John Gerdy
John Gerdy WITF Interview
Scott Lamar: The number of schools offering music education in Pennsylvania and the nation, is in a steady decline and has been for more than a decade. Reduced budgets and shifting priorities are often to blame. Music For Everyone is a Lancaster based nonprofit working to raise awareness and resources to strengthen the role that
Life Lessons From the Blues: CeDell Davis
It’s not often that an obituary sticks in your head for more than a week, let alone six months. I can’t get the life story of CeDell Davis out of my head. Davis was a Delta bluesman from Arkansas who used a knife for a guitar slide to create a sound, described by New York
School Daze: Athletics and School Schedules
As has been well documented, athletic programs in our high schools have various impacts on the academic values and priorities and school culture and environment. For example, students involved in sports are more “engaged” in school and as a result less likely to cut classes or skip it entirely. On the other hand, a case
The Times They Are a Changing: Sports, Music and Social Change
One of the most important and powerful impacts of sports is in the universe of social change, particularly as it relates to diversity and civil rights. The fundamental principles that drive progress in these areas are tolerance, acceptance and cooperation. Sports are a very effective platform through which these principles can be demonstrated. There is
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High School Tackle Football: Its Origins Foretell its Future
USA Football, the NFL funded national governing body for the sport recently held its annual meeting in Orlando. According to a January 30, 2018 account in the New York Times, they would have been better off holding it at a beach resort as it would have made it much easier for participants to dig holes
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Reflections on a Return to Vinyl (Side One)
My daughter handed me a large box. “Dad, it’s time you returned to vinyl.” I quickly agreed. Then I heard the whisper from that dark spot deep in the back of my wounded psyche. I’d heard that whisper before. This wasn’t the first time I’d considered returning to vinyl. She had been doing vinyl for
College Coaching Salaries: A New Level of Absurdity
I’ve participated in, worked in, studied, researched and written about college athletics for over 40 years. It’s not often that I see something that makes me sit up, take notice and say “Are you kidding me?” Last week I had such a moment when LSU announced that it signed its’ defensive coordinator, Dave Aranda, to
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Music, Creativity and the 21st Century Workforce
In our increasingly fast paced, interconnected global economy and world community, every issue we face is becoming more complex. Whether these issues are local or global and regardless of whether they relate to health care, the environment, governance, poverty, science, technology or international relations, the challenges we face in this increasingly interconnected and multilayered world
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Creating a Football “Safe Space” for Kids and Parents
When football legends Bo Jackson, Harry Carson and Mike Ditka say it, it’s a big deal. People pay attention to what athletes of their stature say. The “it” is that they would never let their sons play football. With increasing revelations regarding the link between tackle football and brain trauma, this should come as no
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