I've heard that when James Taylor was asked how he could write 150 different songs, he replied by saying he just kept repeatedly writing the same 15 songs 10 times. Similarly, E Street guitarist and Bruce sidekick Steve Van Zandt proclaims that "Good songs stay written," meaning that familiar themes always come around. I find myself revisiting themes among my blog posts, so this one is devoted to the wisdom of rock n' roll and its writers.
After 22 years in the classroom, I decided to try something new as our district's elementary tech integration tech coach. As a near professional creature-of-habit, this is a drastic move for me, but Robert Plant explained that it's never too late to switch gears: "Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on."
Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham reminds me that "If you're any good at all, you know you can be better." I love to learn, and part of our job is to continually improve and model learning for our students.
Every teacher is unique, and we get the students we get for who we are, so celebrate that. "Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got," says Janis Joplin. She's right, and we should listen and trust our intuition when it comes to making decisions that impact our students more than we sometimes remember.
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." These wise words are from Kurt Cobain. Much of who I have become as a teacher came from identifying who I didn't want to be, and another original, Frank Zappa, teaches that "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible." Of course, a Frank Zappa thought logically leads to the ideas of Barry Manilow, who adds, "Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits." Cher knows it too: "Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great."
The Beatles prove that "All you need is love," but for those students (like Bruce Springsteen) who may feel "We learned more from a three minute record, baby, than we ever learned in school," we've got a tougher, and more important job to do to spread the love.
Sometimes timing and opportunity come knocking. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler suggests not waiting around: "The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first."
Having just read his autobiography, it's clear how well Bruce appreciates opportunity but also knows the value of hard work, resilience and grit. In describing the development of his band, he simply explains that "we failed until we didn't." Mick Jagger also knows "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need."
"If I wasn't Bob Dylan, I'd probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself." This is classic Dylan mysticism about keeping it real. After all, who else could better empower my decision-making than the author of "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Sometimes we need to look inward for answers rather than among titles and leaders, particularly when it comes to the kids that we know better than than some of the decision-makers do.
"The library is the temple of god. Education is the most sacred religion of all"- Gene Simmons. Can you picture the Kiss frontman at your local library?
And when it comes to parting advice, Chuck Berry will remind you, "Don't let the same dog bite you twice." Wise words, indeed.
