Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
On Padawan Leaners
I'm officially maxed out on the number of private students I can take. I currently have four half-hour lessons and four hour lessons. At one time, I took private students so that I could have a little extra spending cash. These days... I don't know... I probably should have started turning people a while ago. Maybe I'm just to nice to say "no." Or maybe it's something else.
Two lessons today: The first was Madeline. She's been my student since 5th grade. She was referred to me by her elementary band teacher. She was progressing faster than what he could accommodate with the class. I took her on. Three years later, we're playing transcribed Mozart duets.. and I'm making more mistakes than she is. Our lessons have transcended mere instruction in rhythm, fingering and intonation, and have entered the realm of discussion about how to interpret various ornamental figures, and the application of nuances and stylistic practices that are not written in by the composer or the arranger. She's an 8th grader. I feel like I should be paying her for the opportunity to play duets with a competent partner.
The second was Marty. 8th grader. Beginner. Marty was one of those kids who joined band because... well because the counselors put him there. He wasn't sure he was going to enjoy it. After a month of basic training, he decided he wanted private lessons. Today was our first session.
Two things about Marty: 1) He's one of those kids who beats himself up over every little mistake. I felt like I spent half the lesson getting him to relax and stop apologizing. 2) He's driven to learn how to play. If he maintains that intensity, he'll be another Madeline before long.
Mom came to pick him up after an hour. I talked with her briefly while Marty was putting his instrument away. Marty apparently grew up without a Dad. He's at that age where he needs role models. Apparently, I've become one.
So... why do I give lessons? Maybe it's because I get a chance to play. Maybe it's because I get a chance to get in close and do some high-octane teaching... the kind that has a big pay-off.
Of course... the cash for new toys is nice, too.
Two lessons today: The first was Madeline. She's been my student since 5th grade. She was referred to me by her elementary band teacher. She was progressing faster than what he could accommodate with the class. I took her on. Three years later, we're playing transcribed Mozart duets.. and I'm making more mistakes than she is. Our lessons have transcended mere instruction in rhythm, fingering and intonation, and have entered the realm of discussion about how to interpret various ornamental figures, and the application of nuances and stylistic practices that are not written in by the composer or the arranger. She's an 8th grader. I feel like I should be paying her for the opportunity to play duets with a competent partner.
The second was Marty. 8th grader. Beginner. Marty was one of those kids who joined band because... well because the counselors put him there. He wasn't sure he was going to enjoy it. After a month of basic training, he decided he wanted private lessons. Today was our first session.
Two things about Marty: 1) He's one of those kids who beats himself up over every little mistake. I felt like I spent half the lesson getting him to relax and stop apologizing. 2) He's driven to learn how to play. If he maintains that intensity, he'll be another Madeline before long.
Mom came to pick him up after an hour. I talked with her briefly while Marty was putting his instrument away. Marty apparently grew up without a Dad. He's at that age where he needs role models. Apparently, I've become one.
So... why do I give lessons? Maybe it's because I get a chance to play. Maybe it's because I get a chance to get in close and do some high-octane teaching... the kind that has a big pay-off.
Of course... the cash for new toys is nice, too.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A Desperate Hunter's Trap
Last week Principal Palpatine sent me an e-mail regarding the music stipends that I've been receiving for the last decade. These stipends have been on the books for... well probably since the school opened. They provide for extra duties above and beyond the regular teacher contract. It seems she thinks she has an angle to pin me down on the marching band issue.
Why? I'm not exactly sure... we seemd to come to a mutually beneficial agreement at our last meeting. The only thing I can think of is that she's frustrated that despite the arrangement, she never did get me to agree that marching band is a required part of my job responsibilities. And in all honesty, I think it translates into her being pissed that I didn't kneel before her and offer her an unconditional surrender.
Okay... the truth.... yes I've been getting the stipends. (about $10k worth). But to be honest, I never looked at the description all that closely... until now. After Palpatine e-mailed me regarding them, I talked to people both in the union and on the Roll & Recompense committee. They gave me a copy of the sheet that lays it all out in black-and-white.
Except it isn't all that black-and-white.
