In a recent news broadcast there was a story of a college football player who, following his game, was seen helping the stadium crew clean up the trash left in the stands.  When asked about it, he said he does it to keep his life in perspective.  Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden insisted his teams leave their locker room clean after away games.  And one of my former students made it her personal mission to set up the band room at the end of each school day.

A seemingly small gesture on the part of all three of these people, it speaks volumes about the quality of the individual. When I was still teaching, I read the story of John Wooden.  Thinking it was a valuable lesson for my students to learn, I set and maintained the expectation that as a program, we would make sure we left our workspace as clean as possible.  When we travelled, we cleaned up after ourselves at every stop we made.  Besides the fact that it made for a more pleasant working environment, it endeared us to the custodial staff at the school, and the restaurant and hotel staffs when we travelled.  Of course, the most important benefit was that my students learned the importance of a clean, organized workspace.

Today, no every day, I encourage you to look for similar examples of how simple gestures can be used as valuable learning experiences for your students.  Having witnessed the impact one young lady had on the entire band by setting up the band room every day, I know the value of such lessons.  Soon, others were stopping by to assist her, which lead to everyone in the band taking personal responsibility for our space.  Just sayin’!

Make Today a Magnificent Day!

Gary L Rupert

Culture Strategist/Coach

II:Leaders Creating:II Leaders

LCL Mentors @ Marching Arts Education