How May I Serve YOU?

Narrative from a teacher evaluation

Assistant Directing, Classroom Teacher, Personal experience, Teaching, Teaching Music, Technology in the Classroom /

evaluationI was looking for something else and stumbled across this…. the narrative portion of a teacher eval on me about a year after they tried to pink-slip me. It was likely a scheduled observation and one of those times you find out what students think of you — because they can make it go really well or horribly wrong. Not sure why they insert the name so often. I find that distracting. Apparently, this was early as we were learning the piece, “Africa: Ceremony, Song, and Ritual”. I should point out that the artifacts passed around and the email read came from David’s summer studies in Ghana.

VIII. NARRATIVE (March 2007)

As I entered Mr. Gardner’s class, I immediately noticed the projector displaying announcements. Specifically, the following were scrolling: Leadership Truths, Characteristics of Quality, Birthdays, and the agenda for each day of the week. In addition, Mr. Gardner used the speakers in the band room to play audio of the African piece that has been the focus of instruction. When the bell rang, Mr. Gardner turned on the lights; students immediately became quiet. Mr. Gardner began to lead students in a warm-up activity. He used the projector during this time. Mr. Gardner’s band room is orderly and conducive to learning. During the last warm-up exercise, Mr. Gardner requested that a senior conduct. Next, Mr. Gardner assigned the following exercise: students were to submit five suggestions that could improve the African piece. He allowed students to make suggestions regarding his performance, as well. Next, Mr. Gardner shared some African artifacts with students. They passed the artifacts around the room while Mr. Gardner read aloud an email message from a study-abroad student in Africa. Students were very attentive during this time. Next, the band started performing the piece; this piece is relatively new to the students. Mr. Gardner balanced praise with constructive criticism. Mr. Gardner transitioned into a rhythm exercise. He allowed students to choose the object they were to use to demonstrate rhythm. Students enjoyed the exercise. Mr. Gardner uses modeling to support his direct instruction. It should be noted that when there are students talking during Mr. Gardner’s direct instruction, other students remind those who are talking to be quiet. Mr. Gardner led students again through the piece. At the end of the period, students were quiet and attentive during announcements. Mr. Gardner praised students as they left, and he reminded them to submit the “suggestion sheet.”
Other good points will be listed below.
1. Mr. Gardner’s class is engaging. Students enjoy the learning environment and are
clearly motivated by the instruction and varied strategies.
2. Mr. Gardner has a passion for teaching that translates into excitement for the students.
Suggestions I would make will be listed below.
1. None at this time.

Narrative from a teacher evaluation Read More »

Bullying, Band and Best Practices

4 Comments / Classroom Teacher, College Prep, High Schools, Music Department, Parenting, Respect, School Security, Teaching, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

Bullying In Band

UPDATE: Be sure to read the parent comments at the end of this article.

Over a decade after high school graduation, he told his parents he was bullied as a high school freshman, not telling them at the time because he feared they’d make a big deal of it.

He DID go to a teacher who ignored or brushed aside his emotional plea. In his valedictorian speech at graduation three years later, when he listed the “Top 10 Things I Learned in High School”, one of them was…..

“….that my head really does fit in a gym locker.”

Still no response. This was before all the more recent publicity of the terribly negative lifetime impact that bullying can have….but

…there is no excuse for inaction. EVER!

Fortunately, this story doesn’t end tragically…. but that doesn’t make it right.

Bullying in Band…..surely not, right? …

Bullying, Band and Best PracticesRead More »

Bullying, Band and Best Practices Read More »

Safety, Transparency and Reputation when Coaching Students

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, College Prep, Communication, Consulting, High Schools, Parenting, School Security, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

transparencyFor a short time during my earliest teen years, without concern about walking to and into his home, I studied piano with a single guy who lived a few blocks away. During high school freshman year, I took lessons with a college girl who came to our school and went with me into a sound-proofed practice room. Later in high school, I would travel weekly to an area band director’s home for instruction. Concerns about safety transparency and reputation never came up.