Two of the items seemed to be linked to marching band. One refers to football game performances and competitions. The other deals with parade performances. Now... marching band isn't specifically mentioned in either of them, and I think I can at leats defend the stipend for football games by pointing out that I do take a pep band to the home football games. The parade stipend... well... it's kind of hard to defend that one. Fortunately, it's the smallest of the stipends (just over $2k).
Yesterday I got an e-mail from Assistant-Principal Bob who wants to meet with me regarding the stipends. It reeks of Palpatine mainuplation. To be sure, I checked with my union rep (who is also on the R&R committee). She said that it's probably just to confirm the status of my stipends, and to check up on how they are being implemented. I'm willing to bet that when I show up to his office, Palpatine will be there.
Actually, I'm not scared. I already have a game plan. If they ask why I haven't been fullfilling the conditions of the stipend, I will respond that said conditions have never been explained to me. These stipends have been given to the existing music teacher for decades, and I will gleefully point out that my three predecessors also received them without being challenged.... and without maintaining a marching program of any kind.
I will also point out that with the exception of the parade stipdend, marching band is not a specified (or even implied) element.
I will finnish off by saying that if the R&R committee deems that the conditions of any stipend are not being fullfilled, I will willingly surrender the stipend in question.
Cards in my favor:
I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Why? I'm not exactly sure... we seemd to come to a mutually beneficial agreement at our last meeting. The only thing I can think of is that she's frustrated that despite the arrangement, she never did get me to agree that marching band is a required part of my job responsibilities. And in all honesty, I think it translates into her being pissed that I didn't kneel before her and offer her an unconditional surrender.
Okay... the truth.... yes I've been getting the stipends. (about $10k worth). But to be honest, I never looked at the description all that closely... until now. After Palpatine e-mailed me regarding them, I talked to people both in the union and on the Roll & Recompense committee. They gave me a copy of the sheet that lays it all out in black-and-white.
Except it isn't all that black-and-white.
Two of the items seemed to be linked to marching band. One refers to football game performances and competitions. The other deals with parade performances. Now... marching band isn't specifically mentioned in either of them, and I think I can at leats defend the stipend for football games by pointing out that I do take a pep band to the home football games. The parade stipend... well... it's kind of hard to defend that one. Fortunately, it's the smallest of the stipends (just over $2k).
Yesterday I got an e-mail from Assistant-Principal Bob who wants to meet with me regarding the stipends. It reeks of Palpatine mainuplation. To be sure, I checked with my union rep (who is also on the R&R committee). She said that it's probably just to confirm the status of my stipends, and to check up on how they are being implemented. I'm willing to bet that when I show up to his office, Palpatine will be there.
Actually, I'm not scared. I already have a game plan. If they ask why I haven't been fullfilling the conditions of the stipend, I will respond that said conditions have never been explained to me. These stipends have been given to the existing music teacher for decades, and I will gleefully point out that my three predecessors also received them without being challenged.... and without maintaining a marching program of any kind.
I will also point out that with the exception of the parade stipdend, marching band is not a specified (or even implied) element.
I will finnish off by saying that if the R&R committee deems that the conditions of any stipend are not being fullfilled, I will willingly surrender the stipend in question.
Cards in my favor:
I can refuse any stipend, even if I already signed for them.So... is it a trap? Sure, but I think it's a weak one at best. Her most powerful tool (the basic contract) does not come into play here.
Principal Palpatine is NOT on the R&R committee.
They can not penalize me for stipends paid to me over the last decade.
I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Chalk-up Another "Win"
Had the first concert of the year on Tuesday. It went over well... very well. The first concerts are fun, because the families who are just getting to know me realize for the first time that I'm one guy trying to run a three-teacher program. They come up to me afterwords and say "My Gosh.. I had NO idea you had all of those groups under your belt." So yeah, it was chaos (as the first concert always is) but it came off.
And... surprise, surprise.... Principal Palpatine was there. Standing beside her was Assistant Principal Bob. I'm not sure what their reaction was... neither one so much as sent me an e-mail ... but I know a few parents and students got a chance to talk to her.
My department chair says Palpatine has been acting a little funny... she's been visiting the art classes and going out her way to be nice to the art teachers. Dept. Chair thinks Palpatine was given order from mount-high to make amends wiuth her arts department "Which... if it's true... would lead one to think that the nasty-gram she e-mailed to me and cc'd to district brass may have worked against her, not for her. (I'd like to think that's how it went down.)
