Choices

So... next year's student officers need to be chosen. I say "chosen" and not "elected" because my program's structure prevents any kind of meaningful voting: The candidates would not have equal exposure to the entire department, and the larger classes would have a definite advantage in terms of representation. So... ever since I started having student officers, I've been appointing them myself.

Next year's presidential selection is particularly problematic: In one corner I have Nepur and Lisa, who want to tag-team the presidency. In the other is Alana, a long time choir member who practically lives in the music room. It's a tough choice.

Nepur/Lisa:

Pros: They work well together. Both are productive and responsible. Both have good organizational skills.

Cons: Nepur has reliability issues, owing sometimes to his involvement in other activities, but more frequently to fact that his mother often spontaneously grounds him or forbids him from attending events (even ones that his grades depend on). This can be brought on by something like.... oh.... taking too long of a bathroom break when he's home studying. Also, there's a good chance Nepur won't even be enrolled in a music class next year.

Lisa, while less subject to parental interference - is extremely soft spoken. There has been some talk as to whether or not other students would accept her as a leader.

Alana:

Pros: It's quite obvious - Alana has really only one school committment that she takes seriously: the music program. There would be no competition with any other activities, nor is patrental interference likely.

Cons: Alana has serious follow-through issues. She had been given tasks in the past that were never completed. Some projects took so long that I started wondering if their completion was even practical by that time. Also, Alana does not have the means to transport herself (believe it or not, mobility makes a difference where student leaders are concerned.) Finally, Alana's lack of committment to any other school activity unfortunately includes her academics. It's possible that she might even be in danger of not graduating (like her boyfriend was). If and when that comes to a head, I would lose my point officer for sure. I'm also guessing that if Alana doesn't get the presidency, she'll take it pretty hard.

What I'm currently leaning towards is not having a president (or presidents) but replacing it with a senior cabinet that would consist of all three. It would mean that I would re-absrob more administrative responsibility, and delegate monitoring duties to them.

The truth about the music council is that inevitably, I reabsorb most of the responsibilities from them anyway. The kids are usually fired up in the first few months, but as the year goes on I end up doing more and more of the work. This year in particular, they ended up being more of a "Hang Out in Mr. M's Office" club. They even wanted to have a second council retreat late in the Spring, but the current president and I shot that idea down out of the realization that it wouldn't have any practical function - only social.

The council pretty good when it comes to activities that have a definite start-and-end time, like concert set-up. But when it comes to tasks that require planning and follow-through, they kind of drop the ball. It's funny, too... because the last few presidents that I have had all been level-headed industrious people who have done their best to keep the group on track.

Every year I make a declaration that some kind of change needs to happen, but that never seems to manifest into anything meaningful. (That probably translates into an issue not with the officers or the presidents, but with the advisor.) In truth, setting up and maintaining structure has never been my forte.

That's probably the first thing I need to address.