But times are different now. Priests, coaches, and teachers are convicted of having inappropriate relationships with children and students, creating a sensitive and suspicious society that dissuades good teachers and students from participating in the time-tested tradition of individualized instruction.

The concept of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. No one can afford even an accusation. A School of Performing Arts that provides private lessons for area children put windows in all the classroom doors, instituted a parental sign-in/out procedure, and has a staff member walk in on every lesson every time. Band directors schedule lessons in busy offices or in large ensemble rooms full of distractions. College students video lessons with middle/high school students, not only for critique but also for security.

One band director told me that

…you don’t have to be guilty….an accusation can destroy a reputation and/or cost your job. And unfortunately, even after proven innocent, the doubts, questions and hesitations can continue to damage a reputation that took decades to build. Teachers have to be soooo careful.

The very nature of individualized music instruction almost mandates that student and teacher be alone in a room with a closed door. How do we take the legitimate safety concerns that student, parent, and teacher share along with the teacher’s concern for reputation (and employment) and still provide specialized, accelerated training?

SAFETY is everyone’s concern even if from different perspectives. Be aware and be careful.

TEACHERS…

  • invite parents to sit in or be nearby during lessons.
    • My experience: When I teach 1-1 lessons in my home, parents can relax in my living room while I work with the student in the dining room. A 6th grader’s mother would bring a book and sit in the room.
  • leave a door open or at least ensure it is unlocked and/or has a window. Enable anyone to walk in on you. That delay while you get up to open the door from the inside can cause undue suspicion or concern (and increase interruption time).
  • schedule lessons when others are around. Avoid evenings or non-school days when teaching at school or make sure someone else is home if the student is coming to your home studio. Do everything reasonable to remove any question andensure both student and parent are comfortable. Keep in mind that teens are increasingly cautioned to beware of one-on-one situations with adults. Respect that.
    • My experience: When a mother requested I work with her student over holiday break, I scheduled it at school along with an appointment for another teacher to drop something off to me during the lesson time. I left the band room door opened and set up the chairs in clear view from the hallway so passing janitors could see and hear.
  • video or audio record the session. Make sure everyone knows. Place the camera so both teacher and student are visible, but NOT in a way that makes the student uncomfortable or could set you up for a different kind of complaint.
    • My experience: When I teach lessons via Skype, I ask that the camera be pointed so that I can see either fingers, embouchure or both, so I am usually looking at a profile view of the student’s top front. When girls start adjusting their clothes, there is some discomfort. Be aware, empathetic, and be careful. Explain your reasoning — or move the camera to remove the discomfort.
  • if you have a regular coaching schedule, post the schedule. If you have a website with a calendar, parents (and students) are better reminded and informed.

PARENTS…

  • check references. In addition to safety, you want to make sure you’re getting a good product (teacher). If the teacher is an outsider coming to the school, the school should have conducted a background check. Ask.
  • sit in or be in the area, at least periodically. Sitting in an adjacent room can provide reasonable privacy while often enabling you to hear your child play. They won’t do that for you at home, right? Bring a book.
  • for virtual lessons (via Skype, for example), be in the area. You don’t have to stand over the child’s shoulder, but listen in and even walk in a couple times….say hi to the teacher.

STUDENTS…

  • meet a new teacher for the first time with a parent and in public.
  • go with your gut.
  • if anything makes you uncomfortable, speak up or get out. Nearly 100% of the time, you are either mis-interpreting or the teacher is completely unaware and will respond and adjust. Don’t destroy an opportunity based on your misunderstanding a teacher’s oversight.
  • if a parent is dropping you off, have a cell phone to call if the teacher is not there, you finish early (or going over), or you otherwise need parental pick up.
    • My experience: It was during a storm and I was mid-lesson after school when the power went out. Emergency lighting came on, but not enough to continue.
  • if you are going to a lesson, tell your parents (or someone) when, where and for how long.
    • My experience: I’ve had an unnecessarily disgruntled parent when I scheduled some after school coaching with a student who never got around to communicating and mom didn’t know what was going on ’til the student didn’t get off the bus. My mistake was assuming the parent knew.