There was also a school board member in the audience.... surprisingly enough, it wasn't Mark (the former band teacher who helped me with my last crisis with Palpatine.) It was Dan, the retired police opfficer who has been on the board for... well before my time. Dan isn't even the representative for our side of the district: I met him six years ago at random while reporting to the county courthouse for jury duty (he was there for the same reason). He's made it a point to say hi to me when he sees me, and attends my concerts once in a blue moon. It was good to have him there.
I don't know what was going through Palpatine's mind while watching my concert.... but I'm guessing it was frustration. What she saw was a packed house of happy parents, and a stage full of happy students who were making music. Here's all this evidence that I'm doing a great job... and yet I'm still NOT doing the job that SHE wants me to do.
What's a tyrant to do?
And... surprise, surprise.... Principal Palpatine was there. Standing beside her was Assistant Principal Bob. I'm not sure what their reaction was... neither one so much as sent me an e-mail ... but I know a few parents and students got a chance to talk to her.
My department chair says Palpatine has been acting a little funny... she's been visiting the art classes and going out her way to be nice to the art teachers. Dept. Chair thinks Palpatine was given order from mount-high to make amends wiuth her arts department "Which... if it's true... would lead one to think that the nasty-gram she e-mailed to me and cc'd to district brass may have worked against her, not for her. (I'd like to think that's how it went down.)
There was also a school board member in the audience.... surprisingly enough, it wasn't Mark (the former band teacher who helped me with my last crisis with Palpatine.) It was Dan, the retired police opfficer who has been on the board for... well before my time. Dan isn't even the representative for our side of the district: I met him six years ago at random while reporting to the county courthouse for jury duty (he was there for the same reason). He's made it a point to say hi to me when he sees me, and attends my concerts once in a blue moon. It was good to have him there.
I don't know what was going through Palpatine's mind while watching my concert.... but I'm guessing it was frustration. What she saw was a packed house of happy parents, and a stage full of happy students who were making music. Here's all this evidence that I'm doing a great job... and yet I'm still NOT doing the job that SHE wants me to do.
What's a tyrant to do?
Friday, October 17, 2008
Llama of the Week
Okay, I SWEAR I didn't notice at the time that the position of the guy and the llama looks really... unnatural... but I caught it later and re-drew it before any of the kids saw it:
I did, however leave the original posted here to see how you'd react :-)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Equilibrium
So it seems that the powers-that-be have decided that since my Birthday is passed, all sense of normality should return to my life. In fact, in order to keep me from having to big an ego about the last few days, they decided to throw me a few curve balls:
Case in point - Taking a couple hundred dollars from my "play money" stash to buy some games for my new Wii on Saturday... getting to Circuit City and realizing that I grabbed a $20 instead of the $100 bill that I had intended. No matter, I still had enough at the counter. Only today I re-counted the stash and realized that I was indeed missing a $100 bill. So I must have grabbed it on Saturday.... and yet, it wasn't in my wallet when I got to the store. Conclusion: I must have inadvertently tipped the waiter at IHOP with a $100 bill (hidden underneath a $1). Sounds crazy, but it's the only other place I went that day, and I can't be sure that I looked at the tip all that closely.
So... what's the protocol on this? Go back to the restaurant and say "Dude, that was a mistake... can I have my $100 back?" Something about that seems really wrong. Of course, being that I'm a regular, and on first-name basis with the waiter... he might figure it out and offer to give it back to me the next time he sees me. Or maybe, I lost the $100 somewhere else and it didn't even end up at the IHOP to begin with. Who knows. Bummer.
Case in point: This morning, my car decided to completely shut down on me. First I thought I left an interior light on all night, but then I realized that the battery seemed fine (lights were all on full strength.) But it wouldn't turn over. I dragged my wife out of bed at 6 a.m. to try and jump-start it. No dice. So then she offered to drive me to work.
I managed to get here before my first class started, but not early enough to get my usual Starbucks, etc. Small sacrifice, really. Could have been a lot worse.
I'm thinking what may have happened is that I pulled the car up to far into the space, so that the front end hung just above the sprinkler nozzle outside my apartment. (It's happened before). So then the underside and part of my engine gets a continuous barrage of water for... what... an hour or so? The last time it started up after sitting for the better part of a day. I hope it's that simple. If not, then my wife is going to have to get up early for a couple more days while we get it fixed. Bleah.
