Music of Andrew F. Poor

A Note to Young Music Teachers (and maybe old ones too?) My first year teaching at Concert Festival (MPA) Why   write this  blog? Teacher retention seems to be big news lately. Teacher retention is a real and genuine problem. I have been seeing and reading numerous articles about teacher retention lately and these articles sparked this blog. Here is a small sample of teacher retention articles: http://theconversation.com/crisis-in-american-education-as-teacher-morale-hits-an-all-time-low-39226 http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/why-are-so-many-teachers-fleeing-the-classroom/story-fnkgbb3b-1227560880445 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/12/why-so-many-teachers-leave-and-how-to-get-them-to-stay/ I hope you find some help and affirmation with this information. I know that none of these ideas are groundbreaking concepts, but, hopefully, may be a spark of reflection for you. I love my job, which includes loving the good and bad,...

"Hard work is fun!"-Jim Luce WARNING : some may find this cheesy or simplistic--remember I teach middle school--and I am sure someone can write a more sophisticated version of this concept. Regardless, I believe that this is an important message to instill in my students, and one I feel compelled to share.  The  Universal Law of the Fun Cycle  goes like this:  learn something new  then you work hard at truly learning this skill,  you start to have fun, so you work harder, then  you have even more fun, and  the cycle repeats even faster. However, when you stop working, you stop having fun.  Have you ever found yourself starting something and then wanting to quit shortly thereafter?  from  moenormangolf.com Have you ever picked up a book, with a deep meaning, and you found yourself not finishing the book?  www.petersons.com Have you ever started a hobby, only to later stop? guitarlessons....

(This article originally appeared in a newsletter for the Spirit Summer Music Camps in April of 2009) They don't care how much you know, until... I am sure you can finish the phrase. This oft used quote has been attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, but this phrase is much more profound  then cliché in our profession. When many programs are shrinking, and recruiting and retention is an on-going concern for music educators, let me suggest a small idea that may make a big difference. As a good friend, and great band director, Alfred Watkins once told me, “You cannot teach empty chairs.”  FULL CIRCLE 2014 South Forsyth Middle School Symphonic Band performing at the Southeastern United States Honor Band and Clinic at Troy University.  My first band (Beaumont Middle School) I ever took to Festival, now called Music Performance Assessment in 1989 It was early in my career when I had a guest clinician, who was a local band director of an excellent b...

This is a summarized version of a clinic that myself and Dr. Steven Tyndall gave at the 2009 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.  Click this link if you are interested in the full handout from the clinic,  http://nebula.wsimg.com/14ee473521229f7b2d28c4c0bd7f485c?AccessKeyId=8A07B23F9D49DAA23B98&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 Building Block 1-On your mark! Get set...   Go slowly and be thorough in the beginning. It is important to s pend some time on basic reading/notation. You can g ive students written material to review while you are working with different sections. Be extra careful when setting the  embouchure-make graduating to the instrument an accomplishment. You must cover proper instrument maintenance from the beginning. I insist that that they be able to show me how to: properly assemble, swab, oil valves, care for a slide etc... Be insistent on proper hand positions and posture. Have you ever tried to fix bad right-hand positions...