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[Warning. Contains satire.] Are you a principal, head teacher, or other school leader looking to gain new leadership ideas that can be implemented immediately? Do you miss the feeling of belonging to a group of people exactly like you? Has it been a long time since you've enjoyed the heady drama of the Middle School Atmosphere ™️️ ? Fear not. They're talking about how great MSGLA is. |  ( source ) You too can advance your skills with the Middle School Girls Leadership Academy (or MSGLA for short). Our staff provides training in rumor spreading, power struggles, and advanced backhanded compliments. We can teach you to make your staff feel like valuable members of a team, and then, with a single word from you, turn on one another viciously. We have a course that instructs you in the best way to hold a grudge at no cost to yourself, and strength training for throwing staff members under the bus. These skills and ideas have been tested for decades in the halls of midd...

When you said "toxic" I know what you meant, but Now all I can think of is Britney Spears And Superheroes And I like those things, So Thanks.

Art needn't be challenging to change you. Art doesn't even need to be Art. When something speaks to you,  take heed It will whisper of the world and your place therein If only you choose to listen.

What a short time it takes To put on the brakes Reverse Chart a course that shakes Americans to their very Roots And yet We the People shout Call the leaders out Demand Have second thoughts about America and her Roots But There is no place for hate You shall not dictate Curse Threaten or obligate America's very Roots Because Americans are strong And everyone belongs Rise up Sing the song We are America's Roots  

And then, in the midst of dystopia, my Principal texts me this: pic.twitter.com/n4fNVGt3Nu — Sarah Windisch (@slwindisch) January 26, 2017 Moments after I posted that picture, I got another text from my principal. It said, "You do make a difference ::winky-kissy emoji::" I know what she meant. I do. I know it's a kindness when it's very apparent that I'm unhappy and feel unappreciated. But here's the thing: not once  in my career have I ever doubted that I make a difference in the lives of my students. In fact, I probably have an over-inflated sense of my importance to my students. I know I make a difference. I know they adore me. I know they look forward to seeing me for a myriad of reasons - few of them musical. And I know that if I felt my job  contribution was of even a quarter of the importance to the adults I work with, I wouldn't be feeling the way I am. The place I'm at in my career has nothing to do with students in any way. I'...

I'm an excitable human. It's true. But I've maybe never been as professionally excited as I was today. Today I had a student, now a senior in high school, come to job shadow me. She's going to college in the fall to study music ed, and for her senior project, she's required to spend 5 hours with a professional in her chosen field. So, first, it was, "Can I spend 5 hours?" and then it was, "Can I spend a day?" and today it was, "I'm coming tomorrow too, and I have these two periods back to back that I could come in, and..." That's crazy flattering, let's be super honest. But, this is someone who, after talking to her, doing the "interview questions" she had to fill out, is going to be amazing in the classroom. Not just because she has that need to teach music, but because she understands so much more than I expected an (almost) 18 year old to, and in such a deeper way. The student becomes the teacher i...

I love teaching about movie music. Kids ask the best questions and are so, so curious. And there's so much to learn about. So many tangents! — Sarah Windisch (@slwindisch) January 5, 2017 This morning, we started talking about movie music in 5th grade. This becomes a unit in my class and it turns out differently each time I do it. That's probably the best part of it really: seeing what interests a particular class and what they want to do with it. Sometimes, kids get really into Foley. Other classes want to compose. One time, I had a class do a puppet show with their own music and sound and we learned about editing. On the third time through the first video I share with students, I was thinking about how great it would be as a writing prompt. Or for creating art. (When you do lessons 3-5 times in a row, and then again on another day 3-5 times in a row, you can get pretty creative with what else to do with a resource.) So here it is: (Insert all the educational discla...