To make it more fun, we had to push it out of the parking spot in "neutral" to have enough space to try the jumper cables, then push it back when that didn't work (up an incline :-] ) Add in the fact that it was windy as hell, and the gushing air threw the car door against my leg as I sat trying to steer with one leg out the door, gently pushing and guiding the powerless vehicle out of the parking space.... yeah I think I got a bruise from that.l
Whatever. Neither event was enough to ruin the weekend. Bring on the rain... the parade already happened!
Case in point - Taking a couple hundred dollars from my "play money" stash to buy some games for my new Wii on Saturday... getting to Circuit City and realizing that I grabbed a $20 instead of the $100 bill that I had intended. No matter, I still had enough at the counter. Only today I re-counted the stash and realized that I was indeed missing a $100 bill. So I must have grabbed it on Saturday.... and yet, it wasn't in my wallet when I got to the store. Conclusion: I must have inadvertently tipped the waiter at IHOP with a $100 bill (hidden underneath a $1). Sounds crazy, but it's the only other place I went that day, and I can't be sure that I looked at the tip all that closely.
So... what's the protocol on this? Go back to the restaurant and say "Dude, that was a mistake... can I have my $100 back?" Something about that seems really wrong. Of course, being that I'm a regular, and on first-name basis with the waiter... he might figure it out and offer to give it back to me the next time he sees me. Or maybe, I lost the $100 somewhere else and it didn't even end up at the IHOP to begin with. Who knows. Bummer.
Case in point: This morning, my car decided to completely shut down on me. First I thought I left an interior light on all night, but then I realized that the battery seemed fine (lights were all on full strength.) But it wouldn't turn over. I dragged my wife out of bed at 6 a.m. to try and jump-start it. No dice. So then she offered to drive me to work.
I managed to get here before my first class started, but not early enough to get my usual Starbucks, etc. Small sacrifice, really. Could have been a lot worse.
I'm thinking what may have happened is that I pulled the car up to far into the space, so that the front end hung just above the sprinkler nozzle outside my apartment. (It's happened before). So then the underside and part of my engine gets a continuous barrage of water for... what... an hour or so? The last time it started up after sitting for the better part of a day. I hope it's that simple. If not, then my wife is going to have to get up early for a couple more days while we get it fixed. Bleah.
To make it more fun, we had to push it out of the parking spot in "neutral" to have enough space to try the jumper cables, then push it back when that didn't work (up an incline :-] ) Add in the fact that it was windy as hell, and the gushing air threw the car door against my leg as I sat trying to steer with one leg out the door, gently pushing and guiding the powerless vehicle out of the parking space.... yeah I think I got a bruise from that.l
Whatever. Neither event was enough to ruin the weekend. Bring on the rain... the parade already happened!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Love You Take Pt. II / Llama of the Week
So I figured that since they threw the gala lunchtime birthday bash for me on Thursday, the kids would fore go the usual office decoration invasion. I figured wrong.
Yesterday we had a pep band gig at a football game. Afterwords, the helper crew brought all the stuff back to the music rooms as per usual, and headed off to a local restaurant for post-game munchies. I ended up going home about 11 p.m. All the kids (about 8 of them) split and went their separate directions... or so I thought. Apparently, they circled back to the school and proceeded with the usual office shenanigans.
I saw it this morning when I came in for the youth orchestra rehearsal. They even left me a little a little love on the office Mac... A new desktop photo of themselves crowded around the desk with a big "Happy B-Day" Sign. I laughed myself silly.
But that wasn't the end of it...
When the Orchestra staff showed up, Susan and James (her husband) brought cupcakes and had the kids sing Happy Birthday to me, and Brad, the conductor of the top orchestra, let me conduct the 2nd movement of Beethoven 7 (Possibly my favorite piece of all time).
Folks... my birthday is tomorrow.... how can it possibly get any better?
Thursday, October 9, 2008
"The Love You Take...
