The Down Time of the Year?

"So Mr. Brady, I guess you guys are just looking for stuff to do this time of the year with football being over. I bet you can't wait for something to do." These kind of statements make me want to scream or at least set something on fire...in the hall...no wait...I can't do that! There is plently going on for sure. Here is a little break down of the so called down season:

Saturday, January 20th - Region Band auditions - I have to judge
Saturday, January 27th - All-State Band auditions - I have to judge
Thursday - Saturday, February 8-10 - SCBDA Inservice conference - I have to go
Friday, February 16 - USC Band Clinic - I will go
Friday and Saturday, February 23 and 24 - Region Band Clinic - I have to go
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 9-11 - All State Band Clinic - I have to go

And yes I will still have time to do a few clinics myself in all of this. Some down time!

P.S. I am, as always, working on the show for next year. You didn't think I could just go out and buy one did you or let somebody else do one for me? NEVER!!!!!!!!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...It's All Small Stuff!

The statement above is from some motivational book about business. A few years ago these kind of books were all the rage, and the writers of them would go out and do seminars and make lots of money. Now I am no motivational speaker or even an inspirational figure. I am just a band director. Just look at the name of the blog! See, a band director! But lately myself and the band have been working on small stuff. Today we worked on about 16 measures for about an hour. I don't think the poor percussion section got to play a note. There day will come though. We worked on sensitive entrances and tuning minor chords. Some of the students may think this is a bad sign. We didn't even get though the first section of the piece. This is not a bad sign. It means they are finally getting some of the big stuff like tone, rhythmic accuracy, and technique. If we are working on the little stuff, something good is happening. When all the small stuff comes together, then we can truly make music. And making music is the true end goal is all of this.

Two Peas in a Pod

So this weekend I have to judge the final auditions for all state band at Lexington High School. I have done this for about 15 years but this year marks an anniversary. 10 years ago this Saturday I came to Columbia to judge all state band and decided to stay with a friend so I wouldn't have to drive back to Lancaster where I was living and teaching at the time. I also figured it was a good excuse to go out and have some fun. Heck I was young then! So a couple of my friends and myself ventured out for a night of fun. Little did I know that fate had already set things in to motion for me. We were done with our fun at about 1:00 a.m. in the morning and were on our way home when I insisted we stop at one more place. Lucky we did. I met my wife that night. It was just a chance meeting of two people and we have been two peas in a pod every since. Some people say they don't believe in fate but I do. I now happy judge all state every year.

Dealing with Pressure

No matter what job you have or task at hand you are dealing with, you will have pressure on you from outside sources that will interfere with you being able to accomplish what you need to. There are a variety of ways to deal with this pressure. Some people run away from it. This just prolongs the anxiety of dealing with the problem because it will come back. Some people confront it. This too can be problematic in that it can create more pressure. Some people ignore it. This can cause a whole series of other problems such as health related issues.

I think that perhaps to best way to deal with pressure is to know it is coming and to put yourself in a position to not only anticipate its arrival but also to take steps to minimize its affects on you. I use the metaphor of band is life as an example of this. Let's use region band auditions as a case study.

Students are required to register for this event 2 months before it occurs. They are then give all the materials neccessary for them to audition. What they do between that time and the actual audition is pretty much up to them. Some ask me for help and start working immediately. Some put it off until Christmas. Some wait until the week before the audition to really start working. And still others just quit and don't audition. For some students this is the first time they have actually had to deal with pressure from an outside source to meet a personal goal. I think it is a good lesson for them because things don't get any easier as they grow older and have families and careers of the their own.

Band is Life! Think about that one for a moment.

What...No Trophies?

There were no new trophies in the band room this morning, but things that were accomplished this weekend were certainly leaps toward future successes of the Swansea band program. This weekend 26 students auditioned for region band. 13 were accepted and 5 were asked to audition again next Saturday for all state band. That means that 1/4 of the Swansea Symphonic Band is a region band member! and that half of the students that actually take the region band audition make it. At the middle school, 12 students were accepted to the region band and 3 were asked back to try for all state. Here is the break down at the high school:

Clinic Level Band (9th and 10th grade students)

1 - flute - callback
2 - clarinets
1 - contra bass clarinet - callback
1 - alto saxophone
1 - horn - callback
1 - trombone
1 - tuba

Senior Lever Band (11th and 12th grade students)

3 - clarinets - 1 callback
1- bass clarinet
1 - trumpet - callback

I am very proud of all of the students that took the audition even the ones that did get what they wanted. They too have made the Swansea band better.

