So things are going along pretty well right now. I have created a Wind Ensemble at the High School. A wind ensemble is a group that you have to audition to be in. Most school bands have a group like this. It took me a while to figure out that there was a need for this group. Better late than never I suppose. It's a good group too.
The rest of the band is also working well. The Concert Band, that's the group everybody is in, is playing some fun music; I'm pretty sure they dig it too.
7th grade is a good band too. We have made identical superior ratings at contest two years running! I'm EXTREMELY proud of them.
6th grade is going well also. We finally have full instrumentation! I added saxophones, bass clarinet, french horn, euphonium, and tubas. It's going to be really, really good next year in 7th grade.
Pancake day was last weekend and it went quite well. We totaled around $1,600 in 5 hours. Good stuff.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Stuff, Again...
I had an awesome Christmas! I hope that you did too.
This is one of favorite times of the year. It is nice to get a 2 week break from work but more importantly I get to spend those 2 weeks with my family.
I never seem to make enough time for those that I love the most. It's sad but true. My job, my wife's job, and the kids activities always seem to get in the way of solid quality time. As a father and husband I think that our lives end up focusing on things other than being a family. I also think that this is a very typical situation.
I have always believed that my kids should be busy. I was brought up being taught that "Idle hands are the devils workshop" and I believe that it's true. When a kid has to spend time coming up with something to do they can decide to do things that are not exactly positive....
I AM actually looking forward to returning to school.
I miss my students and friends.
My bands are making some very nice sounds. These breaks tend to take away our momentum. That, of course, makes sense. When we have a break the kids don't have their horns to their faces. Returning will take care of it.
I am looking forward to getting ready for contests.
I'm hoping that the younger kids can do it and still enjoy band. Contest prep is hyper-boring at times. We have to be so very picky it can seriously wear the kids down. To be successful though it must be done.
I am looking forward to teaching the 6th graders again. I have really enjoyed them so far.
I have had so much fun teaching this year. More so than any year in recent memory. There have been so few problems. I think that our program has begun to turn the corner into being a positive experience for all involved.
In years past there had been WAY too many kids falling short of expectations. I do not expect perfection from anyone. I DO expect the kids to give me their best effort though.
I have NEVER told the kids that they have to make a certain rating or achieve a specific placement at contests. I HAVE told them that I will only accept their best effort. As long as I get their best I will never complain.
My opinion has always been that no judge will ever know where our band started from. They only see/hear us for one brief moment in time. They will never see our complete journey from learning music to becoming the best we could be. I see that.
Our best is all I ever ask for.
Happy New Year Everybody!
This is one of favorite times of the year. It is nice to get a 2 week break from work but more importantly I get to spend those 2 weeks with my family.
I never seem to make enough time for those that I love the most. It's sad but true. My job, my wife's job, and the kids activities always seem to get in the way of solid quality time. As a father and husband I think that our lives end up focusing on things other than being a family. I also think that this is a very typical situation.
I have always believed that my kids should be busy. I was brought up being taught that "Idle hands are the devils workshop" and I believe that it's true. When a kid has to spend time coming up with something to do they can decide to do things that are not exactly positive....
I AM actually looking forward to returning to school.
I miss my students and friends.
My bands are making some very nice sounds. These breaks tend to take away our momentum. That, of course, makes sense. When we have a break the kids don't have their horns to their faces. Returning will take care of it.
I am looking forward to getting ready for contests.
I'm hoping that the younger kids can do it and still enjoy band. Contest prep is hyper-boring at times. We have to be so very picky it can seriously wear the kids down. To be successful though it must be done.
I am looking forward to teaching the 6th graders again. I have really enjoyed them so far.
I have had so much fun teaching this year. More so than any year in recent memory. There have been so few problems. I think that our program has begun to turn the corner into being a positive experience for all involved.
In years past there had been WAY too many kids falling short of expectations. I do not expect perfection from anyone. I DO expect the kids to give me their best effort though.
