nugget actually goes well with something you can read in Chapter 3 of this blog.

Nugget #3 is something you'll have to puzzle out for yourself, if you can: "Why not?" You might have better luck understanding this nugget if you actually watch the movie...

On a final note, I have completed my Teaching Technology Portfolio, which I have been working on all semester. It is here for those who wish to view, comment, and/or criticize. Thus concludes Chapter 13.

Chapter 12: Inspiration and Creativity

This is something that one of my early professors taught at BYU-Idaho. I had forgotten about it until now. Well, that's not entirely true. I had put it on my Facebook notes, which is where I found it recently. After forgetting about it entirely, I found it again. I am putting it now in this blog so that it is more accessible to everyone who wishes to view it. Enjoy the reading. Feel free to disagree or agree as you choose.


 1.   All truly inspired ideas come from God, and the consciousness of being inspired by him. Your religiosity will make you more conscious and aware of that fact, and of the fact that God is nearer to you than others in your craft, and that you can consort with him without fear.
 2.  The contact of inspiration though God cannot be done merely by will power working through the conscious mind, which is an evolutionary product of the physical realm and perishes with the
body. It can only be accomplished by the soul-powers within - the real ego that survives bodily
death. Those powers are quiescent to the conscious mind unless illumined by Spirit.
 3.  To realize that we are one with the Creator, as Beethoven did, is a wonderful and awe-inspiring experience. Very few human beings ever come into that realization and that is why there are so few great composers or creative geniuses in any line of human endeavor. All this should always be contemplated before commencing to compose. This is the first step.
 4.  When the urge to compose is present, appeal directly to the Maker and ask Him three most
       important questions pertaining to our life here in this world - whence, wherefore, whither [woher, warum, wohin]? This appeal will immediately manifest feelings of vibrations that will thrill your whole being. These are the Spirit illuminating the soul-power within, and in this exalted state, you can clearly see what is obscure in your ordinary moods; then you feel capable of drawing inspiration from above, as Beethoven did. These vibrations assume the forms of distinct mental images, after you have formulated your desire and resolve in regard to what you want - namely, to be inspired so that you can compose something that will uplift and benefit humanity - something of permanent value. Straightaway the ideas will flow upon you, directly from God, and not only should you see distinct themes in you mind's eye, but they also will be clothed in the right forms, harmonies and orchestration. Only with divine inspiration will finished product be revealed to you, measure by measure.
5.  Most of the time you have to be or will be in a semi-trance condition to get such results - a
condition when the conscious mind is in temporary abeyance and the subconscious mind, which is part of Omnipotence, that the inspiration comes; and to be careful, however, not to lose
consciousness, otherwise the ideas will fade away. That is the way Mozart composed, and when asked what the process was with him while composing, he replied: "The process with me is like a vivid dream". He then went on and described how ideas, clothed in the proper musical setting, streamed down upon him. God and His Omnipotence, His awe-inspiring grandeur. His glory, and above all his closeness to you are things that should be pondered on just before commencing to compose. It is most stimulating and inspiring process to think along those lines before entering that trance-like state in which inspirations come.
6.  The dream-like state is like entering a trance-like condition - hovering between being asleep and awake; you are still conscious but right on the border of losing consciousness, and it is at such moments that inspired ideas come. Then it is of the utmost importance to put the ideas down on paper immediately. Then they are fixed and cannot escape; and when you look as them again, they conjure up that same mood that gave them birth. This is a very important law. Themes that occur this way usually are the ones that will endure.
 7. Spirit is the light of the soul. Spirit is universal. Spirit is the creative energy of the Cosmos. The soul of man is not conscious of it's powers until it is enlightened by Spirit. Therefore, to evolve and grow, man must leam how to use and develop his own soul forces. All great creative geniuses do this, although some of them do not seem to be as conscious of the process as others. Beethoven was aware of the fact that he was inspired and he left records to that effect.
  8. All true inspiration emanates from God, and can reveal Himself through that spark of divinity
     within - through that psychologists call the subconscious mind. Any composer capable of entering into that state can create immortal works, only in believing in which no less an authority than Jesus, Himself, says, in John 14:10 "The Father that dwelleth in Me,
     He doeth the works, and in the 12th Verse of the same chapter. He adds, "He that believeth Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do". All these things mentioned here have a direct bearing on the mental, psychic and spiritual processes when attempting to compose. The powers from which all truly great composers like Mozart, Schubert, Bach and Beethoven drew their inspirations is the same powers that enabled Jesus to perform His miracles. We call it God, Omnipotence, Divinity, the Creator, etc. It is a power of All that created our earth and the whole universe, and Jesus taught us that we can appropriate it for our own upbuilding right here and now and also earn Eternal Life. Jesus is very explicit in Matthew 7:7, saying, "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto  you". There would not be so much good music paper wasted in fruitless attempts to compose if those great precepts were better understood. That is why atheists works are utterly lacking in inspiration. Their works are purely cerebral. The great Nazarene knew that law also, and He proclaimed it in John 15:4, "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine." No atheist has ever been or will be a great composer. Jesus taught us that there is true supreme hope for all. He came not as the great exception, but as the great example for us to emulate. Adherence to can create nothing but divine values and an alliance with the Creator, that is capable of a life on earth full of inspiration and masterpieces of music to accompany that life for others to witness. This is the secret of inspiration; which is the ability to synchronize the conscious and subconscious minds, just as Jesus did, but on a much higher level.
 9.    Inspiration is of such importance in composing, but by no means all that there is to it. Structure is just as consequential, for without craftsmanship, inspiration is a 'mere reed shaken in the wind' or 'sounding brass or tinkling cymbals'. Great compositions are not the fruits of inspiration alone, but of severe, laborious and painstaking toil. No composition will live long unless it has both inspiration and craftsmanship, which Beethoven had to a superlative degree. There also must be in relation, with inspiration and craftsmanship, a natural aptitude, where ideas come to you with more or less no conscious effort, with a sense of comfort and relative ease, like a aspiration beingfulfilled. But parallel to that, as seen in Beethoven's sketchbooks, comes the proof that he toiled incessantly in order to leave us such masterpieces. Only with your religiosity. God's inspiration, and the utilization of all three, can one achieve mastery of classical music composition and achieve true fame and immortality, which is what oblivion constantly tries to challenge. This is the proven universal formula for success in music and any and all other endeavors of human life.
10.    Another aspect of this art which is extremely vital and demands great emphasis, is privacy. It should be unthinkable of attempting to compose unless you are sure you will not be interrupted or  disturbed. The Muse is a very jealous entity, and she will fly away on the slightest provocation.
 11.    A composer who wishes to write worth-while music must devote his whole time and energy to that one occupation.
12.    A composer in order to study, learn and absorb all that the masters have to offer, and put to use that knowledge in his own works, must have the capacity to judge objectively an individuality that differs from his own.

