Band Director Arrogance?

[dejr_8]

It has always been my impression from stories I have heard that High School band directors tend to be arrogant or maybe snooty is a better word.

Well here is my first hand experience. My son is starting band in 6th grade and today we received the band handbook.

There is a section about missing concerts due to an unexcused absence. An unexcused absence from a concert will result in a significant reduction in the student's grade.

"Unexcused absences include oversleeping, unable to get a ride, sports practice or GAME (my emphasis). Let me know so I can contact your coach if needed."

I can understand all of them except for the Game. In my mind, a band concert can still go on with a child or two missing but a sports team can't play (and win) if a key player is missing.

Isn't school for building an interest in many subjects? This type of ultimatum will merely turn kids away from band.

 

[disney_mommy]

I bet the band director and the coach have had some issues over that in the past. I guess each child just has to decide which is more important to them if that situation arises.

 

[padams]

Those are the rules for band, orchestra, and chorus at DSs' school. I think they are pretty standard.

Performance is a major part of the grade and if you miss the performance, you can't get graded.

Also, school (academics including fine arts) comes before sports, even within the school (usually).

 

[golfgal]

I don't see anything wrong with missing a game, especially in 6th grade, for a band concert, a graded class in school. When I was in high school we always had one orchestra concert conflict with a basketball game, every year. Unless you were on the actual varsity squad you were not allowed to miss this concert (there was also a band concert the same night, same rule). Again, this was a GRADED class in school, not an after school sport. I don't see it as arrogance or anything even close.

 

[johnsontrio]

around here you have to choose which one you want to do... no way you could do a Varsity sport and band at least in the Fall...

 

[dejr_8]

Those are the rules for band, orchestra, and chorus at DSs' school. I think they are pretty standard.

Performance is a major part of the grade and if you miss the performance, you can't get graded.

Also, school (academics including fine arts) comes before sports, even within the school (usually).

But since the Concerts occur during afters school hours in my mind that makes it an extracurricular activity just like sports. If it is to be graded then hold it during regular school hours.

 

[Piecey]

Depending on the instrument, a missing band member actually would change things.

You wouldn't have been excused from a band performance at my school for a game either. People complained when it came time to choose sports/cheerleading or band but the band director wouldn't let them do both.

 

[Ceila]

It has always been my impression from stories I have heard that High School band directors tend to be arrogant or maybe snooty is a better word.

Well here is my first hand experience. My son is starting band in 6th grade and today we received the band handbook.

There is a section about missing concerts due to an unexcused absence. An unexcused absence from a concert will result in a significant reduction in the student's grade.

"Unexcused absences include oversleeping, unable to get a ride, sports practice or GAME (my emphasis). Let me know so I can contact your coach if needed."

I can understand all of them except for the Game. In my mind, a band concert can still go on with a child or two missing but a sports team can't play (and win) if a key player is missing.

Isn't school for building an interest in many subjects? This type of ultimatum will merely turn kids away from band.

One concert versus how many games? Plus band is a graded subject, whereas sports are not. It sounds very reasonable to me, and if someone would have a problem missing a game for a concert, then they know ahead of time that band may not be the best choice for them.

Also, your assertion that a missing musician would not affect the performance is incorrect. Off the top of my head I can think of three different instances where a missing student would have a negative effect: sometimes there are only one or two children who play a certain instrument, someone might have a solo, and in percussion there is often only one performer per instrument.

 

[tvguy]

It has always been my impression from stories I have heard that High School band directors tend to be arrogant or maybe snooty is a better word.

Well here is my first hand experience. My son is starting band in 6th grade and today we received the band handbook.

There is a section about missing concerts due to an unexcused absence. An unexcused absence from a concert will result in a significant reduction in the student's grade.

"Unexcused absences include oversleeping, unable to get a ride, sports practice or GAME (my emphasis). Let me know so I can contact your coach if needed."

I can understand all of them except for the Game. In my mind, a band concert can still go on with a child or two missing but a sports team can't play (and win) if a key player is missing.

Isn't school for building an interest in many subjects? This type of ultimatum will merely turn kids away from band.

You really have two issues here. Your son appears to be trying to do two things with conflicting schedules.
And as others have posted, sports teams have extra players, bands don't.

 

[Chelley00]

My brother is a band director, I have 2 teens who were/are in band, middle school concerts were graded as well.

Band directors are usually not arrogant. What they have are problems with students and parents who blow band concerts off as "it's not part of school" or "athletics are more important" or "I just didn't feel like going" or my favorite "I'm just taking band to get the fine arts credit out of the way". After they practice for months, and to have people not show up for a concert can totally change dynamics, sounds etc. Plus, directors put in tons of work researching music, teaching, helping with lessons, planning concerts and then to have people blow it off is upsetting.

Most band directors plan very hard to work around other school activities, including sports. I bet your band director is upset with kids who play recreational or travel sports and that's what cuts into their concert time

And whoever said to have them during school hours...who would show up? Part of a concert is the performance, and most parents work during the day, so who do you perform for? I'd be mad if my kids only band concerts were during the day and I couldn't go watch.

 

[dimimi]

But since the Concerts occur during afters school hours in my mind that makes it an extracurricular activity just like sports. If it is to be graded then hold it during regular school hours.

