I’ve been digging into the writings and history of John Wooden, a legendary basketball coach at UCLA. His athletic successes are mirrored by remarkable success off the court, in teaching humanity and integrity through his coaching.
I think a lot of what he has to say can apply to the work we do as conductors. So I’ll be devoting the next several Wednesdays to brief meditations on his coaching ideas, and how we can apply them to teaching music, especially at the secondary level.
Richard Sparks of the University of North Texas did a series of blog posts several years ago for Choralnet on this topic, and while I’m sure we’ll cover similar ground, I hope that I’ll offer some new insights as well.
Take a minute to look at Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. Below, you’ll find all the posts in my Wooden Wednesday Series.
Posts in the Wooden Wednesday Series:
THE FOUNDATION
Cornerstone One: INDUSTRIOUSNESS
FRIENDSHIP
LOYALTY
COOPERATION
Cornerstone Two: ENTHUSIASM
SECOND ROW
SELF-CONTROL
ALERTNESS
INITIATIVE
INTENTNESS
CENTER OF THE PYRAMID
CONDITION
SKILL
TEAM SPIRIT
THE PEAK
POISE
CONFIDENCE
Atop The Pyramid: COMPETITIVE GREATNESS
OVERLOOKED HABITS
CURIOSITY
CREATIVITY