I would like to thank my band booster president for riding the bus and taking responsibility for the students this weekend. I was judging so I could not be in charge of them. It is certainly a great feeling for me to know that I have great people like that that I can rely on to help when it is needed.

Region Band Auditions

The students have region band auditions tomorrow. This is what some of them have been working toward for months and some even longer. This is the equivalent of lower state marching championships but on an individual level. Each student will play as many as 12 major scales, perform a very difficult solo, a chromatic scales, sightread two different musical examples, and define terms for judges to receive a score. There are no second chances. For many of the students this is their chance to receive some attention from colleges to have chance for music scholarships. For all it is a chance to achieve and shine on an individual level in an activity that is so often viewed as only a group activity from the public. If they score well high enough, they will be asked to audition again next weekend for the South Carolina All-State Band. To me this is one of the most important events we participate in all year. These students have made the choice to go above and beyond the requirements to make the entire band perform at a high level. Even the students the miss the goal of being earning a spot in region or all state band have my respect for trying. I wish them all the best of luck tomorrow and remember if you have prepared properly...Leave the nervousness at home because you have already won!

It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

Ice, Ice Baby!

We are on a two hour delay today due to little bit of ice. It doesn't seem too bad so that is good. The problem with missing a whole day due to winter weather is that you have to make them up. Usually those make up days come out of Spring Break when the weather is nice. So hopefully everybody will be careful and things will be back to normal soon. I bet the grocery stores are out of bread and milk. It is always amazing to me that people will run out at the mention of winter weather and buy more bread and milk than they would normally eat in two weeks.

A Growing Trend

The numbers are out. Here are some school count numbers, as best I can tell, for comparison.

2005 - White Knoll High School - 1710 students
2006 - White Knoll High School - 1787 students

2005 - Lexington High School - 2306 students
2006 - Lexington High School - 2358 students

2005 - Swansea High School - 954 students
2006 - Swansea High School - 1010 students

Our county is growing...Quickly. These numbers were taken from the South Carolina Department of Education website for the 45th day of school count and may have some adjustments made to them but they show the trend. Lexington County is growing. Our home value has increased by about 50% over the course of only 5 years! There are two new schools being built on either side of our neighborhood. One is a middle school and one is an elementary school. It is only a matter of time until Lexington county will need a new high school too. The growth is incredible but I do hope that the powers that be have a plan in place for traffic and tax control.

Personally, I like living in an expanding area. I welcome the new things that it will bring. It seems that things are and will continue to move out our way. Change is coming...Fast!

Dressing for Success - Everybody's Success

I have been teaching for about 15 years now and I have noticed something about the attire of teachers. In general, it stinks! I consistently see teachers wearing jeans and untucked shirts. I have even seen female teachers wearing sweatsuits (that's what I can them anyway). Personally, I wear a tie to work about everyday except Friday but even on Friday I wear nice pants and a collared shirt. Sometimes a student will ask me if I am required to wear a tie and why if I have to wear one why don't the other teachers. Well the answer is simple. I think that all teachers should dress like professionals. It is no wonder that some people have a hard time thinking of teachers as professionals with some of their dressing habits.

Now I do have some background as to why I dress up for work and wear a tie. When I first started teaching I was so young that I often was asked for my hall pass! So I figured the best why to fix this was to dress up. As I think back to my high school days, the teachers I respected most dressed professionally. I don't think that was just a coincidence. I feel that when a student enters a class and is greeted by a well dressed professional it sets the tone to those students that the task on hand is important.

More along these lines, I wear a suit when I take my band to competition. I do this more for me than anybody else. It puts me in the mood of excellence. There are not too many of us band directors left that do this anymore. I tell the students they have their uniform to wear on competition days and I have mine.

Certainly there are times when teachers should not be required to wear a tie or a suit such as coaching duties, marching band rehearsals, and the industrial arts but I think in a classroom setting this is just one little thing that can help raise the image of the profession of teaching and also the attitude of learning to the students.

Part-Time Jobs

I hear students talking a lot about part-time jobs. My usual response is that their job is to be the best student they can be because they certainly have the rest of their life’s to work. Well with that be said, I have very rarely been without a job of some sort. Here is a look at my job history.

