News & Blog
Girl Power? Not Until We Change A Few Things
This past Sunday I had an interesting conversation with my friend Jill, who runs a successful choral program in a public school. We were discussing the new school year, the current challenges of the pandemic, and the effect that remote learning had on the kids,...
Senior Year: The Beginning of the End or the Beginning of the Beginning?
School is starting all over the country in what promises to be another strange year for kids and parents. I’ve seen many posts from friends and acquaintances who have kids entering their final year of high school, with musings of how they got to this point so...
A Slight Diversion from Coaching Topics
Normally I write about kids, life coaching and what I’m experiencing with my music students but today I was compelled to write about something that transcends both my worlds as a life coach and musician. It may take a bit to get to the point but...
Reading is Fundamental!
I’m sure I’m showing my age but who else remembers the RIF* “Reading is Fundamental” commercials on TV in the 70s/80s? “Once a child learns to read, the world becomes an open book!” I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on: Nancy...
Teen Girls and Nutrition
This is such a huge subject and it’s not likely to hit everything in one post but I want to open the discussion since the topic has been swirling around since…forever. I finally decided to write about it because I’ve now talked with two friends whose...
Teens Need ZZZZZZZZs
This week, I encountered two music students who were not their usual “on-the-ball selves” during their private lessons. After observing them make a few mistakes that they normally wouldn’t make and a whole lot of yawning, I asked each girl if she was...
Reflections from “COVID Conversations”
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a small group of middle school girls in a “COVID Conversations” workshop. It was my first student workshop that was health-related, rather than music-related. I was excited and nervous but ready. You see, I had finally...
How much news coverage is too much for my teenager?
This is a touchy subject right now because “news” is everywhere and not all of it is reliable! While we want to raise informed kids, it’s important to monitor the constant stream of information, much of it negative, that comes their way. The answer to that...
The Joy of Participation
As I practiced my clarinet today, I had a thought that gave me pause: Many kids today are stuck in a cycle of activities that they would enjoy more if they weren’t always feeling like they had to be “the best” at it. What happened to doing something for the joy...
A New Beginning
I’ve been teaching the clarinet for 32 years. Like all new educators, I wasn’t great at first and there were bumps in the road, lessons learned, and things I wished I could do over. But over time, as I grew into a confident and creative teacher, I...