I have NEVER told the kids that they have to make a certain rating or achieve a specific placement at contests. I HAVE told them that I will only accept their best effort. As long as I get their best I will never complain.
My opinion has always been that no judge will ever know where our band started from. They only see/hear us for one brief moment in time. They will never see our complete journey from learning music to becoming the best we could be. I see that.
Our best is all I ever ask for.
Happy New Year Everybody!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The soapbox of a lunatic
College football rules.
That's about it.
I'm sitting on my couch watching the Big 12 championship game as I write tonight. I love it. I truly enjoy watching excellence. It matters not what field it is in. I enjoy watching excellent sports and listening to excellent music. It's the best.
New Subject:
My kids all won their games today. Both by large margins.
I got to listen to some really good Horn players today at All-State.
It was all awesome.
More Stuff:
I'm looking forward to the next semester. I truly enjoy prepping the kids for contest. It's a wonderful process of discovery and learning.
My only source of trepidation is eligibility. I have a total of 4 kids in the high school band failing at least 2 classes. I have another 3 failing one. This is not acceptable.
In the 7th grade there's a total of 4 kids failing classes.
These kids don't seem to get it.
I don't get it.
I was never an awesome student. I carried a 3.5 GPA through high school. I was capable of more but I was...LAZY.
How do these kids FAIL classes?
These are not unintelligent kids either. They are LAZY!
My conversation with almost EVERY flunky:
ME- "What's up in your classes?"
Flunky- "I don't know."
ME- "Bull. You go to that class. You go their every class period. How can you NOT know what's going on in there?"
Flunky- "I don't know."
Me- "That's bull and you know it! Why are you failing?"
Flunky- "I don't turn in my work."
ME- "Why?"
Flunky- "I don't know. I do the work, I just forget to turn it in."
Doing your homework work and not turning it in would be the ultimate in stupidity.
I cannot stand stupidity. It disgusts me. BAH!
O for the day that responsibility and self-respect are learned by us all.
It comes down to the fact that we all need more of these.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The ramblings of a lunatic
Christmas time is finally here. I mean by-golly Christmas time. Not the standard Halloween is over let's watch the stores put up Christmas decorations a month-and-a-half early time.
It's cold outside. The temperature has finally dropped and we might have a winter. Winter meaning cold and maybe some snow, maybe. Here's to hoping for no ice!
What a great time to be alive. My kids are awesome. My wife is awesome. My students are responding relatively well to instruction. My dog, well she pees on the carpet. Not so much with the dog.
I'm very thankful for the place I'm in right now. I enjoy my family and my job. What more can you ask for?
One thing comes to mind. Someone other than Obama running the country would be nice. Of course I'll have to give the man a chance, but I don't like it. Not one bit.
Band is going decently at the high school. It would be nice if the kids could remember what it means to play with more than two volumes.
Middle school is ok too. There are far too many 7th graders not practicing their instruments. It's a shame too. There is quite a bit of talent being wasted. THAT I believe is a sin. Not just a sin as a student but an actual sin against God. The Lord blesses someone with talent and ability and that person just poops it to the wind. It is too easy to sit and watch tv, talk on the phone, text, or myspace than to develop your talent.
Such a waste.
6th graders are STILL excited about being in Band! That is awesome. Usually by now quite a few have become jaded because I want them to work and get better. Far to many kids sign up for Band thinking it will be a blow off class. Most of their parents tell them that. Those parents were probably kids that took Band one year and blew it off. The apples don't fall far from the trees you know.
Anyway, a vast majority (90%) of the 6th graders are fired up. I like it! Most of those kids follow my thinking in that intelligence is required to make it in this world. In case you didn't know I despise stupidity. Most of the time it comes from someone not paying attention. Of course those people are "ADD". The single most over diagnosed affliction known to mankind. When I was a kid it was called hyperactive. It's not something you treat with drugs. You treat it with a smack to the back of the head whilst saying "PAY ATTENTION!"