TRANSPARENCY helps everyone.

Sometimes there is a drop off in parental involvement and in student/parent communication during high school. Teens want more responsibility and independence and both parent and teacher should strive to help them in those areas. Assumptions often cause problems, however, and most issues I’ve ever experienced in the triangular relationship with parent and student elevate because somebody “assumed”. Several years ago, I gave each of my business office employees a personalized, engraved magnet that said, simply:

Assume Nothing!

TEACHERS…provide a list of expectations and policies.

  • Payment. How much, how often and what happens when they don’t. Are materials (music) included?
  • Cancellations when you cancel, when student cancels, how much notice and what if there isn’t any?
  • Minimum requirements; lessons per month, practice time, materials such as tuners or metronome, a functioning instrument with adequate supplies (reeds, etc)…
  • Privacy. Don’t share student/parent contact info or details about what happens during lessons. That is why they are called “private” lessons.
  • Communication. Be easy to contact. Determine whether your communication is to be with the student or parent. Any written communication with the student should be copied to a parent, when possible, including texts, emails or other types of media messages.

REPUTATIONS are slow to build and quick to crumble.

Students and parents need to realize how important that is to the teacher, especially when their very livelihood depends on it. Younger or single teachers need to be hyper-aware, but no one is too old, fat, bald or ugly for legitimate concern and caution.

Without an element of TRUST, this simply cannot work. Hopefully, the teacher has ‘earned’ some trust from both the student and the parental. It is unfortunate that we hear via national news when trust has been abused. That is horrible. But it is also a very, VERY small percentage of people. My advice to all…. in a nutshell:

Be Aware & Take Care!

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Safety, Transparency and Reputation when Coaching Students Read More »

Which budget do we cut?

Assistant Directing, Classroom Teacher, Communication, High Schools, Marching Band, Music Department, News and Happenings, Personal experience, Teaching /

I promised multiple stories. Here is Story #2. The first story is HERE.

Budget pigI was a music teacher in the system from 2005-2020 (retired). This happened during that time…not sure the year.

$ $ $ $ $

Word came to the instrumental dept that one of our two contracted summer sessions would be cut from the budget and band parents could take over funding to keep both sessions functioning.

I was tasked with making our case before the board. The “conversation” went something like this…..

Me: Our FIRST summer session starts before the end of the Spring semester when we start integrating incoming students and preparing for the local June parade. Do you want the band to represent the school in the HD parade?

Board: Of course, the band MUST march in the parade.

Me: Our SECOND summer session starts a few weeks before the Fall semester and is when the band learns music, marching fundamentals, and the performance show for football games and band competitions. Do you want the band at the football games?

Board: Absolutely, the band MUST be at the football games.

Result: Funding continued for both summer sessions.

Note: We did not ask for gift cards.

Which budget do we cut? Read More »

When Law Enforcement Got Involved in My Fundraiser

Leave a Comment / Fundraising, Personal experience, Sales and Marketing /

It was in one of my early years of fundraising on my own. I was working with an area elementary school and using a program that included chocolates manufactured in Wisconsin. The order taking and product delivery went fine. It was a day or two after I delivered the student-packaged orders that I took a tense call from the principal. 

[Mr. S] was a hard man to work with. When I started in fundraising, he was one of the many loyal customers of a long-entrenched and very successful competitor. I kept calling on him, however, and when things started changing with the company and rep he had been using, he asked me to stop by. I was probably one of the few who kept calling on him, so persistence paid in this case.

The phone call was that we had a problem and I needed to come to the school immediately. I did.

Someone [suspect] had called the school saying he bit into a chocolate and found a staple inside. Mr. S was ready to put the word out to return all the product and notify the newspaper. That would have been devastating to my young business and the fall out from something like that could ruin me. I would have had to pay for the product and the school’s profit loss from the returned product.

While I was sitting at his desk, I called the candy vendor and asked for the highest-ranking person I knew. I was told, “He’s in a meeting.” I think I used the words potential injury and lawsuit in the same sentence when I demanded they get him out of his meeting. They did. 