...is equal to the love you make" - Paul McCartney
So let me tell you about my 40th birthday. Well, actually it hasn't happened yet (it's Sunday). And yet, it's the best birthday I'll probably ever have. Some weeks ago, some of the music parents started conspiring to throw a birthday bash honoring my Big Four-Oh.... complete with a collection from students for a nice gift and a party. It wasn't entirely unexpected.... every year my students usually break into my office and decorate it, leaving behind little trails of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (some of which I don't find until June.) And someone usually makes the rounds to get me something nice.
This year, however, the scope and magnitude of the birthday offerings was... humbling. I mean, I got the idea that something was up, but I had no idea it was going to be as big as it ended up being! They threw the party today during lunch. I didn't even know that the music parents were on campus: They came in during my 4th period class and set up in the choir room while I was busy lecturing in AP Theory in the instrumental room next door. Then right before the bell rang, I noticed someone had come in and sat down right behind me... It was Spencer, my good friend who conducts the orchestra at a local university. He comes by to see me once in a while, so it didn't tip me off at first. But then he lured me outside, where I saw the door to the choir room open and people streaming in and out of it. That's when I realized what was going on. When I walked over and looked in, I was shocked to see how many people were there... Easily over half of the music department, as well as parents, alumni, fellow faculty, friends from off campus... oh, and did I mention that my wife took off time from work to drive over, and my mom drove from her house almost 2 hours away to attend?
One of my uber-talented alumni from last year showed up and sang a song for me (which was the best part,) and somewhere in the middle of it I was presented with the big gift: A Wii game system (with accessories.)
Okay... this is the part where I'm so overwhelmed, I'm almost paralyzed with shock.
I went to make a little speech, but it came out kind of... well, less than eloquent, I think. I said something about teachers often wondering the extent to which they are effective in peoples lives... and how I was so lucky to have this kind of feedback.
The truth is, I know what I do for these kids. I know because I've had teachers do it for me... I know how powerful the gift is. And I do get a good amount of positive, warm-fuzzy, heartfelt-feedback.... I just don't usually get it in such great quantities at one time!
Eat your heart out, Mr. Holland.
P.S. Two things tickled me about today:
1) Food services called me after lunch, they complained that their lunch sales were significantly affected by the number of kids who went to the party instead of buying lunch from the cafeteria. I apologized, and explained to them that being a surprise B-Day party organized and executed by off-campus individuals, there is no way I could have warned them. They said "It's okay" and added a "Happy Birthday" in for good measure.
2) Some of the parents actually went to Principal Palpatine to ask for permission to do this. She said no... and they did it anyway. I love that.
So let me tell you about my 40th birthday. Well, actually it hasn't happened yet (it's Sunday). And yet, it's the best birthday I'll probably ever have. Some weeks ago, some of the music parents started conspiring to throw a birthday bash honoring my Big Four-Oh.... complete with a collection from students for a nice gift and a party. It wasn't entirely unexpected.... every year my students usually break into my office and decorate it, leaving behind little trails of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (some of which I don't find until June.) And someone usually makes the rounds to get me something nice.
This year, however, the scope and magnitude of the birthday offerings was... humbling. I mean, I got the idea that something was up, but I had no idea it was going to be as big as it ended up being! They threw the party today during lunch. I didn't even know that the music parents were on campus: They came in during my 4th period class and set up in the choir room while I was busy lecturing in AP Theory in the instrumental room next door. Then right before the bell rang, I noticed someone had come in and sat down right behind me... It was Spencer, my good friend who conducts the orchestra at a local university. He comes by to see me once in a while, so it didn't tip me off at first. But then he lured me outside, where I saw the door to the choir room open and people streaming in and out of it. That's when I realized what was going on. When I walked over and looked in, I was shocked to see how many people were there... Easily over half of the music department, as well as parents, alumni, fellow faculty, friends from off campus... oh, and did I mention that my wife took off time from work to drive over, and my mom drove from her house almost 2 hours away to attend?
One of my uber-talented alumni from last year showed up and sang a song for me (which was the best part,) and somewhere in the middle of it I was presented with the big gift: A Wii game system (with accessories.)
Okay... this is the part where I'm so overwhelmed, I'm almost paralyzed with shock.
I went to make a little speech, but it came out kind of... well, less than eloquent, I think. I said something about teachers often wondering the extent to which they are effective in peoples lives... and how I was so lucky to have this kind of feedback.
