Lilac Dragoon Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Actually 22 sounds pretty fair, considering that you may have a fair amount of volunteer instructors cutting their teeth on the activity and possibly not touring while they meet their own educational or life obligations. I certainly never thought of staffing a corps in regards to a student to teacher ratio because of the specialization. (definitely in support staff you do im sure) I was just penciling down my luxury staff for a corps sized 60-80 and I got to that number pretty fast and actually realized i was a little short handed. 1 Visual Supervisor 1 Guard Supervisor 3 Guard Techs 5 Marching Techs 1 Brass Supervisor 4 Brass Techs 1 Percussion Supervisor 4 Battery Techs 2 Front Ensemble Techs And this is before I get into any kind of Ensemble Co-ordinator RUNNING the rehearsal. And I'll weigh in on the coddling issue. These days you also have to behave as if there's a potential sponsor watching your every move, I've seen too many relationships broken because (among other things) an instructor didn't have a sense of "time and place" or respect for the members. Lost rehearsal space, lost community support, lost members, lost rehearsal time. I just wouldn't be so fast to knock it. Wouldn't you rather have a story spread like wildfire online about the positive efforts of a caption head instead of a corps that got treated like crap all summer, didn't eat well, and had a lot of hardship just because "well WE had hardship back in the day" I'm right with you on the "every-kid-gets-a-trophy" thing. Heck I just attended a graduation ceremony for my pre-schooler! It was all the things I was afraid it would be: long, speechy, over=the-top. But I realized later that it was a way for the staff who had known many of these kids since birth, to say farewell. And if it teaches the kids a little solemnity (which it did) then it was worth it and a nice moment to have. Just another perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A27Lancer Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Been waiting for this topic for a long time. I don't have kids, so I'm talking about my own experiences here. No, there should be no blue ribbons for having a T-ball game at age 5. Every soccer game is a tie. When I marched, you came in first, second or ninth. I was 8 when I started marching. Kids expect a reward for every tiny accomplishment, and believe me, that will carry on into adulthood when reality strikes that they aren't the best golfer in the foursome, the best at history in ninth grade, etc. It's sickening the way kids today are coddled and rewarded for every little thing. My best friend bought his daughter a "Coach" handbag for reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"!!!! The child is eleven years old. SHEESH!!!!! Rewards should be equal to achievement. I told my friend he should have rewarded his daughter with a trip to the ice cream parlor - NOT a $250 adult handbag to carry around her Jonas Brothers pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casaba Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 My best friend bought his daughter a "Coach" handbag for reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"!!!! The child is eleven years old. SHEESH!!!!! Rewards should be equal to achievement. I told my friend he should have rewarded his daughter with a trip to the ice cream parlor - NOT a $250 adult handbag to carry around her Jonas Brothers pictures. Your best friend needs a kick in the a__.....that isn't typical of all parents, that I can assure you. My daughter could write a new series about Narnia (which I happen to love btw) and I still wouldn't buy her a friggin $250 purse! But thats why i'm a guy I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickCogley Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Wow, yeah, that experience cited by the OP is a bit too much, eh? I'm lucky my wife hates undue coddling - she's strict with our girls, and it's good to hear them talk about some really inane stuff that goes on at school. Japan's pretty high-pressure anyway with cram school and so on, but lately Japan has a popular phrase "monster parents" which is used to describe the brain-dead folk who baby their kids, complain about everything and threaten to sue at the drop of a hat. I was PTA chair for two years, so I have some "fond" memories of that ilk. Cheers, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickCogley Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Been waiting for this topic for a long time. I don't have kids, so I'm talking about my own experiences here. No, there should be no blue ribbons for having a T-ball game at age 5. Every soccer game is a tie. When I marched, you came in first, second or ninth. I was 8 when I started marching. Kids expect a reward for every tiny accomplishment, and believe me, that will carry on into adulthood when reality strikes that they aren't the best golfer in the foursome, the best at history in ninth grade, etc. It's sickening the way kids today are coddled and rewarded for every little thing. My best friend bought his daughter a "Coach" handbag for reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"!!!! The child is eleven years old. SHEESH!!!!! Rewards should be equal to achievement. I told my friend he should have rewarded his daughter with a trip to the ice cream parlor - NOT a $250 adult handbag to carry around her Jonas Brothers pictures. SHEESH is right! Talk about setting a bad precedent. The young lady goes to work some day, and expects a bonus every time she reads a report... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoch003 Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 I assure you all. What I observed is totally true. I found it completely foreign to my way of drum corps life. Also, I believe the kids reflected what they were taught in the performance that night. It was disorganized, too soft in volume, and very poorly executed. I'm just hoping that as their confidence builds, it will reflect in their passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Been waiting for this topic for a long time. I don't have kids, so I'm talking about my own experiences here. No, there should be no blue ribbons for having a T-ball game at age 5. Every soccer game is a tie. When I marched, you came in first, second or ninth. I was 8 when I started marching. Kids expect a reward for every tiny accomplishment, and believe me, that will carry on into adulthood when reality strikes that they aren't the best golfer in the foursome, the best at history in ninth grade, etc. It's sickening the way kids today are coddled and rewarded for every little thing. My best friend bought his daughter a "Coach" handbag for reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"!!!! The child is eleven years old. SHEESH!!!!! Rewards should be equal to achievement. I told my friend he should have rewarded his daughter with a trip to the ice cream parlor - NOT a $250 adult handbag to carry around her Jonas Brothers pictures. Ok here goes on this sub topic Coddling. I've got two great children. Antonio (37) who is currently residing in the Bachhaus in Eisenach He's a music teacher at PS 87 in the Bronx, has been selected from a national applicant pool to attend one of 27 summer study opportunities supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. My daughter Cassandra (17) - yes, same Mom. is 20 years his junior and attends a special programs school for music, art and oddly sports in Birmingham, AL. Both of these wonderful people were driven by an iron fisted Mother and a very demanding Father just like we ourselves were. Carmen Cluna and Hy Dreitzer never let up on us to strive to be better at the top of their lungs. And our Moderator Father Schraldi could give you "what for," as well. As a parent I believed if you got something for nothing you wouldn't know how to work, you wouldn't be able to drive yourself to exceed not only your own but other people's expectations. So I'm out on coddling. I know it's not PC - but I work on a MAC. Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomnoise Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Times have changed, to be sure, but let's not confuse a quiet approach with coddling. You don't always have to yell or abuse to get results. But it sure is fun. :tongue: :tongue: :devil: I have gone to Blue Devils rehearsals and have been astonished by how quiet they are. It's awesome. The members have been taught how to work together is a calm and professional manner, guided by the staff. I have gone to other rehearsals that are a bit louder and more intense. It all depends on the teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Bari Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Times have changed, to be sure, but let's not confuse a quiet approach with coddling. You don't always have to yell or abuse to get results. But it sure is fun. :tongue: :tongue: :devil: I have gone to Blue Devils rehearsals and have been astonished by how quiet they are. It's awesome. The members have been taught how to work together is a calm and professional manner, guided by the staff. I have gone to other rehearsals that are a bit louder and more intense. It all depends on the teacher. I have seen Chris use both methods effectively! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I have to wonder what drum corps you are talking about. I spent several hours watching 2 DC's rehearse up close and personal last year and they were just as intense if not more than when I marched (granted I marched a few years after you). There were plenty of push ups to be had by all and there wasn't a peep spoken from the kids unless they were spoken to...oh and they did verbal commands WHEN WARRANTED but weren't doing them just for the sake of doing them. I think the intensity and attention to detail are areas of drum corps that have remained the same throughout the years. The only difference I saw is the instructors don't cuss like they did in my day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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