When I explained the situation, he said I would get another call momentarily. 

That call was from the in-house corporate attorney, who, as it turned out, had partial ownership in the company. He was terrific as he had been through stuff like this before and kept Mr. S and me informed and one step ahead of the situation all the way through. 

He explained to us the near impossibility of such a happening — that there are multiple metal detectors on each candy line, including one at the very end. He mentioned that staplers are not allowed in the candy rooms and that the detectors are mostly for any potential metal fragments from the machinery itself. 

From the product shipment and candy type, he was able to get a report of the manufacturing process on that line for that day and there had been no problem. 

He wanted us to call the person making the complaint and find out:

  1. Is he ok? (Yes)
  2. Was he injured? (No)
  3. Did he go to a doctor? (No)

We suggested he go to the doctor. (Would not)

  1. Where was he when he bit into the chocolate….including a detailed description of what happened?
    He was in a band rehearsal at a local golf club. Claimed he opened a box of caramel pecan chocolates and shared them with his friends. 
  2. Did anyone else find a staple in their chocolate? (No)
  3. Did he still have the piece of candy with the staple in it? (Yes — instructed to bring it to the school).

The lawyer advised me to go to the golf club rehearsal area to look for staples. Mr. S went with me. Not surprising for a reception room, there were staples on every post from where banners and streamers had been hung. We pulled a few from different areas and of differing varieties and sent those, as well as our “damaged” chocolate, NDA to Wisconsin. 

At this point, he told us his suspicion and advised how to proceed. The purpose of the “are you hurt” and “did you go to the doctor” questions would prevent the guy from claiming harm later. Collecting staples, including the one in the piece of chocolate, would enable analysis to determine several things. 

After the staples were analyzed, the lawyer called and confirmed that:

  1. Even though there are already no staplers in the candy making facility, none of the staples matched the types of staplers they had in the office areas.
  2. The staple in the piece of chocolate was a match to some of the staples we sent, meaning it came from the golf course and not the chocolate maker.

I was to call the man and ask what I could do to make it right for him, i.e. free chocolate and/or his money back. And, the manufacturer would pay for a trip to the doctor to have everything checked out. He refused to do that. 

The lawyer said,

“As soon as anything comes out of his mouth that sounds like he wants anything more than that — tell him he will hear next from the corporate attorney, who has already been in touch with federal authorities…and hang up immediately.”

Federal authorities were involved because of the multiple states involved.

During the conversation, in response to my asking how to make it right, the suspect said….

“A big screen TV would be good.”

Boom.

By this time Mr. S was convinced this was not a staple in the candy issue and was extremely appreciative of the way both I and the attorney handled the situation. 

The attorney told us that we would hear back from someone about resolution within a day. 

It was just a couple hours. 

The next call I got was from a man who identified himself as a federal agent. He confirmed that this was fraud and extortion and asked if we wanted to press charges. 

No. The negative publicity would still have been harmful and the type of attention that could encourage school officials to ban product fundraising. 

The case was closed. And I did earn additional business at that school and with that principal. 

All of this happened over a two day period with the second day only because of the transport time to get the staples to Wisconsin for immediate analysis. 

When Law Enforcement Got Involved in My Fundraiser Read More »

The only time I was ever asked for a kickback

Leave a Comment / Fundraising, High Schools, Personal experience, Respect, Sales and Marketing, Selling in the Schoolhouse, Work from Home /

I was working for the national fundraising company and in my first few years as a full-time product fundraiser. I spent most of my time calling on larger groups such as total elementary and middle schools, bands, choirs, leagues.

It was a time when you could still walk into an elementary school, go to the office and ask the secretary if you can see the principal — and have at least some chance that you might. No security cameras, buzzing in, showing id and such. 

It was almost always okay to leave product samples. I would often leave something in the office for the secretary because everyone knows secretaries know everything about what is going on and have the power to get you (or prevent you from) the decision-makers. When I had chocolates available, those were especially appreciated. Principals and group decision-makers would usually accept chocolate samples. 