I have a hard time paying attention or focusing on what's important. I'm not sick, I'm preoccupied with other stuff. THAT'S OK! Don't drug me. We take far too many drugs in our society. Let's take some responsibility.
A kid can make a decision to pay attention. If they don't do it in school they fail. If they fail they might actually learn something about themselves. If we rush in and say "It's ok Sally. Your ADD or H/ADD. We'll get you some medicine. It's not your fault you can't sit still and pay attention." Bull poop.
I think it's far better to let that kid fail and maybe have to repeat a grade. Like they did when I was a kid. Nobody took medicine for ADD. They would have been laughed at by their elders. Those elders would say what I'm saying know. Sit still and pay attention.
If I go hard-core in school on something like that I might get sued. THAT'S another problem with our world that I'll let go for know.
I'm sort of ranting in this post huh?
So the 6th graders are mostly awesome.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Awesomeness
So marching band is over. Awesome!
Now the real teaching can begin. Since there is only one director in Harrah it's prohibitively difficult to work on the things I would like to cover during marching band.
There's too much to cover when you try to cram marching concepts with advanced playing concepts. The kids will hit information overload. Not a good place to be.
NOW I get to work on tone, balance, theory, tuning and technique. We are getting better. I love it!
I have planned a very difficult concert for the high school kids. We will enjoy working on it and I hope that the audience will as well. Sometimes it's pretty difficult to plan an enjoyable concert for students, parents, and the director. I hope that I have done it.
The middle school bands are really good.
I spent a good deal of time bragging on last years 7th grade group. I think this years group is even better. That doesn't guarantee contest results but it does guarantee the progress of our band program.
The 6th graders are quite good too. They are a bit of an odd group though. Usually I do not have difficulty controlling a group. I don't think that this group is necessarily hard to control but I do think they have a tendency to talk too much. That's saying something for a group of 6th graders. They already like to talk but this group leans to the side of absurdity.
That may be a little too harsh. I think that about 6 kids need to have a permanent seat next to me. That combined with a muzzle, a few rolls of duct tape, and a cattle prod and I think we can call it good.
So putting aside the FACT that 6 kids need to have their larynx's removed I think we have a pretty salty group. They play REAL well and seem to have a good handle on the basic concepts that I try to teach to beginners.
I am seriously looking forward to the coming years. I truly enjoy watching the students come to me as little kids, some as young as 10, and leaving me as young adults.
People do not believe it when I say that I see my students as adopted children. I truly do. I spend more time with most of them than I spend with my own kids. We work through problems together and have good times and bad. We celebrate victories and get bummed out together about losses. It's a pretty special thing that I get to do!
As for my family...
My wife, Stephanie, is having her challenges and victories as a 4th grade teacher in Yukon. Seems that she has a very special student that has a hard time with basic human interactions. As teachers we get these kids from time to time. It's never fun. It does give us an opportunity to thank God for our own children and our "normal" students though.
My oldest son, Brandon, is in 8th grade and is STILL recovering from his injuries. He is out for the Basketball season. This really stinks for him. He plays on his school team and a little-league team too. The little-league is just for fun. They won their league last year, which is pretty fun. Anyway, we hope he's ready for Baseball. That's his true love and his favorite thing to do. I'm believing that God will make sure he's ready. Besides sports he is a very gifted student. He does well in all of his classes.
Ryan is also doing well. He is also in the midst of Basketball season. He seems to be doing quite well too. Ryan is my fast kid. He plays guard for his team and has pretty good ball-handling skills. Ryan is in 5th grade in Yukon. This means he may or may not take Band next year. I would like to see ONE of my kids join the Band. Yukon has a very strong Band program that is far better than the athletic department. I just don't know what he wants to do and neither does he. He is also a very gifted student. He does VERY well in his classes. One thing I truly appreciate about the boy is that he gets mad when he screws up. To Ryan a screw up is a "B" on a paper. Sweet!