Chapter 11: Reflections (and ramblings) of Assistive Technology

So in order to help you understand the comments of this chapter, I have placed the source of my ideas in this blog. It is a video playlist about assistive technology. I think watching this video will help my ramblings make more sense. Be warned, this video playlist will take about 15-20 minutes-ish to watch fully. So watch the video (if you dare), then enjoy the ramblings.

So, the first person I want to ramble about is Lukas. Lukas is just awesome. He was born with a disease with a jaw-cracking name. I'm not even going to try to pronounce (or spell) it. But this disease did not stop him from learning to play euphonium! His assistive technology was a joystick that pressed the valves of his instrument because his limbs were too weak to do so themselves. By using this technology, he was able to participate in three different ensembles. That's the kind of student dedication I like to see!

Susanna, the first person mentioned in these videos, is a more common case. She uses a voice activated system on her laptop to help her do her homework. Voice activation is one of the more common tools that can be applied for assistive technology. Susanna impressed me with her ability to referee soccer from a wheelchair. Isn't that cool?

Vishal used an on-screen keyboard to type his homework, which I think is becoming more and more common as technology advances. Years ago, touch-screen technology (which makes an on-screen keyboard possible) did not exist. I am sure that all these students are grateful for these devices, because without them, schoolwork would have been much more difficult and stressful.

I am going to skip to the second video now, and ramble about Josh. Josh just wanted to read, but lacked the capability, until his teacher showed him Bookworm, and then he rapidly caught up to the rest of his class. It was kind of interesting to see how they discovered his interests and devised methods of permitting him to express those interests. What I thought was really cool, though, was how these devices actually improved his performance in the classroom and his sociability both in the home and at school.

OK, I think that's enough rambling for now. If my ramblings made sense without the videos, great. If not, watch the videos and then come back and see things click into place in your mind.

Chapter 10: Music at its best

Enclosed in this chapter is an annotated video playlist that I created using the services of Youtube. The title of the playlist (and this chapter) is "Music at its best". I think the title says it all. It includes a video of a 3-year-old conductor, a recording of one of the best pieces of music ever written, and my own annotated video comments. Enjoy.
Annotated Youtube Playlist

Chapter 9: Spreadsheets in the Classroom

After viewing a number of presentations teaching the use of spreadsheets, I can't figure out for the life of me how I would change these 'lessons' to fit the needs of my future band students. So I took a different approach, and decided to change them for my (future) Spanish students. This was much easier.

