Wk 2, Post 2, The Art of Possibility 5-6, Leading from anywhere, Monkey See and Do

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  My second entry is about the other chapters.  Leading from any chair is really good and I’m glad to say I have done that before with very good results.  When I take my teens on these mission trips, I get so many different types of kids for these 8-9 weeks.  It sounds like  a long time, but it really isn’t.  During the training, we are very busy with learning, and are on such a schedule that very little can be done in this area.  When we leave, that is when we get to begin doing things like that.  We put the kids in charge of many different things.  Of course we are there to take over iuf needed, but even that needs to be done quietly.  Usually the kids just need to know we are there and can take over if needed, but that happens rarely. 

     Chapter 6 is about rule six “ Don’t take yourself so seriously”.  I love rules like that.  They make a point.  Simple. Clean. 

     I know there is a poster out in many areas, but 39 years ago I had never heard of this before and never saw the posters until the past 15 years.  My band director used it and I loved it.   If you have heard it, and you are reading this, you will have to hear it again.

There are only two rules in my band room. 

Rule # 1 – The Band Director is always right.

Rule # 2 – When the Director is wrong, refer to rule # 1.

Again, It’s simple and clean.  Here is a perfect example of it in use, the right way, not the dictatorship way. 

We went to his hometown in North Alabama to play a concert.  He had always wanted to do that.  We took up the stage, back stage and half the floor of the small auditorium of the small, old school.  The entire town turned out for the concert as Johnny Long had begun his career at Troy State University with 13 band members and it was now in it’s 20 something year of 250 +, playing at inaugural parades in Washington, 3-4 major football games halftime shows with at least 2 minutes of air time, playing for at least 1 bowl game during the holidays, etc. 

At this concert, he invited some big wig AF director to guest conduct a march.  The man totally messed up while directing, skipping repeats in some places, and adding repeats where none were written.  He didn’t do this in the rehearsal with us, but for some reason, in the performance, he messed up big time. 

We followed the rule, though, the director is always right and somehow, the entire band followed him through his mistakes, so the audience never knew there had been a mistake.  So, in the end, no one was embarrassed, we sounded great, he saved face and all turned out well. 

I’ve shared this with my students, telling them that when one of us make a mistake, we all do OR, we all don’t.  It’s up to us to anticipate the mistakes and try to all go the same  way.  Which way is that?  The right way or the way the director is going?  Follow the director and do you best to stay together.  In the end, no pointing fingers as you only followed the 2 rules and you did the right thing.

My small children can hardly do that.  They sing almost programmed.  If I make a mistake, it doesn’t matter, as they are going to sing it the way I taught them to, and if I mess up, I can find my way back to the right place. 

BUT, once we sang at the state capital.  We were the youngest group chosen to sing at Florida Music Educators Associations:  Music Education Day at the Capital.  We sang in the rotunda.  Upstairs, on the 3^rd floor, a deaf  group was there asking for a new law for the deaf and saw my kids signing a song.  They made it to the ground floor before the song was over and when it ended, indicated they loved the song.  I signed thank you and began interpreting all the songs for them while directing.  I’ve done sign language with my kids so much, they just began copying me, through every song we sang.  They were real troopers.  They never acted like it was different than what we practiced.  They just thought I was signing with them, just like in the classroom.  At the end, the deaf contingency was so impressed these hearing kids could sign an entire concert.  Even they didn’t realize the kids were just copying me, for the first time, on all songs but the first one they saw. 

That was such a great experience of kids just doing what I do, needing no explanation.  They did it because I did. 

    

Now, back to rule number 6.  Does that mean I am the best teacher ever?  I trained these kids to be so great, I taught them sign language so wonderful they could copy me?  Oh yes, Rule number 6.  Don’t take myself seriously.  No, kids love to copy.  They are little mirrors and tape recorders.  This is how they learn.  They just did the way the Good Lord made them.  I just happened to have a great group of little monkeys who knew how to do: Monkey see, Monkey Do, Monkey does the same as You.  In other words, Rule # 6.

Thanks for introducing this book.  I am really enjoying it so far.

Zander, The Art of Possibility
Graphic found in Google under:  Rule Number 6, from Zander's Art of Possibility