Dillon is in 3rd grade. He too is a very gifted student. He's a little like his daddy though. One of my favorite sayings is "why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" It seems to me that Dillon lives by that saying too. Hopefully his mothers influence will overpower mine. He is also in basketball season. He is a very good defender and an average shooter. He's a big kid though and that means he plays near the basket. That means easier shots.
All of my kids are in the gifted and talented program in their schools. All of my kids are good students. Brandon takes all of the advanced courses at his school. Ryan will too. He hates stupidity, JUST LIKE HIS DAD, and he likes to hang with smart kids. Dillon will also take the advanced classes. He may be the smartest of the bunch. I may have a brood of evil geniuses on my hands.
The boys all play baseball, basketball, and golf. Brandon is the only one that still plays football. Both Ryan and Dillon hated it. Ryan hates to sweat and Dillon hates to take orders. It's funny that Ryan hated to sweat in football. He plays catcher in baseball. It gets REAL hot in that catchers gear. Especially in the summer. Hmmmmm...
Gas prices are dropping!
Life Is Good!
Now the real teaching can begin. Since there is only one director in Harrah it's prohibitively difficult to work on the things I would like to cover during marching band.
There's too much to cover when you try to cram marching concepts with advanced playing concepts. The kids will hit information overload. Not a good place to be.
NOW I get to work on tone, balance, theory, tuning and technique. We are getting better. I love it!
I have planned a very difficult concert for the high school kids. We will enjoy working on it and I hope that the audience will as well. Sometimes it's pretty difficult to plan an enjoyable concert for students, parents, and the director. I hope that I have done it.
The middle school bands are really good.
I spent a good deal of time bragging on last years 7th grade group. I think this years group is even better. That doesn't guarantee contest results but it does guarantee the progress of our band program.
The 6th graders are quite good too. They are a bit of an odd group though. Usually I do not have difficulty controlling a group. I don't think that this group is necessarily hard to control but I do think they have a tendency to talk too much. That's saying something for a group of 6th graders. They already like to talk but this group leans to the side of absurdity.
That may be a little too harsh. I think that about 6 kids need to have a permanent seat next to me. That combined with a muzzle, a few rolls of duct tape, and a cattle prod and I think we can call it good.
So putting aside the FACT that 6 kids need to have their larynx's removed I think we have a pretty salty group. They play REAL well and seem to have a good handle on the basic concepts that I try to teach to beginners.
I am seriously looking forward to the coming years. I truly enjoy watching the students come to me as little kids, some as young as 10, and leaving me as young adults.
People do not believe it when I say that I see my students as adopted children. I truly do. I spend more time with most of them than I spend with my own kids. We work through problems together and have good times and bad. We celebrate victories and get bummed out together about losses. It's a pretty special thing that I get to do!
As for my family...
My wife, Stephanie, is having her challenges and victories as a 4th grade teacher in Yukon. Seems that she has a very special student that has a hard time with basic human interactions. As teachers we get these kids from time to time. It's never fun. It does give us an opportunity to thank God for our own children and our "normal" students though.
My oldest son, Brandon, is in 8th grade and is STILL recovering from his injuries. He is out for the Basketball season. This really stinks for him. He plays on his school team and a little-league team too. The little-league is just for fun. They won their league last year, which is pretty fun. Anyway, we hope he's ready for Baseball. That's his true love and his favorite thing to do. I'm believing that God will make sure he's ready. Besides sports he is a very gifted student. He does well in all of his classes.
Ryan is also doing well. He is also in the midst of Basketball season. He seems to be doing quite well too. Ryan is my fast kid. He plays guard for his team and has pretty good ball-handling skills. Ryan is in 5th grade in Yukon. This means he may or may not take Band next year. I would like to see ONE of my kids join the Band. Yukon has a very strong Band program that is far better than the athletic department. I just don't know what he wants to do and neither does he. He is also a very gifted student. He does VERY well in his classes. One thing I truly appreciate about the boy is that he gets mad when he screws up. To Ryan a screw up is a "B" on a paper. Sweet!