The truth is, I know what I do for these kids. I know because I've had teachers do it for me... I know how powerful the gift is. And I do get a good amount of positive, warm-fuzzy, heartfelt-feedback.... I just don't usually get it in such great quantities at one time!
Eat your heart out, Mr. Holland.
P.S. Two things tickled me about today:
1) Food services called me after lunch, they complained that their lunch sales were significantly affected by the number of kids who went to the party instead of buying lunch from the cafeteria. I apologized, and explained to them that being a surprise B-Day party organized and executed by off-campus individuals, there is no way I could have warned them. They said "It's okay" and added a "Happy Birthday" in for good measure.
2) Some of the parents actually went to Principal Palpatine to ask for permission to do this. She said no... and they did it anyway. I love that.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Deals with the Devil Pt. II
Another meeting with principal Palpatine today. Hopefully, the last in a long time. I think we finally put this issue to rest (of course, that's what I thought after the last meeting.) We agreed to move forward with the promotion of our already existing drum line... new equipment, uniforms... all the trappings Palpatine wants in a smaller package. Then we'll see if it grows into a genuine interst in a marching band. As always, I find myself walking away from the table... knowing that the devil is grinning ear to ear, wondering how this deal will come back to haunt me.
Of course, she had to open the meeting with a blatant attempt to subjugate me with a direct question: "Mr. Maestro, do you not feel that it falls within your jurisdiction to expand the Music Department to meet the needs of the students of *OUR SCHOOL*"
I held my ground.
"Mrs. Palpatine.... whether or not I am willing to meet the needs of my students is not in question. What we have yet to determine is whether the establishment of a marching program at *OUR SCHOOL* meets the needs of the music students, or merely the people who wish to see the program, but not participate in it. Would you not agree that every school program, academic or extra-curricular, should, first and foremost, statisfy the needs of the students enrolled in said program?"
No... you don't own me.
She tried multiple times from multiple angles to get a positive response from me, until finally she concluded that I had indeed answered her question in not-so-many-words. (I let it go... there was bigger fish to fry). Her eyes also flared up when I stated quite plainly that the music department in general, should be focused on the needs of the students, not the approval of the surrounding community. I could tell she was offended by that idea.
Yeah... did I mention the "not owning" part?
Sigh.... Oh Principal Palpatine.... for all your cunning and trickery, you fall short of being a truly masterful manipulator. Throughout this meeting you had so many opporunities to simply tell me what I wanted to hear... all you had to do was lie to me and tell me that you fully supported a music program that was more about the music students than the football parents. All you had to do was take the term "school spirit" and the phrase "Everyone wants to see it" out of the conversation. All you had to do was try to make me feel that the music program wasn't being used... and you would have gotten a lot less resistance from me. There were so many things you could have said and done that would have made it a lot easier.
Alas.... you are a idiot.
Anyway, it doesn't matter. You got what you wanted. I got what I wanted. Let me get back to the music.
Of course, she had to open the meeting with a blatant attempt to subjugate me with a direct question: "Mr. Maestro, do you not feel that it falls within your jurisdiction to expand the Music Department to meet the needs of the students of *OUR SCHOOL*"
I held my ground.
"Mrs. Palpatine.... whether or not I am willing to meet the needs of my students is not in question. What we have yet to determine is whether the establishment of a marching program at *OUR SCHOOL* meets the needs of the music students, or merely the people who wish to see the program, but not participate in it. Would you not agree that every school program, academic or extra-curricular, should, first and foremost, statisfy the needs of the students enrolled in said program?"
No... you don't own me.
She tried multiple times from multiple angles to get a positive response from me, until finally she concluded that I had indeed answered her question in not-so-many-words. (I let it go... there was bigger fish to fry). Her eyes also flared up when I stated quite plainly that the music department in general, should be focused on the needs of the students, not the approval of the surrounding community. I could tell she was offended by that idea.
Yeah... did I mention the "not owning" part?
Sigh.... Oh Principal Palpatine.... for all your cunning and trickery, you fall short of being a truly masterful manipulator. Throughout this meeting you had so many opporunities to simply tell me what I wanted to hear... all you had to do was lie to me and tell me that you fully supported a music program that was more about the music students than the football parents. All you had to do was take the term "school spirit" and the phrase "Everyone wants to see it" out of the conversation. All you had to do was try to make me feel that the music program wasn't being used... and you would have gotten a lot less resistance from me. There were so many things you could have said and done that would have made it a lot easier.