These rules are standard for our band too. I've never heard of band/orchestra that didn't have an evening performance. What sport does your son do that will conflict with the bvand concert? Hopefully you already know the date of the concert. For example, our city has 4 middle schools, lacrosse practice was cancelled on the night of a couple of the concerts because too many kids needed to attend the concert.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would not call that arrogant, just a requirement of the class. It does not say all absences, it says UNEXCUSED absences.

If you have a conflict you are not willing to work out then have your son get out of band.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yep, this is probably mostly about club sports. The odds are that the school coaches and the band director have coordinated their schedules where possible; it is the outside obligations that create the worst conflicts.

I can remember LOTS of fireworks in my Southern town over the question of holding practices on Wednesday nights. The coaches and band directors were livid about being told that they could not hold them, but Baptist parents had a tendency to go to the school board about that one, and since the Board was elected, the Baptist parents won. (In our case we practiced anyway, but the Baptist kids were excused.)

 

[Ceila]

Yep, this is probably mostly about club sports. The odds are that the school coaches and the band director have coordinated their schedules where possible; it is the outside obligations that create the worst conflicts.

I can remember LOTS of fireworks in my Southern town over the question of holding practices on Wednesday nights. The coaches and band directors were livid about being told that they could not hold them, but Baptist parents had a tendency to go to the school board about that one, and since the Board was elected, the Baptist parents won. (In our case we practiced anyway, but the Baptist kids were excused.)

Why couldn't they practice on Wednesday nights? Sunday is the sabbath.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Former Band geek here(technically bandfront-flags).

This is right in line with how my old high school used to work. The band members did band in the fall and then sports in spring or summer though most waited for actual summer sports. There is a TON of work that goes into it. Having been through 2 band camps I can tell you there is a space for every player and a design for the band based on what the director has chosen for the year. If 1 kid is absent it means spending most of pre-performance practice changing the line to accomodate it. That's an hour or 2 gone for a petty reason if the kid isn't sick. And though you may not know it now, when high school comes around you will find there are quite a few scholarship opportunities for musicians.

It is fun and requires at least as much,if not more, discipline as sports. The Director has it right. And the after school performances were ALWAYS part of the grade. Not extra-curricular just because its after school.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Why couldn't they practice on Wednesday nights? Sunday is the sabbath.

Not to answer your question, because I don't know the answer, but if you're Jewish then Sat. is the Sabbath. So i doubt that had anything to with it.

 

[MosMom]

I see a band as a team. When team members are missing, the band isn't playing at 100% either. It seems you're choosing sports as more important over band. That is fine if you feel that way but your child will pay the consequences for missing a concert due to a sporting event. I think that is fair. The band director works all year to prepare the children for the concerts (and competition in later years). This is important to the band director and your child's fellow band members. JUST as important as your child's team members whether you view it that way or not. Since band is a graded class, it seems you have a decision to make.

 

[Geoff_M]

We had a Band Director in our area put a family in a bad spot this summer when he announced, in June, a date change to summer band camp to be held in August. Previously scheduled personal or family summer vacations be darned.... Two sons in that family were set to go to the National Scout Jamboree in Virginia with the local Council contingent and, with the change, would miss the first two days of Band Camp. They were told if they missed those days their grades would be docked. After much back-and-forth between the parents and the Band Director, he agreed to let them miss the first day with no penalty. So the parents had to pick their two sons up in Virginia and drive them back to Michigan a day before the tour bus showed up to bring back the rest of the Scouts from our Council.

 

[EMom]

Why couldn't they practice on Wednesday nights? Sunday is the sabbath.

Clearly, you did not grow up in a Baptist town. Wednesday night is prayer meeting night. A big deal, especially in small Baptist towns. No school functions on Wednesday nights.

 

[Pigeon]

Musical performing groups are a "team sport." It's no more important for every athlete to show up than it is for every musician to show up.

The problem is that every single director of every single children's organization thinks their activity is the most important thing in the universe.

As a parent of a child with a number of talents and interests, it drives me crazy. We don't schedule things where there will be an obvious conflict, but sometimes things happen. You usually don't have the entire season's schedule for all the activities when the time comes to sign up. So, despite your best efforts, sometimes my daughter's orchestra concert is scheduled at the same time as an athletic event.

It would be nice if the directors didn't act as if civilization as we know it would come to a screaming halt if somebody has a conflict.

When my kid was in 6th grade, two of the less mentally stable teachers in the school decided to have a school musical. They summoned all the parents to an evening meeting on very short notice. They said that if the kid wanted to be in the musical, he or she could not miss a single rehearsal for any reason. If you needed to take your kid to the doctor, that was no excuse (I guess it's better if they missed school time), no matter how far ahead medical appointments were already scheduled out.

One of the teachers then said how she knew she'd have a hard time getting boys to participate, but that if they were interested, they should take the rehearsal schedule to the coach and tell the coach to rearrange games around the teacher's play.

The two of them were such tyrants that I told dd she couldn't be in the musical because it conflicted with her violin lessons. She was sad, but she understood.

About three weeks before the play the teacher called me at work to see if dd could take a part as somebody quit. I told her dd could, but she would be missing rehearsal every Tuesday for her violin lesson. Oddly enough, she thought dd could manage anyway.