Frustration

I posted this on a friend's blog the other day. She teaches grade school in Omaha and is struggling with the famed "I don't want to be a teacher"-itis. She has an incredible amount of guilt building up because of all of the things she feels she SHOULD be doing, but doesn't seem to get to them. This was my comment on her post.

"Holy crap…did I just read my own blog? I’m in the same boat, kiddo. Mine isn’t so much guilt, as it is frustration for a lack of passion. I see all of these band directors out there who are amazing at what they do, and the kids are eating it out of their hands. Me…I struggle every day just to get out of bed and go to work. My students don’t really try; they do the bare minimum. They all expect that someone else will pick up the slack for them. Band isn’t a fun, inspiring activity to them. It’s a chore. It’s something they have to do. There’s no passion for it, no sense of fulfillment after a great rehearsal or performance. Instead, I get, “Do we really HAVE to do this?” “But it’s cold outside!” “Can we have study hall instead?” My coworkers are just as bad. Where do the kids get this behavior, they ask? Well, it doesn’t help that you’re modeling it for them! The lack of passion frustrates me to no end. I can’t keep doing this, maintain sanity, and care for a baby."

My color guard didn't show up for their practice Tuesday morning, and now they're whining about how I'm making them twirl Friday night and they don't know the routine.

I'm going to say this once:

CERTAIN ACTIONS HAVE CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES.

That is all.