It seemed to me that the lesson I could most easily adapt to Spanish was a presentation on volcanoes. This lesson had the students look up some basic information about specific volcanoes, and input that info into a spreadsheet in order to create some graphs of comparison.

Now, I believe that volcanoes are very different from a foreign language. However, the principles taught using the spreadsheet are somewhat the same. Instead of the question, "how often does a volcano erupt?" I can ask the question, "what is the ratio of Spanish-speaking countries to the rest of the world?" Then I can show that information in a graph to make it easier to interpret.

I said that I couldn't figure out a musical application, but I figured a different spreadsheet might work better. So I used my own M&M Spreadsheet and changed it for instruments in the band room: How many of each instrument do I have, and how many of each instrument do I need? Or rather, how many players will I need? This could be useful at the start of the year when I am not sure what instrumentation I will have (student-wise that is) so I can show the students what I have and what I need. Then I would be able to ask students if they would like to learn a different instrument than one they already play and switch things up a bit. It is entirely possible that at our first rehearsal, I will have 20 French horns and zero tubas (yikes!). I can show this data to the students and ask for their cooperation and reduce the number of horns and put them on different, more necessary instruments (such as a bassoon).

I'm sure that I could figure out other ways to use a spreadsheet in a band room, given enough time and motivation, but those are things that I am somewhat lacking at present.

Chapter 8: Technology

My teacher went to a conference somewhere where some new, interactive technology was being modeled.  There were three technologies that were being modeled: a Smart board, some 3D modeling technology, and a Smart Table.

The Smart board is in some classrooms already, but the expert who was modeling it demonstrated the different useful functions, such as 'multi-touch'. First of all, as a music teacher, a Smart board can be very beneficial in teaching theory and rhythm or even key signatures. Second, this 'multi-touch' feature would allow a teacher to create friendly competition between students. Personally, since I will be teaching high school band/music classes, I think using a music composition software in conjunction with the Smart board would be useful for a competition. It might be nice to see who can harmonize a melody faster, or more accurately. The Smart board/ composition software combo would be a very good way to show improvisation. I kind of like the idea of writing a melody on the spot without prior preparation.

Anyways, the 3D technology would be useful if you want to create your own instruments and/or take it apart without actually damaging the instrument. For instance, if a students wants to figure out how to re-string a French horn they can use this technology to figure out what string goes where and how it is attached to everything else before attempting it on their actual instrument. Side note: a student in my classroom should never, ever try to re-string a horn on their own. Take it to a professional, because there is less chance of irreparable damage. Like I said, this technology can be useful for looking at the interior of instruments (don't try it on an actual instrument!) or for designing new ones.

The Smart Table is more or less for cooperation and collaboration. I can't see a use for it in rehearsals or practicing, but composition is another matter entirely.  Or if students need help with theory homework, they can collaborate with other students to figure out different ways of writing music without breaking any rules.

On an end note (no pun intended.... I don't think...), I think the Smart board would be the technology of choice in my classroom, but the Smart Table comes in a close second.

Chapter 7: Education's Future

Technology has come a long way, but has it come far enough? I guess that depends on the next question: "far enough to accomplish what?" Back in the 80's, there were some videos made about the classroom of the future. These short videos detailed an assignment of a high school track star who was stuck at home with a broken leg. The video however, purveyed the idea that the student was still able to participate in class via video conferencing, and how he was assigned a partner to do a research project for the following day. For his part of the assignment, this crippled track star accessed the school database via voice commands and found an article that interested him and shared it with his partner over the computer.

So, while watching these short videos, I determined that parts of this story were completely plausible with today's existing technologies, but other parts of the technology used may exist, but is not commonly used. Today video conferencing is completely plausible, and becoming quite common actually. We have Skype, we have Adobe Acrobat, and we have other such programs. However, accessing a school's database via voice command from your home computer seems a bit out of reach.


Side note: If they can depict the kind of technology described in the aforementioned videos, and seen in this clip from Iron Man, then why not in reality? If it has been done in reality, why is it not available to the masses?

Anyways, technology may have come far, but it still has a ways to go to match our imagination.

Chapter 6: World of Creative Imagination, or the Soul-drainer of Dread?

So, in a chapter of one of my "textbooks" for school, the author emphasizes the capturing of a classroom vision. He mentions several possible ways of capturing said vision, including (but not limited to) a flute solo, macaroni art, or interpretive dance. He then gives an entertaining scenario about the difficulties of making your vision mesh with the school's. This scenario involves a teacher in a unitard and a flute, declaring to the principal that his (the teacher's) classroom is a magical wonderland, and attempting to perform a dance move and pulling a muscle in the process.