Alas.... you are a idiot.
Anyway, it doesn't matter. You got what you wanted. I got what I wanted. Let me get back to the music.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
WHO STOLE MY PRECIOUS??!!!???
Yesterday's student drama: Nate the yuba player in 3rd period comes up to me at the end of class and says "Someone took my iPod." "Where was it?" I asked. "In my backpack... I left it alone for a couple minutes as I was moving my stand and chair back to the main room, when I cam back, my backpack had been moved, and the Ipod was gone."
Wow... pretty good timing. It's almost as if someone knew where it was, knew exactly when he would leave it alone, and moved in for a quick theft with surgical precision. I was almost impressed with the efficiency.
I didn't know what to tell him except "Well, I'll keep an eye out for it... and I'll notify the administration, but I don;t know how much good it'll do."
Well, the kid's mom called and e-mailed me later that day. I didn't get either since I went home early. She was pissed. Luckily, not at me. She was upset that band was the boy's favorite class, and that I tried so hard to teach good citizenship... how could someone from the band community do something like this. She made it clear that they were going to the police and pressing charges. (Against who, I'm not sure... it's not like we had any leads.) She wanted us to detain every kid in band for questioning.
Right.
Anyway, I responded that I'm not sure admin would allow us to do that, but I promised to at least address the class. Apparently this wasn;t enough for her. She used a recently sent mass-email from my parent helpers to "reply-all" an angry e-mail to my entire parent base.
Yikes.
So this morning in 3rd period, I started to build-up to the best guilt trip I could muster:
Me: "Ladies and gentlemen... apparently yesterday someone discovered their iPod was missing from their backpack. Now it saddenss me to think that someone in this class would...."
Kid: "Um... Mr. Maestro?....." (hand raised)
Me: "yes?"
Kid: "Is that it over there?" (points)
There in one of the cabinet shelves right behind where Nate sits was a small device in a black case. The kid grabs it and holds it up. Nate looks at it, embarassed. "Yeah, it's mine."
Now, is it possible that Nate's mom scared someone into putting the iPod on the shelf? Sure, maybe, but how much you want to bet that Nate put it there and forgot? In any case, he got it back, and everyone should be happy.
Lessons to be learned:
1) If something goes missing, give it a few days before you start throwing accusations around.
2) BCC is a beautiful thing.
Wow... pretty good timing. It's almost as if someone knew where it was, knew exactly when he would leave it alone, and moved in for a quick theft with surgical precision. I was almost impressed with the efficiency.
I didn't know what to tell him except "Well, I'll keep an eye out for it... and I'll notify the administration, but I don;t know how much good it'll do."
Well, the kid's mom called and e-mailed me later that day. I didn't get either since I went home early. She was pissed. Luckily, not at me. She was upset that band was the boy's favorite class, and that I tried so hard to teach good citizenship... how could someone from the band community do something like this. She made it clear that they were going to the police and pressing charges. (Against who, I'm not sure... it's not like we had any leads.) She wanted us to detain every kid in band for questioning.
Right.
Anyway, I responded that I'm not sure admin would allow us to do that, but I promised to at least address the class. Apparently this wasn;t enough for her. She used a recently sent mass-email from my parent helpers to "reply-all" an angry e-mail to my entire parent base.
Yikes.
So this morning in 3rd period, I started to build-up to the best guilt trip I could muster:
Me: "Ladies and gentlemen... apparently yesterday someone discovered their iPod was missing from their backpack. Now it saddenss me to think that someone in this class would...."
Kid: "Um... Mr. Maestro?....." (hand raised)
Me: "yes?"
Kid: "Is that it over there?" (points)
There in one of the cabinet shelves right behind where Nate sits was a small device in a black case. The kid grabs it and holds it up. Nate looks at it, embarassed. "Yeah, it's mine."
Now, is it possible that Nate's mom scared someone into putting the iPod on the shelf? Sure, maybe, but how much you want to bet that Nate put it there and forgot? In any case, he got it back, and everyone should be happy.
Lessons to be learned:
1) If something goes missing, give it a few days before you start throwing accusations around.
2) BCC is a beautiful thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
