Leading and Learning With a Little Help From His Friends- Sean Gaillard’s P3

Sean Gaillard is an educator and author. His first book called The Pepper Effect is being released this June, 2018, by Dave Burgess Consulting Inc. His twenty-six years in education have spanned from teaching English in various middle and high schools to school leadership. Currently, Sean is the principal of Lexington Middle School in Lexington, North Carolina. He has presented at ISTE, the National School Board Association and recently keynoted at EdCamp Charlotte. Sean is also the founder of the movement known as #CelebrateMonday.

Sean was a very important member of my PLN when I first became active on Twitter. I was trying to find a Twitter chats to explore the medium and discovered #EdBeat. It was the most incredible space that combined the world of music with education. Sean said that it evolved out of #Wileychat, which was an experiment for the staff at his previous school. As it evolved and included people way beyond his building, it became #EdBeat. “There was no place out in the Twitterverse that was doing anything with music and education...so, I fused those together…” #EdBeat was a chat that started “a lot of friendships and learning.” His chat was the highlight of my week. At the time, I had never experienced a synthesis of education and music quite like it.

In addition to #EdBeat, Sean is upbeat, so it should be no surprise that #CelebrateMondays trend the positive. A few years back, he was inspired by a quote in bold print inside School Culture Rewired by Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker that said, “You can bust a culture if you celebrate Mondays.” After asking himself the question what if? About making Mondays matter and helping to frame this as a catalyst for a great week, it really rippled. What has become a regular habit for me to start the school week went from being another school experiment to a “potboiler” and something many educators and schools have taken on. It has become a powerful movement.

Sean’s blog, Principal Liner Notes, essentially deepened the music metaphors and brought out thoughtful connections about lessons from bands and artists that he related back to education. This is where Sean first began writing about the Beatles and is now having those ideas published. He thought there was material there that could be the foundation of a book, and his publishers agreed. He shared that it had always been a dream of his to write a book, since fifth grade. When speaking of his publishers, he said that Dave Burgess Consulting Inc. are, “amazing and supportive when it comes to dreams.” He referred to Dave and Shelley Burgess as the Willy Wonka to his Charlie and shared that he feels like he is holding golden tickets.

While he, like many other guests, wished there were more songs to share during his guest appearance on The Personal Playlist Podcast, Sean described each song with personal connections and a lot of Beatles insights. His knowledge of the Beatles is impressive, but how he relates it to education is magical. He weaves the narrative of each song to build schema on the band while making poignant associations and insights. The book will certainly be a great merger of those two elements and beyond.

Sean’s nostalgic song was one he selected for many reasons. “This song is off what’s considered to be the Beatles last released album, Let It Be.” The recording session came with a lot of arguments and negativity as the band was basically breaking up, so a lot of fans really don’t like this album. “I love that album for two reasons: it was released on the same day when I was born...I like to think that I just made it into the world the same time as this band. This song appeared on a Beatles lullaby album by Jason Faulkner, and [this] is one of the favourite songs of my twin daughters.” This song is infused with the flavours of India and the band’s experiences with Transcendental Meditation and the Maharishi. For Sean, this is a very personal song and our guest called it “poetry.” From the last officially released album just prior to the film release of the same name, here is Across the Universe:

Sean’s identity song was originally recorded as a demo in 1977, and the song was finished and released 17 years later for the Anthology project. Sean suggested that every Beatles fan has a fantasy of being the 5th Beatle, and he shared the details of a ...“recurring dream where the Beatles have invited me to perform with them, and I am rushing to the theatre...and I’m hearing beautiful music…” When he is being introduced, the crowd applauds, but he is locked out or lost. What a frustrated thing to have revisiting him, and it amazes me that hard core Beatles fans have shared similar experiences. His song, like his outlook, is positive and, in many ways, a reprieve from the conflicts that continued after the Beatles broke up. “The solidarity and brotherhood of the band,” was something that was woven into the song’s lyrics and when hearing John’s voice, even if posthumously, made it a Beatles song. This song, in many ways, got the Beatles back together, even though John was gone. “[This] song for me is always a reminder that the impossible can become possible, and if I look back in my life...that always echoes for me. I’m always pushing against the grain in some way…” As someone who defaults to the upside as much as possible, this song reflects him and brings him joy. Here is Free as a Bird:

“Swimming in the marrow that is The Pepper Effect,” Sean said that he needed to include a song from that album. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album that Rolling Stone Magazine called The Greatest Album of All Time forms the basis of Sean’s book and is the source of what he called his uplifting song. “There is an inspirational thread that educators can draw from in the Beatles.” Sean uses this album to share four big ideas that frame the text: believe in your vision, believe in your masterpiece, believe in your collaborators, ignore naysayers. The 41 piece orchestra and other avante garde aspects of the recording makes it distinctive and inspiring for our guest and many others, and I am sure his book will be that for its readers. This is a rare Beatles song from that album with a title that is not part of the lyrics, A Day in the Life:

Sean says that “Music is the divine universal language.” He is an avid blogger and passionate fan of music. His all-Beatles P3 is certainly a reflection of that and a teaser for his book, The Pepper Effect. You can follow Sean on Twitter and read his blog. Sean lives in North Carolina with his wife, Deborah, and their three daughters.