Step 1: The Thorn

The BBB+ Advocacy Method starts with identifying an issue or problem you are having. Start with a small but irritating problem that keeps coming up again and again.

A good way to find your thorns is to brainstorm the things that students, teachers and parents say to you that show a lack of understanding or value of music learning and the work that you do as a music teacher.

These feel a bit like a thorn when you hear them – they sting, they hurt, they should be avoidable but they seem to be everywhere.

These thorns are the start of the BBB method, you need to find a small but dangerous belief that is held by a particular audience.