I am watching a PBS Christmas fundraiser thing hosted by Marion Ross and Gavin MacLeod (from Love Boat). As they conversed, I heard one ask, "What was your favorite Christmas gift as a child?". That sent me thinking about Christmases when I was a child. I don't know if I have a favorite gift, per se, but I have one of my most favorite moments.

At my grandmother's house on Christmas, we never did gifts until the evening...I have no idea why, but it was just the way it was. This would all take place after the big formal dinner which was late afternoon-ish. Then, after dinner, you get the damn Christmas desert and coffee and lots of chatter at the table. It was a killer for me. The pure agony of having to wait longer was unbearable. One Christmas, my grandfather and left the table and went into the formal living room. It was a room with a large Curtis Mathis TV and beautiful live Christmas Tree. One dared NOT to eat or drink in that room or even walk in it with shoes on. Anyway, my grandfather sat in a LaZboy chair and put the foot rest up and laid it back. One thing I wanted more than ANYTHING when I was a kid was a record player. Of course, in the 70s, that was the thing (unless you had an 8 track player) and even into the 80s before cassettes were big. I was dying I was so anxious, but still in the formal dining room was chatter. My grandpa's eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn't sleeping. I got really close to him and whispered to him. "Grandpa". He answered with a "what?". I said, "Grandpa....what's in the packages?" He laughed and wouldn't tell me. I said, "Grandpa!!! Did I get a record player??". It was like he couldn't contain his excitement, either. He shook his head, smiled really big, and said, "Yes!". Sure enough, when the chatter stopped in the dining room and everyone gathered into the living room, I did, indeed, get my record player. Along with it, was a Disco Mickey record!


I don't think I will ever forget that moment with my grandfather <3

Schools Should REALLY Examine Themselves.....

Before we moved out here to BFE, we were in a wealthier district. There were about 250 kids per grade so it wasn't small, but it sure wasn't inner-city ghetto, either. Of course, those teachers were INSANE liberals (over the top), but they have been in the district for a long time and were great (most of the time) with kids. Parental support was amazing. I remember when one of the elementary schools had to stagger holiday party days because they couldn't accommodate all the cars (from parents) in their parking lot at one time! They have (ok...HAD because MSTEP has taken them down as it has other schools) amazing test scores, high graduation rates, a VERY successful football team, and their band is heavily involved in competitions, etc.

We moved to a smaller district that is kind of rural. There are about 70 kids in a grade. You would think this district would have it easy to be successful, but...it's not successful by any means. In fact, their graduation rate is one of the lowest in our tri-county area. This is the arm-pit of the county filled with mostly blue-collar families (which isn't necessarily good or bad) and a 40% rate of students eligible to receive free or discounted lunches. Their football team hasn't one game in YEARS. In fact, this past fall, one area team who went to state finals pulled out of their date to play our school. LOL They would've STEAMROLLED our team. Instead, they chose to play an equal team that was more their league. LOLOL Their basketball team sucks. This is one of those schools you NEVER see on sports news on the local TV stations.

And then there is the band. Good God, I just cannot wrap my mind around this. The director is nice enough, for sure. In fact, he meshes so well with these kids. However, this band sucks, too. I am not even kidding. I remember hearing them for one of the first times. They played a piece that was a popular song and has a pretty decent moving tempo. This band played it slower. WHY????? WHYY!!!!!!!! It may be the same reason they play Sleigh Ride at a crawling tempo, as well. It's TOO HARD for these kids to play it where it SHOULD be played. Quite honestly, I don't know if this band could play ANYTHING as it should be. I think there are a NUMBER of issues going on here. Aside from the fact this school is just an unsuccessful school, you have to look at the demographics. When you attend a school function, you are going to find camo clothing as if it were the latest and greatest fad. I am sure none of them have ever heard of the name Mary Kay. I saw one guy come to a function in his WADERS. W A D E R S..... AND the whole 9 yards with the overalls.
I think it was the same night I saw another fuck who thought it was ok to bring their large dog. Nope. Not a service dog..just their damn pet. Unreal. So, anyway, you have a high amount of brainless rednecks who brag about the fact their 3rd great-grandparents also went to this school. These people are born and raised here and never LEAVE. They quit school to do backyard mechanics...I swear. Parents don't care about their kids here. So there is problem one. Then let's look at the staff. I truly believe in the trickle-down theory. Do you think staff is going to give a shit if parents don't? Perhaps. But that goes away quickly when you have to deal with these dirtbags. Eventually, teachers don't care. In fact, this school district has a HIGH turnover rate. My daughter started high school this year and had no spanish teacher. Nope. Not one. I think middle school was missing a science teacher (or maybe that was high school...or I wouldn't be surprised if it were BOTH!). They lost a math teacher after only 2 years. I've heard rumors teachers have walked off their job in this district (before we got here). They have a teacher who doubles as an athletic coach. This teacher has read a student's doctor notice to the entire team....clearly, violating HIPAA. We've been out here for three years and we've had three different principals..LOLOL You get the point.