Other gifts were sometimes problematic. There was a choir director I had worked with for several years. At the time, I was working with a prize vendor who offered novelty phones (land-line, of course). I especially liked the coke phone as a student/seller prize. But I wanted to give this director a piano phone and he wouldn’t accept it — until he was in his last year ready to retire. It wasn’t a matter of “buying” his business (the phone cost @$20) but of genuinely showing appreciation to a long-loyal customer. 

Samples and small gifts were one thing. This story is about something else. I am not including the name of the town, school corporation, school, or individual. I want to emphasize that school teachers, sponsors and administrators are overwhelmingly highly-ethical people with a real desire to help students.

This visit was at a medium-sized elementary school with a principal I had yet to meet. He invited me into his office, closed the door, and sat behind his desk. He was an older guy who appeared to have put in enough time to retire. 

I was immediately shocked when he started telling me how he hated children, hated his faculty and staff….and, well, everything about his job. As a former teacher, I was simultaneously uncomfortable and angry as he continued. But then it got worse.

After what was supposed to be ice-breaking information gathering prior to giving me details to include or address in my “sales presentation”, he asked me a bizarre question that caught me totally off guard;

“If I sign up to do a fundraiser with you, what is in it for me?”

He couldn’t be asking what I thought he was, and I didn’t want to assume, so I implemented my excellent sales training by asking questions.

“You mean what is in it for your school? [Immediately continuing]….your school should earn about $xxx which will help fund some of the needs you already mentioned.”

“Well, yes…..but what about ME? This is going to be a sizable sale with a good amount of commission for you and I want to know what you would provide me in appreciation.”

At that point, I started putting my materials away, stood up, thanked him for his time, and told him I couldn’t work with him. 

As I made my way to open the office door, he mentioned something about confidentiality, and when I glanced back his facial expression was something in between anger and fear. 

I never went back. 

The only time I was ever asked for a kickback Read More »

Rossini

High Schools, Music Department, Personal experience, Repost, Solo Prep, Teaching Music, Technology in the Classroom, Throw Back Thursday /

Clarinet soloA few years ago, probably the last time I played thru a top-tier piece, I was alone on the local hs stage using Smart-accompaniment on a laptop and audio recording via phone…. I was probably preparing to assign it as I had made cuts for solo festival limits. I did flub the final 38-note run up to that high Ab (couldn’t hold onto it)…. but the rest of the 7-pages went well and fast, phone audio microphone considered.

Anyway… I recently shared the online link for someone to listen for some of the things we’re working on … (scales, arpeggios, chromatics, articulation, ornaments, etc). Told the parental I was going to look for the music. FOUND IT, well Joan did. No, not going to assign (yet), but do intend to use it for the above-mentioned fundamentals.

Rossini Read More »

Students are not Starfish

1 Comment / Classroom Teacher, High Schools, Public Schools, Repost, Respect, Teaching, Uncategorized /

Starfish on the beachby John Gardner (via LinkedIn)

The starfish story (not my original) is about someone trying to make a difference and I think of it periodically when I find myself trying to balance that healthy, professional detachment from the lives of individual students with the reality and significance of those lives and my desire to make a difference by being more than “just” a classroom teacher.

Working with students is not a life or death proposition, of course, but some seem to get washed up on the beach. Here’s the story and 10 ways to make a difference. Those 10 ways represent my core beliefs in teaching and working with teens.

The man was out for a walk on the beach when he noticed a boy frantically picking things up and throwing them into the ocean. Curious, he approached the boy to discover that he was picking up starfish that had washed up on to the beach — and was throwing them back into the water.
“Son, what are you doing?” the man asked.
“The tide is going out and these starfish got left behind. I’m throwing them back into the water to save them.”
“But son, there are hundreds of miles of beach. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
As the boy picked up another starfish, he threw it into the water and then turned and said to the man,

“I made a difference to THAT one.”

