The Aaron Jacobs Podcast

In this week’s episode, I want to challenge some of your long held beliefs about public schools. Especially what most people consider to be the most important subjects in schools.  If I had my way, I would turn things completely upside down from how they are now. Kids need to move, create and DO more.  Less math problems, fewer science experiments, less Shakespeare.  For the average kid, the amoun...

Teacher workforce retention and attrition have become hot topics in the field of education. I myself experienced a severe burnout a year ago, and realized that I needed to make a change. Since then, I've had a chance to think and reflect...could there have been anything done to keep me on the job? Are there structural changes we can make to public education that would incentivize teachers to s...

The last episode in the diet series (for now)! This topic brought out some RAGE in me...maybe talking about a primal diet brought out the ancient man survival instinct energy lol Regardless, this diet is overall the safest diet I've talked about on the series for the average person. However , there are still some glaring issues and a lack of long term research with this diet to back it up.

This week we take a dive into the Collective of Carb haters...the Ketogenic dieters! As with carnivore and vegan, I do not recommend this as a protocol when you are just getting started in fitness and diet optimization. However, there are some lessons we can learn from the Keto crowd. And if you are a Keto dieter, I've got a couple tips for you towards the end of today's episode to make yo...

If you spend any time on social media in fitness and nutrition spaces, you know that the fear of seed oils is something just about everybody is talking about. But are they really something you need to fear? Yes, no, sort of... The truth lies somewhere in the middle. But most people are consuming too many seed oils. In this episode we break down exactly why seed oils are something to be aware of, a...

TLDR: The Carnivore Diet is one of the most dangerous diet trends that has become increasingly more popular in the last few years. Any severe elimination diet should be undertaken under the express guidance and supervision of medical professionals! Eat your fiber people!!! Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983 https://www.thr...

Sticking my neck out on this one... Spoiler alert: I do not endorse the vegan diet for the average person. But as with any restrictive diet, there are some principles that can apply to a healthy, well-balanced, omnivorous diet. Most people need simple solutions. Obesity is only getting worse. Stop confusing people with food restriction. If next week's episode doesn't drop next Thursday, yo...

In this week's episode, we tackle some of the issues with restrictive and complex diets. These are often mass marketed as broad solutions to obesity. But more often than not, you can achieve better results with simpler, less restrictive approaches. But we can always learn something! More restrictive diets like vegan, carnivore, keto and paleo all have something that we can apply to a healthy o...

This week, we turn our focus toward ourselves. Just like travel sports, competitive marching band continues to view having "more" for the sake of "more" as better. The cost of the activity continues to escalate, and in some ways, seems unsustainable. But more importantly, we have to ask ourselves...what is the purpose of competition marching band? What values do we want to teac...

The proliferation of travel teams and the ability to play a sport year-round is a huge barrier in getting more kids to participate in the fine arts. There used to be a time where playing for your hometown team, for one season a year, was enough. We've now let the need to compete run amok with sports. Kids are specializing earlier and earlier...limiting their opportunities to experience a well-...

THIS IS IT! This week I'm outlining my philosophy and game plan for Music Teachers across America to take back their health...and to become ATHLETES! I've spent the last five years working on optimizing my health through fitness, nutrition and building habits that support an active lifestyle. Most Music Teachers already have an active lifestyle, such that they may not think they have the t...

There is so much to say on this topic that I couldn't possibly fit it into one episode. This week we are examining some solutions to the problems of excessive screen time in schools. There are schools out there fighting back in spite of pressure from some parents! Parents need to take a much more active role in understanding and managing screens at home so that it can translate to the classroo...

Today I'm tackling one of my favorite topics to talk about, and one of my least favorite that I had to deal with as a teacher. Teen's screen time on social media is something that everyone seems to be talking about, and yet very few people are taking steps to do anything meaningful about it. We will unpack some staggering numbers with how kids interact with social media, and the impact it...

I want to tackle a topic this week regarding the "workaholic" mentality that Band Directors can often have. I discuss how that can interfere with one's wellness, and therefore the wellness of the kids in your band program. We have to shift our priorities as music educators just a bit if we want to remain relevant, and if we want to have a sustainable career in music education. This i...

For anyone looking to get started, and for Band Directors I'll be helping, these principals are foundational to my personal health. These are protocols that are simple to implement without feeling like you are taking on another full time job!

In this week's podcast, I want to unpack the details about the mission I am on to change the relationship that band students across America have with fitness. It starts at the top...with Directors taking charge of their own wellness and leading by example. This one goes deep, as I also will talk about the mental health struggles I went through in the process of coming to the decision to make t...

I am a former public school Band Director of 15 years who realized that to have the impact on the world that he knew was possible, that he would have to leave the classroom. Here is my back story, and how I plan to help other Band Directors shape the future of this country.