bullethead Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hee hee! I know I don't teach like that....AT ALL. My students definitely know when I am on the podium or anywhere in front of the band, it's ALL business.I've had my share of parents complaining about being "mean" to the kids. Well, it IS an elective, and there are plenty of other places at the school where they can go to "feel good". That being said, there are a lot of parents who appreciate a teacher calling it like it is. Most of these kids were raised by female teachers through grade school, and haven't encountered a strong male who will tell them when they are wrong. Thank GOD I had Thom Hannum and Tom Aungst as instructors! If any of you here reading have worked with them, you know what I mean! Apoch, you're in Portland, yes? I think it might be an Oregon thing, being a recent transplant here from So Cal. Fear not, it's not like that in most places. Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigscontrachik05 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 This is an interesting conversation. I am seeing this a lot around me as my friends start having kids (I am 29). Most kids today I raised like they are rare and precious diamonds and god forbid they get upset for not having what they want or getting told they could fail at something. They get a ceremony for graduating first grade! Like learning how to finger paint and count to 10 is a freaking lifetime achievement! I agree that some teachers in drum corps are too tough and disrespectful, and the kids don't need to be treated like dirt, but treating them like glass isn't helping them either. There has to be a balance between the 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 This is an interesting conversation.I am seeing this a lot around me as my friends start having kids (I am 29). Most kids today I raised like they are rare and precious diamonds and god forbid they get upset for not having what they want or getting told they could fail at something. They get a ceremony for graduating first grade! Like learning how to finger paint and count to 10 is a freaking lifetime achievement! Well, at age 5 or 6, maybe it IS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigscontrachik05 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Well, at age 5 or 6, maybe it IS. Well, yeah. I actually thought of that myself while writing my previous post. But my point really was that kids are rewarded for the smallest things these days. Making a kid feel special for learning how to count (for example) is just silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullethead Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Well, yeah. I actually thought of that myself while writing my previous post. But my point really was that kids are rewarded for the smallest things these days. Making a kid feel special for learning how to count (for example) is just silly. All relative for sure....BUT I the point of issue here is that kids should not grow up without constructive criticism. When activities are structured in such a manner that there are no winners (or worse yet, EVERYBODY is a winner), it contributes/causes an inflated sense of entitlement which can be difficult to squelch later on. Parents need to realize that by protecting their little darlings from every possible bit of a life challenge, they are only reducing the tools that they will be armed with when they are on their own later in life. School and childhood should ideally be training for adulthood, not protection from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigscontrachik05 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 All relative for sure....BUT I the point of issue here is that kids should not grow up without constructive criticism. When activities are structured in such a manner that there are no winners (or worse yet, EVERYBODY is a winner), it contributes/causes an inflated sense of entitlement which can be difficult to squelch later on. Parents need to realize that by protecting their little darlings from every possible bit of a life challenge, they are only reducing the tools that they will be armed with when they are on their own later in life. School and childhood should ideally be training for adulthood, not protection from it. I completely agree with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Kingsmen Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 All relative for sure....BUT I the point of issue here is that kids should not grow up without constructive criticism. When activities are structured in such a manner that there are no winners (or worse yet, EVERYBODY is a winner), it contributes/causes an inflated sense of entitlement which can be difficult to squelch later on. Parents need to realize that by protecting their little darlings from every possible bit of a life challenge, they are only reducing the tools that they will be armed with when they are on their own later in life. School and childhood should ideally be training for adulthood, not protection from it. My husband and I talk about this all the time. Being an 'older' parent to a middle schooler, I am outraged by how coddled kids are these days. Since my divorce, my daughter has begun to realize how spoiled she is by her father, aunt and grandmother. She is a smart girl and listens when Mike and I talk about how kids are handled with kid gloves and rarely allowed to fail at anything. So many people are afraid that they will damage their 'self-esteem' thatt don't realize how entitled these kids think they are. They expect everything to be handed to them without having to work or it. What an eye opener it will be when they are released into the real world and have to fend for themselves!! Fortunately, the corps practices I have seen are not like what was described above. We talked to the winter guard we teach about how drum corps practice is. Since they loved SCV's winter guard last year, we use them as an example. I'm encouraging them to check out SCV this weekend, when they're in town, to see how they practice. My daughter will be there as we will be cooking for them this weekend, so she'll get to see how a real drum corps practices. She is just learning to spin flag, so this will be an eye opener for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byline Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 (edited) I always find these types of conversations interesting. Have you all noticed that all of the parents and teachers, etc. that are treating kids these days like glass are of the age that grew up during the times where kids weren't treated like that? I've never really understood that. You'd think that if they were raised that way, they'd see nothing wrong with it. Actually, I can see a fair bit of rebellion against what went before. I'm not saying that's right, but every generation thinks it can do better than the one before. And, in some ways, we do improve and make progress, but in other ways, if it's a different approach, then there's a learning curve that goes along with that. Which means that sometimes it's two steps forward, three steps back. I worked for a band director who was a strict disciplinarian and told me I was too "nice" to my guards. He may have been right, but I felt like our personalities complemented one another. I wasn't the kids' best friend, and I certainly let them know when they made mistakes or were screwing up in other ways. Nowadays I'd probably be considered a tyrant, LOL! Edited July 7, 2008 by byline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Fortunately, the corps practices I have seen are not like what was described above. Heck, the MB I work with is not like that. Our kids know when they screw up, and they are often harder on themselves than we as staff are. We do operate on a much more casual approach to rehearsing than a more military approach. In my Garfield days we were always treated pretty well by staff. I don't recall all THAT much yelling. People like Bobby Hoffman, George Tuthill, Frank Dorittie, Don Angelica.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sday88 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Actually, I can see a fair bit of rebellion against what went before. I'm not saying that's right, but every generation thinks it can do better than the one before. And, in some ways, we do improve and make progress, but in other ways, if it's a different approach, then there's a learning curve that goes along with that. Which means that sometimes it's two steps forward, three steps back.I worked for a band director who was a strict disciplinarian and told me I was too "nice" to my guards. He may have been right, but I felt like our personalities complemented one another. I wasn't the kids' best friend, and I certainly let them know when they made mistakes or were screwing up in other ways. Nowadays I'd probably be considered a tyrant, LOL! Kinda what I'm saying is... For example: I grew up watching Bugs Bunny cartoons, and so did everyone else around my age. Well, now all of those people my age are pushing for Bugs Bunny cartoons to not be shown becasue of the violence. Why was it okay for them to watch Bugs Bunny, but now all of a sudden it's too violent for their kids? Or, in direct relation to the topic, while we were growing up we didn't need to be coddled and given blue ribbons at everything we did, etc., but now that those kids are adults, they feel the need to coddle and are afraid to just let the kids come in last place and not get an award just for being there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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