On September 27, 1966, I arrived, a blank slate, ready to be filled with knowledge and take on the world. Most of us start that way. I knew how to eat, sleep, cry, and poop. That was it! My father was American and my mom was from Naples, Italy. I have some great memories of …
Read more “A Dog Named Snoopy, Peeing on Trees, Eating Meatballs”
I had zero confidence as a young man. I mistakenly thought I had to always be dating someone, when what I really needed to do was work on myself. When the girl I was dating would break up with me, I always wanted to know why. I should have just let them go, but I …
Read more “Believe It Or Not, I Say “Thank God I’m Boring!””
Some of my teachers played a big role in my life. A great ancient Hebrew named James had this to say about teaching… “Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.” Here are some good and not so good teachers …
The Brother I Never Knew I have a wonderful sister. We went through a lot together as kids and are great friends today as adults. But we were robbed. Mom was pregnant at least 5 times. Her third child she gave up for adoption. He was taken in by a loving family. Babies 4 and …
As we approach the end of the year, we are all feeling tired and drained – which I think we all know and expect – at least physically. But remember, we are also drained emotionally. It can cause our emotions to trick us. We may think… “Does what I do matter?” “Would a career besides …
Read more “Teachers – Your Dedication Makes a Difference. You Matter!”
By James DivineAs we approach the end of the school year and the weather is warming up outside – especially after our spring concert – it can sometimes be a challenge to get students to maintain focus. Sometimes mixing up the method book a bit can make band class more interesting. Here are 8 Ways …
People look at me – 55, getting better looking each year, married to my high school sweetheart, parent of four, grandparent of 8, successful band & orchestra teacher, author, speaker, musician – and they think “Wow, James is so confident and sure of himself. Life has been good to him. I wish my life was …
Read more “I Wasn’t Always This Way – And I Get Better With Age”
“All you need is Love. Love is all you need” So true, and advice so needed as a teacher. When they don’t meet your expectations…love them anyway. When they disrespect you…love them anyway. When they don’t work hard…love them anyway. It’s not hard to love the students who are excited about your class, who work …
After I discussed our first playing test of all 12 scales in one of my high school classes, a student of mine came to speak to me a few days later… “Mr. Divine…I’ve been working hard on the 12 scales and wanted to let you know that it’s possible I might not pass them on …
Susan and I moved here – reluctantly – in 1992 with the Army, thinking that as soon as I got out of the Army, we would be moving to Virginia. We never left! Two of our kids were born here. We love Colorado and hope to never move away, but if God ever has something …
By Guest Writer Brooke Pierson Keeping up with the times – a no win scenario? Over the years I am constantly hearing about how we need to “reach more kids”… Teach rock band! Teach computer music! Teach hip-hop! Teach what the kids are interested in. To be fair, this post isn’t about those things entirely …
Earliest Memories “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” -Sigmund Freud This is a picture of my grandfather, my mom’s father. He passed away before I had a chance to meet him. My mom speaks very highly of him. Most children don’t remember much from their earliest …
Read more “Peeing on Trees and Other Early Childhood Memories”
Jill was cleaning her son Billy’s room, putting ALL the clothes in the hamper because – if you’ve had a boy, you know their clean and dirty clothes co-mingle. They know what to wear after giving it the sniff test. She tossed the pizza boxes from under the bed into the trash. She found the …
Read more “Wait Until You See What His Mom Gave Him for Breakfast”
4 Tips To Be A Better Band Director using the acronym BAND There are four key areas that – if you focus on these and make them a priority – they can help you be a better band director. None of them have anything to do with music, but the word “BAND” does fall nicely …
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If the President would simply issue the following proclamation, I would support him forever… “Let it be known that from this day forward, all marching band competitions shall be held on Fridays. All students involved in the competition shall be exempt from homework given or due that day. In addition, students not involved shall remain …
Read more “With one proclamation, the President would have my unending support”
The 2016 marching band season was the best to date. Our scores were some of the highest we had ever achieved. Our show was the most difficult we had ever attempted. My students were the most committed they had ever been (with lots of room for improvement). As my students attained higher and higher scores, …
Read more “I’m Glad My Marching Band Didn’t Make it to State”
New Year’s resolutions are a waste of time! Most of the resolutions don’t last beyond the end of January. They are bound to fail. Resolutions are often not thought out, have no action steps and are rarely written down. They often lack specificity. Here are just a few examples of how to make goals better… …
Remember Nancy Reagan’s theme from the 1980s to Just Say No to drugs? She was made fun of, but it is an effective strategy. You may not struggle with drugs, but I bet you do struggle with saying no! Many people miss out on the great things in life because they are doing so many …
Read more “Just Say No! (So You Can Say Yes). It’s Life-Changing!”
Teens Today Get a Bad Rap Teens today get a bad rap, one that they don’t deserve. They are accused of many things and often all lumped into the same category rather than looked at as individuals. I work with teens daily. I have faith in teens! Three Myths About Teens 1. Teens are lazy …
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When I turned 18 – way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and brontosaurus burgers were just 25 cents – aka 1984 – I proudly proclaimed to anyone who would listen – and most didn’t – “I’m a man now.” (By the way, that sentence is a homage to my 12th grade English teacher, who …
By Summer Stevens Reprinted with permission from GES. Link to the article online HERE. From Tolerance to Forced Approval There is an intentional attempt to indoctrinate your children to the LGBTQ lifestyle, and your church is likely doing nothing about it. This indoctrination is evident in obvious ways, such as in the mandatory teaching of …
Make Use of “Sponge Time“ I’m not talking about Sponge Bob, but about time you already have but maybe don’t know you have. Just like a sponge easily absorbs extra water, if you really look, you will see “extra time” all around you. We all get the same 24 hours in a day. Many teens …
Read more “Teens – How To Be More Productive & Accomplish Your Goals”
Way way back in 1984, my 5 foot tall mom was able to predict the success of my marriage with this little known Italian secret! Does your marriage pass the test? Today, I share this secret worldwide so you can start using it yourself. Get more funny stories in my book about growing up Italian, …
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I hear Christians lamenting all the time about two Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s that “removed prayer from schools”. Those decisions did not remove prayer from schools, but removed state-sponsored prayer from public schools, and frankly I’m glad they did! Christians have always been for the underdog, for the downtrodden, for those whose rights …
We are constantly hearing all the “woe is me” about our colleges and the cost to attend! Some of those problems are our own doing, but college is still affordable! My Story I wanted to go to college for as far back as I can remember. My mom didn’t have any money saved up for …
Read more “How To Pay For College Without Debt and Without Worry”
I wasn’t always this way! People look at me – 57, getting better looking each year, married to my high school sweetheart, parent of four, grandparent of 10 (and counting), successful band teacher, author, speaker, musician – and they think “Wow, James is so confident and sure of himself. Life has been good to him. …
Read more “I Wasn’t Always This Way – Once was a Sad Boy, now a Joyful Man”
Choosing Quality Band Literature Here are a few things I have learned about selecting music for wind band… Ability Level of the Ensemble You Direct: A piece of music may be the greatest creation ever made, but if it is too difficult for the students to play, they will become discouraged. I often made the …
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In 1998, I started my first teaching job with passion, dedication, love and joy. I gave my all to my students, but I neglected myself and – I’m ashamed to say – at times my family. I became extremely burned out. When I left that school for another in 2005, I promised myself I would …
Read more “Are you burned out? Take this easy test. Make changes.”