WSUguy

YES, MARION'S PIZZA! You won't be disappointed. FYI, they only take cash. NO CREDIT CARDS, No Checks, JUST CASH. Trust me... :>)

Hmm...that all sounds a little crazy... The only thing I can think about the whole Fairborn and Interplay topic is perhaps two weeks later the judges thought that Fairborn had reached it's growth potential, and in the past two weeks Interplay A has made tremendous strides?? Again, my opinion only.. I honestly haven't even seen any of them. But, you're right something doesn't add up and although I believe we tend to be rewarded more in our own circuits than on the national scene, it would be nice to have a clear picture of what "side of the planet" our guards will be on when they go to a regional; rather than being "fooled" only to realize not only were we NOT on the ride side of the planet, we WERE NO WHERE NEAR being on the planet in the first place... so to speak! I feel your frustration as a group of my own is experiencing this once again this year. Oh well...two weeks left? LET'S GET CLEAN ! :>P

I think this is a great topic to discuss! Here's my opinion (for what it's worth). I can certain relate to where Guard Politician is coming from. Things seem to not "make sense" this year when talking about scores and evaluating other guards. But, as I step back, I begin to realize what MAY BE the "problem". For the past couple of years most guards in A and Open have been promoted to the next class once they've entered finals. I think it has been a great thing for so many of us! Some of us that had never made finals felt as if we had been finally recognized, yet the following year seem to struggle as we tried something harder. But, there's nothing wrong with that (as I have learned now). Struggling isn't a sign of weakness but a sign of growth, you put that together on a wider scale and look how much guards have grown in the last couple of years ago at WGI Look at IW... Old guards have faded, returned and then faded again and new names have appeared faced with similar circumstances. My point being, I think that a new era of colorguard has started to evolve. The younger designers and techs are now stepping forward after having marched and are beginning to understand how hard it is to put a show out on the floor, and to receive the recognition that they feel they deserve. Again, it has been an extremely rewarding time for so many of us who made SA, and then promoted to Open. As well as a headache now, as we learn how become better writers as well teachers by teaching our kids to be more humble. There is a new standard in Scholastic "A" that has emerged; along with "Open" (I believe). So new that what some people might see as a lack of talent or creativity is just something we have never seen before in these classes.............GROWTH!! I can only imagine what some were saying about us as we first ventured in to Scholastic A finals. The same for Open class finals. It appears that so many of us are struggling this year when compared to years past. At first, I would have traded it all in for a spot in (possibly) Scholastic A Finals this year; just so I didn't have to see "my kids" experience... I'm sure some of you can relate... what they identify as "defeat" and "embarrassment"? Let's not forget to be great teachers and teach our kids that struggling is ok. It builds character, it builds knowledge....more importantly it builds COURAGE. (That's it..my opinion...for what its worth).

AMEN!! A-class should not be compared to the NCLB act. In fact, I'd be willing to say that if the NCLB Act was set up to run and teach kids like the A-Class sheets are, then no one would be trying to get rid of it <NCLB>

What's the story??? ha ha ha I love this....I have no hair what else is there to say? (Did I actually just get mentioned on CGP?) Am I famous now??? ha ha ha ha ha ha