I'm With the Band

Boy Bands.  You may think this is just a post for the ladies...NOT TRUE!  Everyone has heard of boy bands.  You probably have even sang along to a song of theirs.  I am talking about really good boy bands.  Not those "reality show brought five guys together" boy bands we see today, but REALLY good boy bands.  You could say boy bands started with the beginning of rock and roll, though I am not sure they were call boy bands.

 

(Could you guess them all?  If Mr. Swenson was here, he could get them!)

The 1970's brought another wave of young men getting together to sing and make it big. 

And the 1980's? NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK...need I say more?

Boy bands were taken to a whole new level in the 1990's and 2000's.

As you have taken this trip down memory lane, you may (again) be wondering where I am going with this post.

Bands are formed by a group of people coming together to share their talents.  They spend many hours together...whether in a studio or a tour bus...honing their craft.  They practice and practice, often into the night under the direction of a manager.  They may be asked to pick a skill by their manager they are not proficient in and attempt to master it.  In the 60's and 70's, it was a musical instrument and in the 80's and beyond, it was choreography and acting in videos.  Relationships were sometimes strong, but sometimes they were strained.  Hearts all over the land were crushed as these boy bands announced their break-up, but our hearts sang again when the one guy said he is going solo.  And then 20 years later, they all reunite on an "Unplugged" special on MTV or at the American Music Awards!

We can compare ourselves to boy bands.  As educators in this building, we are coming together to share our craft.  We support each other.  We may spend more hours with some of our colleagues than we do with our own families.  We may be asked to teach a class by the principal that is not our strong suit.  But we practice and practice until we get it right.  We may have students in our classes who have exhausted us and all the tricks we have in our toolbox.  We sometimes get upset with each other and the profession.  We may walk away for a bit and try a few things on our own, only to realize our colleagues can help make us a better teacher.  

Work together to come up with a great routine for the year.  All of you are very talented!  I am sure together you will come up with some killer dance moves...and don't forget to SING!  Sing notes of encouragement and praise for your fellow educators and students...and keep hanging tough!

Here is what started this whole blog...a little video sent to me that Mark Harming thought that I "would probably like".  I didn't like it...I LOVED IT!