My first paid job was that of a camp councilor at the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek. I watched over about 12 boys that were between 10-12 years old. It was pretty fun and we played outdoor games and stuff like that. I was paid minimum wage. I learned a lot at this job and it was just for the summer so it was fine. My next job was that of a clothes salesman. I am not making this up. I worked part-time at Fashion Flair. It was an Izod factory outlet. I got the job by doing inventory for them with my sister one Saturday and asked if they needed any help in the store and they hired me. I was the only male that worked in the entire store so there was always something to do. I learned some very important things early in this job. There were some other workers that had been caught stealing some clothes by putting them in the garbage and then picking them up later. They were caught, fired, and arrested. I never really understood why they did this and certainly did not seem worth it to me. My next job was really kind of strange. I was “Settler Boy”. Ok get ready for this one. I was one of the people that dressed in authentic clothes in the replica settler village at Charlestown Landing State Park in Charleston. I wore settler clothes and made fires, candles, and wooden spoons. It was fun and I got paid for it. It was cool until my friends started showing up. Not really cool to be a junior in high school and wear knickers to work! Well my brother-in-law was the assistant curator in the zoo at the park, so when I told him I was going to look for another job he suggested that I apply to work in the zoo. So I did and I got a job in the zoo. This was a really neat job. I got to feed the animals like bears, wolves, and pumas. I also had to clean up after them but it was ok. We worked really hard because we could not use power tool to maintain the natural habitats the animal lived in so we had to use hand tools. Yep, hands tools in the summer in Charleston. I worked in the zoo for three summers. I even helped rebuild it after the storm Hugo. A lot of my work is still there I am sure. While in college I worked at an airplane propeller factory in Rock Hill named Hamilton Standard. I package propeller props for shipment. This was ok until I got better than the other guy that had worked there for several years and he didn’t like that so it became pretty unbearable so I left. I also worked at Robert Bosch in Charleston as a quality assurance person. I spent all day looking through a magnifying glass at little tiny O rings that go on fuel injectors. I was looking for flaws and when I found on I would bag it up and write the number of which lot it came from and send it to the lab. This job was crazy boring but it paid well and I did a good job...Maybe too well. Some days I would go in at 5:00 a.m. and stay until 11:00 p.m. I made crazy over time money. They even wanted me to stay on and become a permanent employee but I declined. Who know where that could have led? After I received my master’s degree I got a job building boat docks and lifts on Lake Norman and Lake Wylie. This was hard work and I will never forget it. I still like to build things.

These were all of my strange jobs that do not include the band world. Through out all of this time, I was always involved with band and music. I may elaborate on that at a later day, but I can honestly say that I learned something important from each of my other odd jobs.

Yearly School Schedules

Here is another controversial topic for the Blog. I know that’s a big surprise! Yearly school schedules have been a heated topic for years. Here is a little background on the subject. The normal schedule used to be that school started the Tuesday after Labor Day and ended around the first week in June. Why? Well traditionally this was harvest time. Yes, I said harvest time. You know crops and stuff. So this was the schedule so the children could help on the farm during the growing season of summer. Well this schedule just kind of become the normal and stuck with us for years. Even when I was in high school we usually started the third Monday in August and got out for summer on the first Friday of June. Sometime about 7 years ago South Carolina began starting school earlier in August. We started on August the 7th this year and we still only get out on the last Friday in May. Why? Well here is why. Standardized testing takes place near the end of May so school districts decided that it would good to get in a little bit more time to get the students ready for the test. So the answer was to start earlier and earlier. This also allows the fall semester to end in high schools on a 4X4 block schedule before the winter break. So why don’t we get out three weeks earlier than we use to if we start three weeks earlier? The reason is the end of school is dictated by the standardized tests. So now we get a lot more holidays than we use too because the school year is still 190 days of classes. Here is a problem with this schedule. South Carolina’s main industry is tourism on the coast. The problem is that most of the cheap work force on the coast is high school students. So with the students going back to school at the beginning of August and the tourist season lasting until Labor Day, the tourist industry was suffering because they could not find enough people willing to work for minimum wage and they were losing money. So the solution...the most powerful political figures in South Carolina are from the coast so they passed a bill that would not allow any school district to start school before the third Monday in August. So again cheap child labor is influencing the school calendar. How can districts get around this? Year around school! In this schedule, the students get about a 2.5 week break every 9 weeks with one break that last a little longer. Educationally it makes good sense. The students have less of a chance to forget what they have learned over the long summer break. So what’s the problem? Here is a big word that has an influence over everything in education...TRADITION! What about summer family vacations? What about football? What about marching band? I am afraid that year around school may just be getting started. I would look for it to be a widely used schedule in the near future. Here is one thing for sure. You should at least have options and be prepared for change because it is coming!

Monday! Yeah!

Yeah because there won't be another one at work for 2 weeks. We are out next Monday. This was a long one. This weekend flew by is seems. I did accomplish a few things though. I put a new lock and deadbolt on the front door. I also installed a new faucet and light fixture in my wife's bathroom. I really don't mind doing stuff like this except I am just always afraid I am going to mess it up. The weather was pretty bad so I didn't get to go fishing but spring really isn't too far away. The next few months at work are always the longest but I am pretty happy with the results of my spring classes so far so that may help things be more tolerable.

