Concerts and fundraisers

I'm getting somewhat excited for the two concerts I have on Thursday. First is my elementary. My sixth grade is going to be BAD. No way around that. Too many kids who want to just goof off. And one broke the leadpipe off of my tuba. Lovely. Fifth grade will be fantastic. They're adorable, they pay attention...LOVE them! Secondary...Eh, junior high will be decent. Not great, but decent. High school will do very well if they pull their heads out of their butts and listen to each other.

Have any of you ever sold a product for a school fundraiser? Here's my advice: DON'T DO IT!!!! We went through a company, and it turns out I'm missing several times, and now I've received an angry phone call and an angry e-mail from two different customers saying they did not get their order. And they ordered from the same person. Knowing the person that it's been ordered from, I'm not surprised that it hasn't arrived yet. I'm afraid we may have to do some money refunding. Well, at least the refund comes out of that kid's fundraiser account and not the school account!

Pep Band

This may be a bit of scatter-brained entry. My brain has thousands of things going on right now...

Let's get one thing out there right now....I HATE PEP BAND. I really, really, really hate pep band. College pep band was great. It's high school pep band that I can't stand. We've just had 2 1/2 snow days. And it's Friday. All they want to do is goof off. I hate to think what my JH band is going to be like in a few minutes. And they're all cranky today. I told my study hall kids they had to have something to do today, or they were going to be doing filing work for me. One said, "We're not your SES (student workers) students, so we don't have to." She went to the office. Another had nothing to do, so after several go-rounds of telling him that he had to come into my office and get to work, he said, "I don't need to do your crap." This kid has NEVER mouthed off to me before. To the office he went as well. I'm beginning to think there's something in the water in this town. All the kids are rude and mean to all the adults they interact with. I totally don't get it. Whatever happened to students showing their teachers respect? I know it's an isolated day, and not all days are like this, but these days really make me not want to teach anymore.

The Aftermath

So, swing show went off without a hitch. And, I'm happy to add, it was pretty darn good! According to the administration and many parents, it was the best one they'd seen. So, that made both the choir director and I feel pretty terrific! But now we're just exhausted. At least it's a normal week this week, as far as scheduling goes.

I've got some 6th graders that I'm on the verge of throwing out of my class. One refuses to play, another plays wrong on purpose. Call to parents gets placed.....NOW!!

...And All That Jazz

It's been one crazy event after another around here. This weekend is the annual Swing Show. Now, I've done pops concerts before, but never to the extent that this entails. It's been fun and (shall we say) educational, but I'm SO ready for it to be done. Last night I was at school until 9:00 after a three-hour practice. That was after screaming at high school students (not my jazz band, thankfully) and having the custodians accidentally trip the fire alarm, causing us to spend half an hour outside waiting for the police and the fire department to give us the all-clear. Le sigh. Hopefully tonight will go smoother.

Concert band is off to a good start. The kids are pretty quiet and respectful. And they sound pretty good! For a little school, they've got some good skills. Junior high is still the bane of my existence. I'm trying something new with them. For every good thing I see out of them, I put a marble in a jar. When they fill the jar, they get a game day. Yesterday was a little rough, but I hope they'll start getting the idea soon. My fifth graders are adorable, and most of my sixth graders can just shoo. They're starting to get to that age where they think they own the world. But, they are the future of my band, so I'd best tread carefully.

Long weekends

We had a glorious 3-day weekend! It was WONDERFUL!!!! Three whole days of sleeping, crocheting, and reading books. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Waking up at 6am today was a bit of a slap in the face.

Parent/teacher conferences were last week. It's amazing to talk to parents. The majority of them are very supportive. And many of them aren't surprised their child acts the way they do. To which I want to say, "Then why aren't you doing anything about it?!" I had to call one parent a few weeks ago regarding their daughter, and after I told the parent everything, he says, "Well, what do you think we should do?" Um, be a parent?! Take away her phone, no cheerleading, no after-school activities...something! That's what being a parent entails. I really want to have children someday, but right now, working with junior high kids is the best birth control there is!