———————————

Teen years can be trying times.  Parents may be fighting, separating, dating and remarrying, which means the teen now has to not only deal with a break up of a foundation in his/her life, but often now has to live in multiple households. Some have to adjust to step-siblings, job losses, financial struggles and more. Then, there are the complexities of school with seemingly unending pressures to perform, trying to get through the dating games, often without an anchor or example to follow. Influenced by increasingly negative social standards, or lack of standards….. teens can get caught in the rise and falling tides. Most learn how to negotiate life’s trying currents, but can turn the wrong way, make a miscalculation or poor decision — and find themselves high and dry on the beach…..and they need help. Not every student needs, wants or will accept a teacher’s help. Sometimes the teacher’s effort is both unappreciated and unsuccessful.

But try we must…because we CAN make a difference “to THAT one”.

Ten ways to make a difference:

  1. Be real. You can’t fake it with teens, they will see right through you. If you can’t be real, you should not be there. Please leave education.
  2. Be available. How easy is it for a teen to say to YOU, “Can I talk to you?”? What if it is not during class or immediately after school? In how many different ways are you available and do students know and understand that? Do they know if it is ok to email, call, text or instant message you? When a teen says they need to talk, somebody needs be available. Be that person. Consider your use of texting and social media.
  3. Be there. Yes, you’re “on duty” at school. What about when a student is in the hospital, at the funeral home, pitching in the softball/baseball game, getting baptized, being awarded Eagle Scout status, or when their garage-type band is playing at the coffee shop? Take your spouse or your kids and just be where you can when you can. They will notice.
  4. Trust them. If you want trust, you need to give some. I have a periodic discussion about trust, abusing it, losing it and the difficulty in earning it a second time. Read: “I WANT To Trust You“. Teens make mistakes and the trust area is one of those places where they can mess up. But help them learn. Take a reasonable chance. Yes, you’ll get burned some….but you will also empower leaders to rise up.
  5. Respect them. There is a good chance they will recognize and return it.
  6. Advocate for them. Of course you have students who are financially challenged and could benefit from music lessons, a better instrument, participation in a select ensemble or some other training. You won’t always succeed, but try to find funding to help. Call the employer to help him get that job. Write a letter to help her get that scholarship. Help them with college applications their parents can’t (or won’t).
  7. Listen, really listen. Teens typically think that people don’t listen. They think adults are quick to lecture, criticize and correct, but are slow to listen. You don’t always have to have the answer. Sometimes there isn’t an obvious answer. Sometimes listening is the answer, because in allowing them to share, you enable them to find their own answer. Unless they are sharing something illegal, dangerous, hear them out. Don’t argue. Don’t interrupt. Don’t pre-judge. And when you can, share your wisdom, experience, expertise and advice.
  8. Expect and Encourage Excellence. Students will complain when the load is heavy and the challenge is significant, but they know, even when they won’t admit, that achieving excellence requires work. They want to achieve and succeed. Being there for them doesn’t mean lowering your standards. Make them stretch. They’ll appreciate you eventually, even if not today.
  9. Don’t assume. A question I ask often is, “You okay?” Simple question….and sometimes they shrug it off, but there have been many times for me that this gives them the opening to ask for help.
  10. Don’t give up. It can be difficult, disappointing and even deflating when teens mess up. Don’t give up on them. That’s what the rest of society wants to do sometimes…. They will be disappointed that they disappointed you, but your unconditional support (not approving what they do) is vitally important to them.

Students are not Starfish Read More »

Relative Pitch is not Perfect

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, College Prep, Music Department, Personal experience, Public Schools, Teaching /

Perfect pitch means you can hear a tone or multiple tones and identify them. There was a girl in undergrad music theory class at UK who had perfect pitch. She described it as painful if a vocal ensemble was to lose pitch, i.e. go flat/sharp. 

Another person I worked with professionally was a local band director wife. We could use her as a tuner, because she not only knew the pitch, but whether you were ever so slightly off. We would bring her in periodically to critique and the students always enjoyed trying to “trip her up”. But perfect means perfect and they never could. 