Movie Reviews

Yes the ever eclectic montage of my blog will get even more diverse with the inclusion of some movie reviews. My wife and I watch tons of movies so I will be passing along some of my opinions (I know that's a big surprise that I would have opinions about stuff!) along to you. So here they go:

V for Vendetta - Rated R - There is some blood in the fight scenes and some of the actual content is pretty intense.

I loved this movie! If you like comic book type movies than this one is for you. It has a really cool story and the fight scenes are great. The acting is also super. I really don't know why this movie has not received more attention. It came out a little bit ago but watch it. I give it 4 stars!

My Super Ex-Girlfriend - Rated PG-13 - This one really is PG-13. Might want the kids not to watch this one for a few scenes.

This movie was ok. I like Uma Thurmond so that helped but this was far from her best. The story is just alright and it does seem to drag on a bit. If you saw the trailers, you about saw the movie. I give it 2 stars.

Snakes on a Plane - Rated R - It is rated R and it deserves due to the language and one racy scene.

This movie was hilarious, but I don't think that was the intension. I am not real sure why Samuel Jackson made this movie unless he just needed to buy a new couch or something. If you don't like snakes, don't watch this one although I am pretty sure there is not one real snake in it (all computer animation). The story stinks. The acting is terrible and the effects are too. Samuel does let loose with some pretty funny one liners. I give it 1.5 stars and that is only because it was so bad it was funny.

That is all for now. Have a great Sunday and you can always suggest some movies for me to watch.

What is Music Theory?

I teach a class this semester called Music Theory. This is my second year teaching the class and I really like it. Here is what is odd. Last year I only had 6 students in the class and this year I only have 4. So what is this thing? Music theory is basically how music is constructed at its rudimentary levels. These students will learn why musical compositions are put together the way they are. They will also learn how to write simple 4 voice compositions that follow all the standard rules. Rules? Yes, there are rules as to how to write music in a theoretical fashion. You must know the rules in order to break them. Take Picasso for instance. His early paintings were so detailed they resembled photographs but people remember him for his abstract cubist paintings. He learned the very basics of painting in order to have an understanding of how to expand on them. Music theory is much the same way. Music theory is a passion of mine. I took a class very similar to the one I teach in high school myself. There were 3 people in my class. In college, I never scored below a 100 on any music theory test...EVER! I have taken many lessons from some pretty importantly composers in composition as well and have written may works myself. I also enjoy breaking a composition down into it basic components and discovering why things were written as they were. I also deeply enjoy teaching this subject. I open this class to anybody that has a passion for music. I have gotten a few "rock" guitar players in this class and I feel like for some of them this may the first time they have actually enjoyed going to school and studying.

I asked my boss if it was alright to teach a class with only 4 people in it and he told me at least somebody was willing to teach it so that was fine with him. We are the only school in Lexington county to teach it as far as I know.

Music majors in college are required to take at 5 semesters of music theory. I took 8! It is probably the most significant reason students change their major from music in college. I hope that my class helps those that wish to study music in college and maybe help some students to discover that their is more to school than just reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The First Day Back

So today was the first day back to school for the students. It was pretty good. The school in which I work is on a 4 X 4 block schedule. This means that the students go to 4 90 minute class each semester and then change classes at the semester break and have totally different ones for that semester. No problem right? Well this causes some problems in the band world. In the Fall, I teach colorguard class, marching percussion class, and marching winds class. I do this to allow us to be competitive in the marching band season in the fall. It obviously worked. In the spring, I teach music theory (small class only 4 students right now), Concert Band, and Symphonic Band. The problem is that some students have trouble being able to schedule 2 band classes to allow them to have band continuously throughout the school year. This is a band thing. But most of the students are able to schedule band for both semesters and this is good. With 90 minutes of class we are able to get a lot of thing accomplished that would be otherwise impossible had we only met for 45 minutes.

Why did school have to change to a different schedule? When I was in high school you just went to 6 different class for one hour each. It seemed to work well. The reason is that graduation requirements changes. The state legislature added 4 more required credits to be granted a high school diploma to require a total of 24 units to receive a diploma. That meant that the high school had to add more opportunities to gain credits. You do the math. 4 classes times 2 semesters times 4 years of high school equals 32 opportunities to receive 24 credits. This creates yet another problem.