Teenagers

I wish we could invent a drug that would allow junior high kids to skip puberty. My junior high kids were all over the place today. Sheesh! I told them that it's automatic detention for anyone who talks or plays when they're not supposed to. It's getting REALLY old. This was probably one of the worst rehearsals I've had with them. At least there's over a month til the concert. HS went a lot better today. I hope Wednesday is that good. Look for another blog post tomorrow night. I'll likely be quite bored in parent/teacher conferences!

More on Discipline

I will fully admit, as I have in the past: I'm not a good disciplinarian. I get scared when I have to actually call people out and help change their behavior. It's one of the things I've vowed to work on this year...being more consistent and carrying through with what I say I will do. That's a lot tougher than people think. I feel like kicking people out is a sign of weakness; that I'm demonstrating that I can't handle my classroom. But on the other hand, if there's something I'm having trouble with, why shouldn't I ask for help? My principal is fond of saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Well, I guess I'm going to have to squeak a lot this year!

Some things are getting better. The fifth grade is great, the junior high had an excellent rehearsal today. The high school...well, let's just say that if I don't start doing something about these girls who are making my life hell, I'm going to start losing some good kids. Not because of me, but because they're sick of the discipline problems. I've got to keep as many of the good kids in as possible. Many of them are the future of my band.

Football

We marched last night. My color guard just learned their routine on Thursday and Friday, so I did the color guard routine with the girls...and failed miserably. I just blanked and couldn't remember the routine. Oh well. It's over, and the 10 fans in the stands probably didn't even notice. And the band played less than I had hoped. I'm chalking it up to lack of practice. It's been raining here for two days (we can actually see blue sky today) and we haven't been able to get outside. I guess you don't know what's going to happen unless you try it, but in some ways I feel like making them play that second song when they hadn't played it since Wednesday was a stupid move on my part. Well...it's done, and we learn from it and move on.

I'm trying to do some serious reevaluation of how I want to do the next two games. I'm considering scrapping the rest of the show that we haven't learned yet and doing some pep band charts instead. It's something they know a lot better and will probably do a lot better at. I think I'll definitely do that for the final show, and let the seniors pick the chart to do. It will give them something to look forward to and maybe make them feel a little better. I'm also trying to look ahead to next year. Do we even want to HAVE a marching band? Would my time be better served just doing a pep band for football and working on giving a concert in the fall instead? It would definitely be more educational. And the kids hate marching band. They LOVE pep band, and they're good at it...so maybe I should consider playing toward their strengths a little more. Lots to consider.

I felt pretty craptastic after last night. Like I'd let the kids down. I have to keep reminding myself that's it's just my first year. The kids are still trying to figure me out, and I'm still trying to figure them out.

My fifth graders, on the other hand, are FANTASTIC. They are getting through the book faster than I thought they would. They are polite, they listen, they want to work hard...I really hope we can keep this momentum up until they're in high school. Just a few more years, and then things will REALLY start taking off!

Personality

There are four high school girls I can't even stand. Three of them have MEGA-attitude, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I think I'm going to just start kicking them out. Maybe once they've had their 7th or 8th detention, they'll get the point. I need to go back and take another look at my discipline policy. Or be more consistent with it. And it's JUST THOSE FOUR!!!! The rest of them are fantastic. HELP PLEASE?!?!

Homecoming...

I HATE HOMECOMING. I think most teachers probably feel this way about this week. The whole purpose of being in school is to learn something, and that just kinda goes out the window during this week. Le sigh. Well, only two more days, and both of them are shortened because of student olympics and the pep rally.

So rehearsals are getting better. I told the high school on Monday that if they proceeded to whine at all, I would keep them outside as long as possible. That shut them up. And with the junior high, all I have to do is reach for my clipboard where I record loss of points, and it's like church mice. The 5th and 6th grade I'm bribing with a pizza party. If they get any minus signs for poor behavior, no party. So far, it's working. We'll just have to keep it up.