In one rehearsal, without a score in front of her, she made a comment like, “The Bb7 chord at letter E is both wrong and out of tune. The altos have the ‘D’ (your ‘B’) and one of you is playing a Bb and another of you is playing the right note, but quite sharply.” We checked. She was perfect.

I do not have perfect pitch, but good “relative” pitch. It serves me well in two general ways. First, as a clarinetist, I can usually “hear” the pitch before I play it and so can come in on the right note/partial and on pitch. Especially when listening to a clarinet, I can usually tell you the note, but more because I know the different timbres of notes. An open ‘G’ sounds different than a ‘Bb’, for example.

It also serves me well in rehearsals as I have keen “hearing eyes”. I can tell if what I’m hearing is what I’m looking at in the music score. I established that when I would say, “Someone is missing [specific note]. If you don’t fix it, I will find you”, they knew I could, so sometimes, when I stop the music, look down at the score (to figure out what I heard and where it might be coming from) and focus my attention toward a section of the group I might find someone with his/her hand already raised to confess, “It was me”. 

During a grad class, I had to stay after class one day because I was doing something the professor said I shouldn’t have been able to do and he wanted to find out how I was “cheating”. 

His researched position was that you could only retain and re-sound about 8-11 random tones. To make his point, he emphasized why phone numbers are broken down; 260-786-6554 vs 2607866554 or that credit card numbers are “batched” in 4’s because we can’t remember 16. 

Then for practical proof, he started playing series of tones. We were to sing them back and drop out when we missed. Not unlike a spelling bee, by the time he got to 12-13 tones, there were only two of us left. The other person dropped out and the professor, in a frustrated tone, asked me how I was “cheating”. 

Working 1-1 after class, he noticed (I didn’t even know I was doing it) I was fingering my pencil. His conclusion, and I had none better to offer, was that I was “hearing tones in clarinet” and then “playing them back”. 

What I did was not unique. I know of others who have trained their ears to hear specific pitches, such as an ‘open G’ on trumpet or a vocal “do” on ‘c’. 

Relative Pitch is not Perfect Read More »

11 Things Small Business and Fire Departments Should Have In Common

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, High Schools, Music Department, Public Schools, Sales and Marketing, Small Business, Storytelling, Teaching, Teaching Music /

My dad was a 32-yr career firefighter, retiring as an Assistant Chief for a moderately sized, full-time department that had about 10 stations throughout the city. I recall a childhood time when my siblings and I were vising him at the firehouse. When the alarm sounded, he abruptly pointed to the wall, and said

“Stand right there ’til someone comes for you.”

Immediately, 10 doors (5 front, 5 rear) open, the intercom is announcing location and status, and people are hustling from every direction Twenty seconds later, the building is open, empty and quiet. One of the dispatchers invited us into his area while our mother scrambled to come pick us up.

As a small business owner, I believe some of my Dad’s Fire Department practices could help Small Business when it comes to putting out fires. Here are 11 things Small Business and Fire Departments should have in common.

Fire Departments

  • The Facility is well cared for. There are assignments (often seniority based) for sweeping/moping, washing/waxing, cooking, dishes, janitorial, supply maintenance, inventory and more. Rookies get the grunt jobs, but everybody has assignments and responsibilities with accountability.
  • Saving time is paramount.Vehicles are always facing the door for quick departure. Driver doors are left opened. Boots and pants are kept close to the truck (or the bed) and set for the firefighter to step into the boots and pull up the pants. Coats and helmets are on the truck to be added en route. When the bell rings, things happen and seconds count.
  • Equipment is organized and ready. Hoses have been carefully cleaned, inspected and rolled, and tools have been cleaned and stored so everyone knows where they are. Tire pressures, water levels and fuel have all been checked and readied. Efficient access is essential.
  • Skill sets are in place for lots of contingencies (types of fires, whether people are at risk, etc). Sometimes things don’t go the way they’re supposed to.
  • Practice, practice, practice. They practice driving through the streets (need to know every street, location of every fire hydrant), practice moving through smoke and fire, climb ladders, spray water, use the tools, lots of speed tests, inspections and homework. Ready to perform.
  • Group and Individual Goals plus Assignments are clearly defined, understood and bought into. There is no discussion about who gets to shoot the water cannon or hook up the hoses. They already know who is primary and secondary in hose control or who is going up the ladder first. Avoid unnecessary drama.
  • Coordination, Collaboration and Communication are essential. Control the traffic lights, mobilize police, roll the ambulance if needed or in doubt, notify the hospital and street departments, hold the trains, and get the business owner on the line. My dad always said, “We’ll be there in under 90 seconds”.
  • The Chain of Command is absolute. On a fire fun, the police are in support mode. Everyone has expertise and input, but primary is to trust and obey, for there’s no other way.
  • The only pic I have of my dad at a fire and he is there in street clothes. As the Asst off-duty Chief, he’s there getting his hands dirty.