Juniors and Seniors often have reached most of their required credits by the second semester of their third year of high school. Now what do they do? Well some schools let them go home early! I know a students that actually is released from school (legally!) at 11:30 a.m.! How is that for training them to go forth in the real world? It is call early dismissal or work release (sounds like prison to me!) but it is all the same. One time I filled out all the paper work for early release and turned in like I was a student. I almost made it too until they figured out who I was.

What is the point to all this?...Things ain't what they use to be! Educators today face new problems with every turn of events. Something must be done to make our profession a not only desirable venture but also an honorable one.

P.S. To any of the students reading this, congratulations on a great first day back. It was nice to see you all again. Believe it or not...I missed you!

Teacher Quality

The number one factor of a student’s performance is the quality of teacher that is in the classroom with that student. This is a proven fact. Good teachers produce good results even with students that come from less than ideal situations. So why don’t school and school districts just hire better teachers to improve the results of their students? Well here is where some pretty large problems occur. First is teacher pay. This is the most important factor in a school district attracting good teachers. Good teachers want to be paid well. Why shouldn’t they? All teachers have at least a 4 years college degree and most have more. The problem is that in most school districts all teachers are paid the same amount according to the level of education they have obtained and by how much experience they have (number of years spent teaching). So what is the reward for teacher A to do a good job when teacher B is paid the same thing to a less than adequate job? There is no reward or incentive for teacher A to continue to excel so teacher A either learns this and begins to drop off in performance or, now here is an insider secret, becomes an administrator. Good teachers are often encouraged to become administrators. Yes, school districts need good administrators but not at the expense of losing good teachers. Why do teachers want to be administrators? Simple, more pay and even sometimes less time spent at school.

Also, less and less people are looking at the profession of teaching as a valid career. Why? Because they can earn more by doing other things in the private sector. What will break this cycle? Perhaps one day when a new school is built and there are not even enough applications from people to fill the openings. Truly nobody goes into the teaching profession with dreams of getting rich, but there certainly must be something done to attract good people into the teaching profession and to keep the good ones in the profession. With out some serious changes, the teaching profession will continue to draw in and retain mediocre teachers and the good ones will continue to find other careers in which they are not only rewarded with proper compensation but also with the acknowledgement and respect they deserve.

Bobby Knight

Last night a true milestone in sports took place. Bobby Knight became the most winning coach in NCAA Division 1 basketball with 880 wins. Now I don't really follow college basketball or any basketball for that matter but I do follow Coach Knight. You may only hear him about when he does something outlandish like throwing a chair across the court during a game or refusing to be degraded by a reporter. I admire him for the way he has done it. His way! Coach Knight was fired from Indiana about 5 years ago. He built the entire sports program at Indiana and he expected and demanded respect for that. Apparent the university administration did not like him to except so much and after a series of incidences he was fired. Many people would have changed their style and approach after that but not Coach Knight. He has a bad temper and demands and expects perfection from those around him. It gets him in trouble. It also is what got him to the place he is now. He is a legend in sports. He has won three NCAA titles and who knows what the future holds for him. I think it was a shame and disgrace that Indiana University did not have at least a representative at the game last night. I really don't think Coach Knight cared though!

Here some of the highlights of his career:

Earned his 800th victory on February 5, 2003 following Texas Tech's 75-49 victory over Nebraska in Lubbock.
At the time of his 800th victory, Knight had compiled an 800-303 record
Became Army head coach at 24, earning the distinction of becoming the youngest varsity coach in major college history
His Army teams finished 102-50
His Army teams led nation in team defense for three consecutive years
Army participated in four NIT tournaments in five seasons (1966, 1968-70)
His Indiana teams won 11 Big Ten Conference titles (1973-76, 1980-81, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993) and participated in five Final Fours (1973, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1992)
Had a 32-0 undefeated season (1976)
NCAA Championship (1976, 1981,1987)
NIT Championship (1979)
National Coach of the Year (1975, 1976, 1987, 1989)
Big Ten Coach of the Year (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981)
Coached Pan American team to gold medal (1979)
In 1984, he became one of only four coaches in basketball history to win an NCAA championship, NIT championship and an Olympic gold medal
One of only two coaches to both play on and coach national championship teams (the other is Dean Smith)
Youngest coach to reach 200, 300 and 400 wins
Sixteen of his former assistant coaches have become head coaches at the collegiate level
Has conducted clinics in Spain, China, Japan, East Asia, Europe, South America, Canada and Finland

New Years Resolutions

Here are a few of mine:

1. Save more money.

2. Try to worry more about the people that appreciate my offers of help and less of those that don't seem to care.

3. Eat better. I am not getting any younger.

4. Catch at least 3 stripers over 20 pounds.

5. Continue to learn new things and not be afraid to try new things.