I had to go to the doctor this morning, and consequently canceled all of my lessons and rehearsals for the day. The choir director was kind enough to take my band as a study hall. I sent an e-mail to all staff saying band lessons were canceled, but apparently I should have been clearer about there not being any rehearsals. Whoops. I wrote an apologetic e-mail to the 6th grade teachers. I'll just chalk it up to being new and not let it happen again.

So, as a result of not getting to work til 11, I don't have to teach today. Instead, I'm cleaning my office. I also get to leave early (at 2:15) to go to a meeting in Waterloo. Gotta love the short days! :-)

Attitudes

So that bit about rehearsals being quieter...yeah, if only Guard Girl would go away! I don't know where people get off thinking the world owes them something. Whining only makes me want to work them HARDER! "It's hot out here." "I don't wanna do this." "Can I quit?" Jiminy crickets! My band is already small; it's not like I can afford to lose anyone else. Grr! But what do I do??? It seems like everything I try isn't working. Maybe calling her parents would help. It just seems like these freshmen and sophomores think they're the kingpins and everyone else has to bow down to them. On the flip side, junior high and fifth grade were pretty good today!

I talked to a fellow teacher friend last week, who also had a rough start at her job. It's her fourth year, and things are just now starting to get to the point where she's happy. That made me feel better. It helps knowing I'm not the only one with these struggles! I think I have to put up with them for four more years? Oh no. They have to put up with ME for four more years! HA!!!

Quitters never win...or something...

Detention girl DID show up on Thursday! I think it helped that I e-mailed the cheerleading coach, who backed me 100%. Boo-yeah! BUT...I get a note from the secretary on Friday: Detention girl's parents let her quit!!! Over a 15-minute detention!

Okay seriously?! What kind of precedent are you setting for this kid?! You're teaching her that the rules shouldn't apply to her and that she can whine her way out of a situation. Boo bad parenting! Even worse, in a society where no one wants to take responsibility for their actions, the parents are simply reinforcing that behavior. Someday, it will all blow up in her face, though. Mom and Dad won't always be there to bail her out.

In conclusion, we need more 3-day weekends. That is all.

Discipline

I handed out my first detention today. We'll see if she shows up after school. If not, it's an in-school suspension. Honestly, where do kids get off thinking they can talk to adults the way they do?! It's ridiculous! This just goes along with my post from a few days ago. Or yesterday maybe. All the days seem to run together after awhile. I have the majority of the band who wants to work and do a good job, and then three of them who I have to concentrate all of my attention on and are ruining it for everyone else. It's totally lame.

*sigh* So, that's that. Tomorrow's Friday and then a long weekend.

School pictures and study halls

Let's get one thing out right now. I HATE STUDY HALLS. I think they are the most pointless waste of time ever. I had to monitor one today. The choir director was gone, so I had to "babysit" the choir. Earlier that block, I had to "babysit" my band kids AND the choir kids that aren't in band, which is totally not fair to my band kids. And, they want me to do it again Friday. No way. I can't get stuff done when I have to take care of both groups. It ends up being a waste of time for all involved, and a very frustrating 90 minutes for me. It's great if the kids are actually STUDYING, but otherwise it's just a chance for trouble to happen.

School pictures were also today. Now, this normally shouldn't be a major disruption. However, there is no overhead intercom system in this school. Everything is done on the phones. And my phone is in my office, which I usually keep shut to keep kids out. So, when the door is shut, I can't hear the phone. I posted a couple of my guard girls by the door to listen for pages, but of course they got sick of that after 5 minutes and gave up. *sigh*

My jazz band is going to end up being an overgrown combo. I don't have enough kids to do a real band. I think doing combo stuff and making it a little "looser" will be a better experience. You can't get the same impact with big band charts with only 7 people!

At least there's a three-day weekend coming up. I'm going to need it!