Now, after your imagination has just processed the above scenario, I need to emphatically declare in three monosyllabic words: I don't dance. Having said that, I think we can safely rule out interpretive dance as a means of capturing my vision.

However, I see no reason why writing it down in this manner is not considered capturing the vision. Actually, one of the first recommended steps is to write down your vision. I took it one step further and organized it into the following breakdown:
Vision
   /       \
Goals   Objectives
      |
Steps

Now there is something I must clarify. It is a quote from a forgotten source: "A goal not written is just a dream". Granted, Cinderella (the Disney version) does teach us that "a dream is a wish your heart makes," but how do you turn that wish into reality? You write it down, and start working towards it.

But is writing it down enough? No, it isn't. What good does it do you to write something and never look at it or read it again? So that is the next logical step after writing it down: remind yourself often of your vision by reading it and posting it where it can be seen. It may be helpful to enlist the aid of others in fulfilling your vision. This can be helpful because when you stray from your vision, others can slap you back onto the path your vision dictates.

So, basically, this chapter was all about how to make your vision appealing to your students, parents, and other teachers/administrators. Your vision can be one (if done right) that inspires learning, imagination and creation, in which the students will enjoy the atmosphere and want to return. On the other hand, you can also envision a classroom akin to The Trunchbull from Matilda that inspires fear and loathing. That may be an extreme example, but it serves its purpose.

Chapter 5: Netiquette Guidelines for the classroom

Netiquette Guidelines for High School Students (Grades 9-12)

The following are some general rules of being on the internet in the classroom. They are divided into two categories: Searching and Writing deals primarily with research for papers and whatnot, and Email and Chat are rules for internet communication. I reserve the right to make changes to these guidelines at any time.

Searching/Writing
1. Pornography of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in revocation of internet privileges.
2. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any writing.
3. Searches should be limited and relevant to the project at hand.

Email/Chat
1. Protect your identity: never use your full name in your chats or email address.
2. Any obscene comments or photos/images in chat or email will not be tolerated.
3. Be polite: imagine you are talking face to face without the aid of technology.
4. In your emails, it is always a good idea to put in a subject line that is relevant to the email. This will help ensure that your email is read instead of immediately discarded.
5. Keep your chats and emails short. Be respectful of other people’s time.

Chapter 4: Intelligence (or lack thereof)

Have you ever wondered who is considered smart and who is not? I have, but I also have wondered what qualifies as 'smart.' I have often said, "every one is normal according to their own definition of the word," but you can also replace the word 'normal' with the word 'intelligence' or 'smart'.

Now, in my amateur opinion, there are two kinds of smart: book smart, and street smart. Book smart is exactly what its name implies: the acquisition of knowledge from books (or in this day and age, from the internet). This is the kind of knowledge that the schools are teaching. Street smart however, isn't something that you can learn from books. In many (if not all) cases, street smart is something you can acquire only by experience, and that is something you have to earn for yourself (although you can often learn from the experiences of others).

Since I want to be a high school band teacher, my classroom will most likely be a band room. So how would I tell the 'smart' people from the 'not so smart' people? I won't worry about it too much. I will teach them some basic rules (never drop/throw your instrument, follow my rules/advice) and if they learn to follow these rules they will succeed in my classroom. So then the question becomes what do I do with them? That kind of depends on what I need. I might try experimenting and putting different instruments in their hands, or maybe I can do what other 20th century musicians have done and have them invent their own instruments from what we have available (that would be an interesting experience!), but either way, they will be encouraged to use the materials we have to make the most of learning, which would add to their experience, thus increasing their street smartness.

Chapter 3: Lessons Learned from The Sandlot

So I was watching The Sandlot with my wife today, and the idea came to me to write down some lessons learned from this classic movie. Here is the list that we came up with.

Lessons learned from The Sandlot

1. Don’t be a goofus.

2. Learn to have fun, even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

3. Bluffing sometimes is a very useful tool.

4. Don’t think too much! Just have fun.

5. Have faith, and trust in those who know what they’re doing.

6. Beware of (big) dogs (see also Philippians 3:2)

7. Take chances (big ones). Sometimes they pay off…

8. Don’t eat too much bad stuff (like tobacco) right before going on a festival ride. The results are not pleasant for you or for others on the ride.