Back to band. Yes, this is going to be a "when I was in band in school" moment. Band was NOT a blow-off class back in the 80s. In fact, one year, I had a written final exam. That aside, we did testing. We were expected to know the music...LEARN the music and PRACTICE the music. You then were TESTED on this music and subsequently placed in the appropriate chair. It was based on ability. Even after placement, you could easily challenge the chair ahead of you to try and take their chair! Bottom line is...we were given a reason to practice. We were motivated to do well because we wanted higher chairs (fun fact: I was first chair and nobody challenged me...;0)). Now I KNOW, I am not director here in this school, but this band is NOT put into chairs. I've been told they don't even do testing. SOOOOO...do they get grades just for showing up??? Is that how that works? No wonder these kids suck. They have no reason TO DO well and they don't WANT to do well. It's all disgusting to me. They don't do competitions, either. They do festival and that's it. That's ALL! Oh, they do go to Disney every 4 years forcing parents to try and raise nearly 2000 dollars so their non-caring kid can take a joyride to Florida. The SAME DISTRICT THAT HAS A HIGH POVERTY RATE. This band has a decent amount of money in their checkbook. Enough to send EVERY kid to Florida, but that's not the point. If parents weren't forking out this large ass check, this band could go somewhere EVERY YEAR and it would be a helluva lot easier to swallow that price tag over Florida. But nooooo......there is a hard-on for Disney and these music classes their for a band that SUCKS and DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT about band! It's unreal. But, who am I?

Tonight, my daughter and I went to a neighboring districts concert. This band (all three we heard) was JAW-DROPPING. I nearly fell out of my chair! Even the middle school was remarkable. My daughter kept whispering me, "Take me. I don't care what chair I am in....I need to be here". I told her, "You better really think about this because these kids could be shittier (as in bitchy/bullies/etc than what you are already exposed to". She didn't seem to care. The district we went to tonight is comparable to the one we left three years ago. It's a wealthier area, but does tend to get inner-city kids because they are closer. It's probably as large as our old district, but the parental support and turnout is outstanding. Clearly, someone is doing something right in this music program because these kids are extremely talented.

When You Don't Fit the School.....

My daughter is heavily into band as I was when I was in high school (yea, eons ago). She is taking private lessons with a doctorate student at MSU and let me tell you, her lesson teacher is AMAZINGLY talented.

The high school we are in doesn't have a great music program. The band director is nice enough...he's very good with the kids, but this band is TERRIBLE. I hate saying that because it's a group my daughter plays in, but in today's world, there is no reason to as bad as they are. The band director does not put these kids into chairs....at least not based on ability/talent. He does it mostly by seniority. That means, even if you are better than a senior, it generally wont' matter because you will still get a lower part and chair. I don't think this band director even does testing. I mean, what would be the point if he isn't going to put them in chairs by ability, anyway? I wonder how he decides grades for report cards. Interesting. We have contemplated leaving the school district and doing school of choice. There is a similar school (same socio-economic demographics...lower and higher poverty) that has a GREAT band! I saw some of their YouTube videos of their marching performances AND their concert performances. They are outstanding. I would NOT send my child there, either, due to the same type of school, though (our district it just bad, though very, very small). There is another district that is about 8 miles away that is a higher-socioeconomic area. It is a wealthier area, for sure, and they, as well, have an amazing band. I've heard great things about them, as well. The only problem I'm concerned about is how it might be from a social standpoint for my daughter. She is in 9th grade and the district is pretty big. That's a tough age. But, as I explained to my daughter, if you want to be a music major in college, you've GOT to be in a great program in high school. I didn't have that luxury. I didn't go to a ghetto school or a smaller rural school...we were class C and I had about 130 kids in my class. We weren't as bad as my daughter's school is, but the priority in our school district was athletics and not music...at all. So when I got to college and auditioned for their marching band, I BARELY made it. At the college level, students march backwards, forwards, sideways, and all different kinds of funky ways that I never did. It was tough so I truly believe that a successful music program would be very beneficial for that high school student.

Anyway, I attended my first band booster meeting tonight. Let's just say, I TRULY don't fit in with these people AT ALL. I had my hair done, makeup on, I had on nice jeans, a cute mock turtleneck sweater, earrings, penny loafers. These people didn't. Some looked like they crawled out of bed. But, I wouldn't expect much more from this community. Hell, I saw some loser take a pet DOG to a performance. I saw another at a performance that had waders (like rubber boots) up to their knees. That's great if that is part of your job, but you don't change your clothes before you go to a show? It's not my thing. I do not fit in with these people. It was still very interesting to be in this meeting. They have a shitload of money in their general fund for a district that sees a 40% rate for free/reduced lunches. What they do with it, I have no idea because they are not spending it on competitions or anything like that. I asked if they had ever given scholarships to students so they could attend Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp or Interlochen (kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend). You know what they said to me? "well, we've never done that in the past". OK..well, never mind then. They also go to Disney every 4 years. That trip will cost each student 1200 PLUS spending money (estimated at 500 bucks). They shove all these fundraiser at these kids and tell them to go sell candles and seeds (to plant). Yea, right. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't want that garbage. ' With the money they have, they could go somewhere EVERY YEAR and perform versus every 4 years at Disney. No, my child is not going. All you have to do is Google Dean Transportation bus driver and you will find a number of reasons why my kids do not ride their school buses AND WILL NEVER take one of their charter busses anywhere....especially on a few thousand mile trip down 75 the week of spring break. PASS.

I don't get it, but this school doesn't exactly share my values or care to hear other ideas. If my daughter does want to go on to be a music major, we are absolutely going to have to utilize school of choice and get her into a better music program.