Rules

I was having trouble deciding what to blog about today. It was a good day, albeit a little on the tough side...

I had a parent write me a note yesterday on her daughter's behavior contract saying that she didn't understand why I needed so many rules and why this couldn't be a more fun class. So, I called her. That's right. I followed up with this note and called the mother. Ensuing was a calm explanation that success is fun, and in order for there to be success, there has to be rules, with the understanding that my expectations are probably higher than they're used to. All I ask is that they come to class on time, are respectful, and do their job. The parent wasn't exactly dumfounded, but she didn't argue too much with me after that. I think that's part of the problem with teenagers (now, remember, I'm not a parent-I'm just going off of what I observe). People are afraid to discipline their kids. They are afraid of their kid hating them or not being the "cool" parent. You know what kids? I'm not here to be your friend. If you get to know me outside of the classroom, that's great. I'm here to make sure that you become successful. Rules aren't instilled to make your lives miserable; they're there to keep order and make sure the job gets done. Isn't that just common sense? Apparently not! As one of my greatest teachers once said: Never assume anything. Assume that children know two things: their names and how to pee. Never assume they know anything else. I guess that can probably be extended to adults, too!

Another day done

Today was SO much better. I didn't have to throw anyone out, but I'm fully prepared to do it tomorrow. The high school was fantastic...did everything I asked, and I was jumping around like an excited moron. Even the junior high wasn't TOO bad. There are a lot of students who need a lot of help, but I know it will get better. Once lessons start on Friday, things will really start to come together.

My fifth graders started today. So darling! And so responsive! It's great being able to lay the smack-down from the get-go; that way there are absolutely no questions about the way I run things because none of them know any different!

I'm a little apprehensive about taking the high school outside tomorrow. But we're just doing the opener with drill, and I'm going to really pound into their heads stepping off at the same time and keeping horns up and projecting. But - it will be fine. It always is. :)

A Stiff Upper Lip

So Friday night was our first football game. I decided not to have the kids march, because we lost our Thursday rehearsal because of the weather. It wasn't fair to expect them to march a show on one rehearsal. So, we played on the track, turned around, and left. Tah-dah. And overall it wasn't bad. They didn't sound horrible, but they need to learn a little more about how to behave when in a public performance. That talking and goofing around is UNACCEPTABLE when you are performing.

I had a little cry-fest with my husband last night. I really, really, really didn't want to go to work Monday. And in some ways, I still don't. I'm so sick of the attitudes. I have this one student who needs to be strung up by her toes, no kidding. She has absolutely NO respect for authority; other teachers have said that they have had problems with her as well. I've been rehearsing in my head and to my cat what I want to say to her if she steps out of line again.

Along that vein, I HATE being a disciplinarian. HATE it. LOATHE it. Though I know it's necessary in order to prevent chaos, I just hate being the bad guy. I know I need to suck it up and deal and just do it. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.

I got to church half an hour early today (by accident) and had time to really center myself and say a whole rosary. It felt good to do.

Well, it's late. God, give me strength to face the week. At least there's a three-day weekend at the end of it.

Beginning Band

So last night was fifth grade band beginning night. I had a great turnout, and lots of great help, but there's still things I wish I would have done differently. Granted, you learn a lot through trial-and-error, but sometimes I beat myself up for not thinking things through a little more thoroughly. I guess that's the way it goes. BUT: A big thank you to my friends who came out and helped with our display night. It makes for a lot fewer headaches for me! :-)

The high school has our first football game tonight. We're SO not ready. We lost field rehearsal yesterday because of the weather. (It's been raining here for two days) I think we're just going to stand in place and play our halftime show. I'd rather do that and let them feel good than make them march a show they're not going to be comfortable with and have a bad experience. It's always fine. Kids always have a way of rising to the occasion.

New entry!

So I decided to start this blog as a means of working out some frustrations. I am a 5-12 instrumental music teacher in Iowa. I hope to blog about my daily struggles and triumphs as an educator. Check back for more! :-)