9. Never give up on a problem. Just be more creative in solving it

10. Most people only get one chance to do something great.

11. Use phrases like “pickle the beast.” It makes you sound more awesome.

12. A good pair of shoes can go a long way

13.  “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

14. Help your enemies when they need it. They will become your friend

15. James Earl Jones makes an awesome blind man, mainly because of his voice

16. Sometimes, the experiences you have in your youth shape who you will become later in life.

Chapter 2: Gradebook Explosion

Some people say that life is a game. Would you agree? What about school? Is school a game? I believe it is. My teacher, who shall remain original-nameless (which means that I reserve the right to change his name in this blog in order to protect his identity. I'm sure he would appreciate that.), posted a video somewhere about "blowing up the gradebook". He talks about various aspects of our education system and why it should change.

He talks about how homework and due dates should be eliminated. Now, as a prospective music teacher, I must redefine homework and due dates, because it will be necessary for me to utilize them. Therefore, in my music classes "homework" is hereby defined as practicing for a set amount of time each day. "Due dates" are hereby defined as performance dates. Side note: there is a rule attached to performance dates, which is that if you miss a performance, you automatically fail the class (extenuating circumstances will be discussed with the teacher). Having said that, we are moving on.

Now in this aforementioned video, student choice is also addressed. My interpretation of student choice has to do with a couple of principles I learned in educational psychology. Situational interest is very important to student choice. If a student is interested in a subject, they are more likely to study it. Because it is something they want to learn, they are more likely to succeed in that subject. Also, if a student employs self-regulation, he or she will do everything in their power to learn what they can on their own, and the teacher then fills more the role of mentor and guide than instructor. I once had a piano teacher tell me that she would rather teach adults than children, because adults actually want to learn, so they will put in the necessary time and effort. Young children, are quite the opposite (they realize later, of course, how wrong they were) because they are not as willing to put the time and effort into the learning experience for some reason.

Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."
This photo (copied from  http://imgur.com/gallery/B5TgS) describes the education system of today. So, for fairness and equity in the classroom, I believe different things have to be taken into account, such as educational background, abilities/talents the student possesses walking into the classroom for the first time, and possibly home and family situations. All of these things may affect how a student takes tests. Side note: tests are cruel ways to make a student feel inferior. I believe that "assessment" is a more accurate term. What are you actually doing when you give a test? You are assessing not only the student's understanding of principles taught, but also your ability as a teacher to correctly convey that principle. Because students are different, they will be assessed slightly differently, and because you connect differently to each student, your teaching ability assessment will also vary.

So in conclusion to this very long post, my teacher is right. School is a game (or should be), so it's up to us as teachers to change the way the game is played to create as many successful winners (students) as possible. Granted, every teacher will have his or her own 'winning conditions', but the game is the same. So go out and enjoy it while it lasts!

Chapter 1: The Beginning

So, in order to be a more techno-savvy teacher, I am creating this blog for one of my classes, and I  will most likely continue this blog after the class is over.  It gives me something fun to do, and in a format that is to my liking.

I bet you are wondering who I am (if you don't know already). I am about to tell you a very brief summary of life, and who I am. After all, 30 years is quite a life to sum up. My full name is something that few people know, and I want to keep it that way. For that reason, you may call me LJ Bates. I am the youngest of six children, having four older sisters and an older brother. I was born in Arizona, but I physically could not live there, so when I was about 6 years old, my family moved up to Idaho. I grew up as a normal child with one exception: I don't like sports all that much.  Except for running. When I was in the 6th grade, I started playing the clarinet, and played it all through high school. I had so much fun in high school bands that I decided that is what I want to do with my life: teach music. Fast forward to after graduation: I got a job in order to pay for my mission. Side note: I went to high school in Nampa, and after graduation, try though I might I couldn't find a job. So we moved up to Idaho Falls and within three days of moving there, I was employed. After working for a year, I had saved enough money to pay for a large part of my mission. I was called to serve in the California Fresno Mission to teach in the language of Spanish. So, yes, I was pretty much fluent in Spanish when I came home.

After my mission, I worked for another year in order to save money for college. When college started, I kept my job and thus I am working my way through college. This has proven both blessing and curse, because my job cuts into my study/practice time. Even so, I still love music, and I still want to teach it. It just may take a bit longer to get there than other people might take. I first attended college at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, the land of eternal winter. OK, it may not be eternally winter there, but it sure does feel like it (as I am sure my friends still there would agree). I enjoy playing the clarinet in band, and I also like learning the music theory.  My favorite music classes have been a class on Scoring and Arranging, and a class on Atonal harmony, 12-tone rows, and 20th century music. These classes helped me reaffirm that this really is what I want to do.

Anyways, that is me (or a part of me) in a large-ish nutshell. Please look forward to further chapters of the Book of Bates.

Also, here is a picture of my family, whom I love dearly.