    Firefighters know who they work for and will sacrifice to serve. When someone calls 911, firefighters will do what firefighters did on 9/11.

  • No firefighter is ever left behind.Period.
  • When the gig is over, get ready for the next one. The trip back to the firehouse can be exhausting, but some things can’t wait until tomorrow.

————————————————–

Small Business

  • The Facility is well cared for. What does your work area look like at the end of a day? Are there water bottles, messy desks, stacks of mail and reports? Unless you have a fantastic janitorial staff, make assignments. Delegate. What is your expectation for facility cleanliness and functionality?
  • Saving time is paramount. When it is time to start, is everything ready? Is there an agenda, task list or to-do list for the day?
  • Equipment is organized and ready. Desks are clean, waste baskets empty, floors swept, restrooms supplied, light bulbs in, etc? When that important phone call comes in, you don’t want to have to spend time getting ready to handle it.
  • Skill sets are in place for contingencies. Have you cross trained employees so that you can still function if the secretary, receptionist or warehouse manager are out sick or otherwise unavailable? Can you still answer phones, respond to emails, texts, faxes or social media messages, know where to find records when needed to answer a customer call or complaint, load or unload the truck and know where to place or retrieve product?
  • Practice, practice, practice. Schools have monthly fire drills even though there hasn’t been a school fire-related death in over 60 years. They also practice tornado drills and, increasingly, active shooter drills. Hopefully they never encounter any of those, but if they do — they have a better chance survival because they practiced. Having a list of procedures or contingencies is good, but nothing is better than practice. Practice your cross-trained assignments.
  • Are Group and Individual Goals plus Assignments clearly defined, understood and bought into? When a fire fighter makes a mistake on scene, someone can die. Business is not usually life and death, but do your order fulfillment personnel understand what happens when they make mistakes?

One of the most effective practices I put into place was to bring in a salesperson to talk to our order fulfillment crew and explain to them what happens to his customer, his income and even their jobs when orders go out with too many errors.

  • Coordination, Collaboration and Communication are essential. You have administration, management, office and warehouse staff….do all the appropriate people know what you are doing? Do you?
  • The Chain of Command is absolute. Everybody needs to be on the same team, but there can only be one coach. Encourage and welcome input, but make sure the team understands that once a decision happens, debate ends and action begins.
  • Employees know who they work for and will sacrifice to serve. If they won’t go above and beyond for you, then you have a different problem. Strive to instill pride and earn loyalty.
  • No customer is ever left behind. Period.
  • When the gig is over, get ready for the next one.

Meticulously planning and preparing for, and then efficiently and effectively fighting “fires” is something both fire fighters and small business owners should be good at. Business should be ready, but not always “putting out fires”.

The purpose of THIS post is to encourage you to be READY and SET so that when the alarm rings, you are prepared to GO!

Thanks for reading,
JohnGardner@VirtualMusicOffice.com

I wrote a tribute to my Dad, the firefighter, and included description and picture from the worst fire he ever fought…. the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977 that took the lives of 165 people, including my high school clarinet teacher. I also talk about his Fire Chief experience with accusations and responses to sexism and racism. Read more…. 

 

11 Things Small Business and Fire Departments Should Have In Common Read More »