Dillon is in 3rd grade. He too is a very gifted student. He's a little like his daddy though. One of my favorite sayings is "why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" It seems to me that Dillon lives by that saying too. Hopefully his mothers influence will overpower mine. He is also in basketball season. He is a very good defender and an average shooter. He's a big kid though and that means he plays near the basket. That means easier shots.
All of my kids are in the gifted and talented program in their schools. All of my kids are good students. Brandon takes all of the advanced courses at his school. Ryan will too. He hates stupidity, JUST LIKE HIS DAD, and he likes to hang with smart kids. Dillon will also take the advanced classes. He may be the smartest of the bunch. I may have a brood of evil geniuses on my hands.
The boys all play baseball, basketball, and golf. Brandon is the only one that still plays football. Both Ryan and Dillon hated it. Ryan hates to sweat and Dillon hates to take orders. It's funny that Ryan hated to sweat in football. He plays catcher in baseball. It gets REAL hot in that catchers gear. Especially in the summer. Hmmmmm...
Gas prices are dropping!
Life Is Good!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Items Items and Items
We are on fall break!
What a great time for this beautiful break to come.
Fall break is a very appreciated time in which we get to relax and just chill out. I love it.
Our light show was last night and it went very well. I was a little worried. Our music is a BIT more complex than usual and it could have led to serious phasing with the lights out. I just told the kids to count aloud like we do in rehearsal. Things went quite well!
The pit took the show to a new level this year. Rope lights, Christmas lights, and a fog machine. I actually thought the pit was on fire when the fog started. I forgot about the fog for a split second. I seriously started over to them to help put out the flames. We have a lot of money tied up in the pit and I wanted to save what we could. If anyone but me knew my fear it would have been embarrassing.
Some of the kids said that 3 of them are on YOUTUBE but I can never find them. Email me a link if you find one please so I can put it on the website.
harrahband@gmail.com
One week to go and we keep getting better!
No fear no regrets!
What a great time for this beautiful break to come.
Fall break is a very appreciated time in which we get to relax and just chill out. I love it.
Our light show was last night and it went very well. I was a little worried. Our music is a BIT more complex than usual and it could have led to serious phasing with the lights out. I just told the kids to count aloud like we do in rehearsal. Things went quite well!
The pit took the show to a new level this year. Rope lights, Christmas lights, and a fog machine. I actually thought the pit was on fire when the fog started. I forgot about the fog for a split second. I seriously started over to them to help put out the flames. We have a lot of money tied up in the pit and I wanted to save what we could. If anyone but me knew my fear it would have been embarrassing.
Some of the kids said that 3 of them are on YOUTUBE but I can never find them. Email me a link if you find one please so I can put it on the website.
harrahband@gmail.com
One week to go and we keep getting better!
No fear no regrets!
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Latest
Thanks for all of the nice messages, texts, and emails! My family and I really appreciate it.
Well the HS Band is close. We have 6 moves to go! We are gonna do a great job!
7th grade is really starting to sound nice. A few have some serious attention span issues but for the most part their doing an awesome job. 7th grade is an awkward year for all students. Band students tend to either fall away or really intensify their efforts. There are about 3 kids that are falling off. THAT is a good average!
6th grade is, as always, amazing. They are starting to make serious progress.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is an exciting time at HPS. Band is really starting to take off!
We rule!
Well the HS Band is close. We have 6 moves to go! We are gonna do a great job!
7th grade is really starting to sound nice. A few have some serious attention span issues but for the most part their doing an awesome job. 7th grade is an awkward year for all students. Band students tend to either fall away or really intensify their efforts. There are about 3 kids that are falling off. THAT is a good average!
6th grade is, as always, amazing. They are starting to make serious progress.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is an exciting time at HPS. Band is really starting to take off!
We rule!
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