Some newsletters are effortless and joyful to write. They practically write themselves in a stream of consciousness style that leads me to believe I could have, and perhaps should have, been a writer.
Other newsletters, well, they confound me and remind me of why I am not, and probably should not be, a writer. I will let you decide privately which one is the better choice.
Most weeks are a mixture of the two.
As a teacher and a speaker I have found that academic years are like newsletters. Some that are so joyful and effortless that they are a treasured experience that goes all too fast, while other are so arduous and frustrating that they can’t come to a close quick enough.
Most years are a mixture of the two.
Few writers are as flawed as me. I often lack brevity, clarity, and truth be told, any understanding of what a semi-colon actually does. I suspect that your affinity for the subject matter of music education, provides me a “writers halo” under which to operate safely and with a wide latitude concerning the formal rules of writing. Through it all, despite my flaws, I always attempt to provide value and meaning to you each and every week. But as I bring this years e-zines to a close, I should share a little secret with you.
I do this more for me than for you.
Through this weekly missive I find a community: a group of people who share my professional values and passions, a place to use for my skills and experience, a place where my voice has meaning, and a creative space where I am simultaneously challenged and inspired.
In this community I find a place where I have purpose. And for this, I wanted to offer this simple note of thanks.
Thank you for making our schools and communities a better place. Thank you for helping young people reach their potential even when it came at a personal cost to you. Thank you for taking me in each week and allowing me to be a part of this incredible profession called music education.
But most of all, thank you for bringing out the best in me.
For some of you, today’s email is your Fine!, your final missive from me as you prepare to retire or chase another dream. THANK YOU for your service and may you reap all the blessings you deserve. For others, this is your Da Capo, a brief pause before returning to "the top” in a few short weeks to begin again. To you I say, recharge, refresh, and return as a blank slate for the benefit of both you and your students.
Either way, thanks for all you do for music education and for all you do for me!
— Scott