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 Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 3:55 pm
Luckily for me, I'm a senior and I don't have to deal with this illogical junk next year...but alas, it still angers me.
So our band found out over the past two days that there's going to be some major schedule changes. For years, since the first director at the school (est. '91), band has been the last two periods of the day (6th, 7th). During marching season, band would take up a band class and a Band P.E. period, and during concert season, each member would take one of the band periods (depending on which ensemble they made) and a normal P.E. class in the other time slot. We have a block schedule system at my school; Mondays are all periods, Tuesday/Thursday are odd, and Wednesday/Friday are even.
Apparently the band is going to convert to 8th period, after school, because the school cannot accommodate for the incoming band students second semester when they have to take normal P.E. (What, can each teacher not handle 50 students each? It's not like we LEARN in those classes, anyway...). So, a rough schedule would be two days a week after school for two or two and a half hours and some Saturdays.
Then, there would always be the two ensembles running concert band during both the fall and winter. All percussionists will be taking a third period "Percussion-only class" in the morning, which will likely focus on marching band and winter percussion music and less on festival or concert music. To rehearse for concerts and festivals, the band will likely have to meet after school in order for mass rehearsals. Orchestra already has to do this in the winter and spring for the wind and percussion players.
Another conflict is how the jazz band's going to work. Usually during marching season, A band rehearses after school on Mondays and Thursdays, while B band rehearses on Wednesdays. Then in the spring, A band moves to 6th period and B band rehearses on Mondays and Wednesdays. We're not sure yet if the A band kids will be able to do 6th period in the fall...But I guess it's a possibility.
The marching band itself rehearses particularly poorly, due to both the director and the students. Many of the students don't respect the director because he can't manage time wisely or take proper control of the band (not that he'd know what to do with the control). The rehearsal time will basically be cut in half, if not more...
And apparently they can't go to many competitions next year. We went to five field competitions and one parade competition this year; next year, he mentioned "a couple competitions and some local events" and no WBA championships because they're too far away and in southern California (because my school's district is too stingy to have championships at my school more than once in a row).
What irks me more is that the school has money and grants to replace all the digital projectors and over-head projectors at school with those fancy camera projector things. It has money to build a new "energy academy" wing, complete with state-of-the-art energy-efficient technology. It has the money to build a theater, even though we have two in our district (and one of them has a drama hall and an outstanding music hall). We have extravagant school rallies and other such activities! Yet...we can't afford to pay P.E. teachers?? We can't accommodate for the band kids, even though that's what we've been doing for years?
I just don't get it.
I probably sound spoiled complaining about after-school band, even though a LOT of schools do either before or after school band (and some are even getting directors or programs cut...). But, the fact that we had a perfect system for years and now they're changing it pisses me off to no end. It just doesn't make sense to me! Why are we getting grants for extra projects when we can't afford our own teachers?! I just don't get it...
Sigh.
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:17 pm
My school's also block schedule, but definitely different from yours, as we have but four classes (for 96 minutes a piece) in a single day per semester. Band's always 4th block. Marching season we have in and after school rehearsal all of marching season until competitions are over, which usually is in late October/early November. The band would get together on Tuesdays and Thursdays to practice drill, show, and music for three hours after school is over. Percussion practice on Wednesdays same three hours. Concert season's not as heavily scheduled as marching band, but we still get a good 96 minutes a day every day.
Can't say that my schedule's as crazy as yours.
And as another added fact, despite the aristic field of band and music, it is usually the least funded for considering it is not a 'sport,' like football. While the football team gets charter buses, a fully-paid meal, and new uniforms, the band most of the time rides the cheesewagons to almost all the games-home and away-, we have to raise money on our own to pay stuff for band that we need (i.e., new drumheads), and most people don't give the band much respect, when we go to all the freakin' games, go to every freakin' pep rally on Friday, have to answer to the beck-and-call of the football team and the cheerleaders when they need 'music'......and we don't get a thank you from any of them except the adults......???? What the heck?! I would love to see one of them try to memorize music, play until your lips are numb, march until your feet fall off, and know what style, position, direction, and spot you are going to on the flippin' field!!!! Okay, rant over.
(P.S., Marching Band is considered a P.E. at my school, and Concert Band an art.)
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 5:08 pm
This year we had a similar thing thing happen, just it went down from 2 band period to 1. And this is actually the first year we did block schedule. Monday/wednesday 2-4-6, tuesday/thursday 1-3-5-7, friday all.
The band schedule changes were and are tough. We used to have advanced band 1st hour, intermediate band 2 hour, orch 4 hour, guard 5, percussion 6, and jazz 7. Now, because our bd left and the choir director is tripling band/orch.choir. Now its 1 hour band, 4 orch, 7 perc and guard. She tried to make it so we still ahd 2 bands, but that didnt work out that well. Jazz used to meet before and after school, before on tues and thurs and after on thurs, but we havent had a rehearsal in a while.
(By the way, cant anser your poll lol. No "all of the above" option.)
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:43 am
I know. They like to justify paying for other projects when teachers are getting laid off because it's "different funding." One of the band moms (my mom is really good friends with her) tried to get grants for the band program a couple years back. Our superintendent told her not to send them in. There was (and still is) some serious s**t with our school board.
Plus our athletic director last year tried to get us to pay to play for band. We don't even march .____.
Hopefully I can play in the alumni concert this year to help out~
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:40 pm
so, i get that schedule changes suck (for all the poor non-seniors hahaha yay '11!!) but your schedule is becoming more like ours...(but may i add in here: many years ago the old BD had PE teacher credentials and band kids didn't have to take PE freshman and sophomore year since those are the only times we have to take PE here but now the new...ish....BD doesn't have one so all the band kids have to take "early bird" aka 7am class if they wanna take band and a language....) anyways, we have 6 periods (unless your in early bird) and then theres "7th period" marching band monday wednesday friday 3-5. (wind ensemble is 3rd, symphonic is 5th, and guard is 6th because then we don't have to change twice into practice clothes) oh and i like the idea of your "percussion-only class" because we sorta have one of those (our guard got small and the school didn't want to allow such a small class so we filled it with random band kids who wanted to learn drums haha) except now theres no perc. in s. band because they're all in 6th period with us! it makes it interesting.....
OMG i totally agree with your last part though. your school got those "ELMO" things too?? ugh that pissed me off...stupid school district people don't understand that we should get money cuz a new sousaphone to replace the one that got run over by a jock in a pickup truck are really expensive....
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 1:05 pm
We had something similar happen to our band this year.
About three years ago, the fine arts building was completely rebuilt, including the band room. It was large enough at the time to accommodate the entire band (that is winds, percussion, and guard).
However, there were a lot of complaints and issues before the beginning of this school year that the band room was already too small to fit everyone. The separate room for instruments is already too small to fit everyone. The trombones, trumpets, and tuba players all have to store their instruments in separate areas.
So during band camp, the BD told the entire band that the marching band class would be split up into two different classes: first period percussion and guard, and fourth period winds. That way, each different group would get an ample amount of time with the directors and instructors so that no one felt ignored and everyone was on a similar level. (The guard even learned how to play recorders because it was technically a music class and they had to be taught how to play something!)
The separation of classes also allowed some people to work into their schedules classes that can't be moved. For example, one tuba player was in first period band because he scheduled himself for a fourth period class that was offered at no other time during the year. He still got to take a band class and he still attended after school practice.
The teachers in our school try to fit their schedules to be most comfortable for the students. Every freshman and sophomore is basically required to take the marching band class if they're in the band. However, if the BD knows that one student is a very good player and can afford to sacrifice the class for his/her academics, then he will not require that student to take the marching band class.
Everyone tries to make it work.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:38 pm
I don't think my band has had that problem before, but that's probably because I come from such a small school, my whole school from elementary to highschool is together. The only time my director would do afterschool stuff is if we didn't have enough time to actually get work done during the school. We also have block schedules, but we only take four classes a day, then switch to four different classes halfway through the school year, so yeah.
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