garfield Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Hey Mr. defender of the English language (affect/effect)......... It's MACKINAC Island. (...ducks as an old plastic-headed bell mallet comes flying across the room...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 In the northeast, no, it would have an affect on all corps. If schools were to go to the end of July, instead of the end of June, where would any corps have housing for a show? ...good point, Liz. That would apply to all areas. Moving a corps around is costly enough, and housing in a, say, hotel would have ramifications not only in bux but in rehearsal time, too. Still, though, such a condition would impact the Open Class far more than the Worlds, if not just for kids in their demographic not being able to participate because of school commitments. Also, it does get back to a regional/local thing, because of the huge task (windmill?) of getting all school districts to do the same thing. Since DCA is a "weekend" affair, at least in principle, don't you think they may deal with such things better than the DCI groups? cg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeke Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 I don't see it happening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 While I understand the need for more education to either take place in an extended school year (or more effective education in a school year with the summer off), I firmly believe that there is much more to learning than what finds in the classroom. My parents were really big on taking me on weekend excursions. I learned a lot about the geography of the midwest from those trips and we covered every direction from our Chicago suburb. (For example, we visited Mammoth cave in Missouri, the iron ore mines in Minnesota, Mackinaw Island in Michigan, the Wisconsin Dells and Madison, the Palisades along the Mississippi River in Illinois, ice floes on the rivers in Iowa...the list goes on and on.) These excursions helped sharpen my inquisitiveness and my lifelong desire to learn from travel. This became further manifested in my travels with drum corps. I agree, there is so much that is missed out on by putting all the focus on learning in schools. I think a lot more focus needs to go into the use of the time already available. I remember a LOT of wasted time, and a LOT of busywork that really didnt help in teaching\understanding concepts, only took a whole bunch of time. A lot of kids are not challenged enough with the time while theyre there, leading to kids becoming bored and losing their interest in schooling, instead of engaging them. Many school's answer to engaging those kids is just to hand them more busy work, instead of engaging or advancing them to higher levels of work. So focused on making sure everyone passes a test, we dont worry about those that wouldve passed that test a year or two prior. Its good to make sure everyone meets a minimum standard level, but we also need to make sure all are excelling to the best of their ability. As to the effect on drum corps... obviously itd be disastrous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbevillekid26 Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 While I understand the need for more education to either take place in an extended school year (or more effective education in a school year with the summer off), I firmly believe that there is much more to learning than what finds in the classroom. My parents were really big on taking me on weekend excursions. I learned a lot about the geography of the midwest from those trips and we covered every direction from our Chicago suburb. (For example, we visited Mammoth cave in Missouri, the iron ore mines in Minnesota, Mackinaw Island in Michigan, the Wisconsin Dells and Madison, the Palisades along the Mississippi River in Illinois, ice floes on the rivers in Iowa...the list goes on and on.) These excursions helped sharpen my inquisitiveness and my lifelong desire to learn from travel. This became further manifested in my travels with drum corps. I've always believed travel is one of the most edifying things someone can do. As for drum corps and education...I've talked to way too many marchers and parents to believe other from what I'm going to state here. As happened in my own case, those who march in drum corps find they have little time to just waste on things outside of their studies. Drum corps forces them to become more efficient at studying and keeping up their grades. My grades went up the less time I had to do nothing. Drum corps provides members with increased focus. No kid wants to hear from their parents that if their grades fall, they have to drop drum corps. If a kid is doing poorly in school, they NEED drum corps! From someone from Michigan, it's actually Mackinac (stupid yes). But I agree with you I think learning outside the classroom is very important too. The still young/drum corps lover in me hates this idea and I love having my summers (mostly) open. But the rational side of me realizes that there isn't really a point in a long break now that we're no longer an agrarian society. I definitely agree more time does not mean better quality but really taking a 3 month break to forget a lot of what you've learned for no real reason other than it's summer isn't a very good idea. So I don't really want a nation-wide year-long school calendar but if it did happen I guess I understand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 (edited) Hey Mr. defender of the English language (affect/effect)......... It's MACKINAC Island. Take a look at the top of your window when you click on this link. Granted, it's spelled "Mackinac" and Mackinaw City is the spelling for the town where one can catch a boat to the island. I guess I'm influenced by the French explorers. Blame the English for messing up the spelling. Pronunciation. <<Locals anywhere cringe when the name of their beloved home is mispronounced, and Mackinac is no exception. The French settled this island and originally named it "Michilimackinac" (meaning Great Turtle), but thankfully the English shortened it to Mackinac-- however, it's pronounced MackinAW. >> I blame both the French and the English...the French because I took two years of the language in high school and still couldn't find the bathrooms when I went to Montreal for the DCI World Championships in 1981 and 1982...and the English because I still hold a grudge that they burned down the White House in 1814. Edited September 28, 2010 by Michael Boo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 From someone from Michigan, it's actually Mackinac (stupid yes). But I agree with you I think learning outside the classroom is very important too.The still young/drum corps lover in me hates this idea and I love having my summers (mostly) open. But the rational side of me realizes that there isn't really a point in a long break now that we're no longer an agrarian society. I definitely agree more time does not mean better quality but really taking a 3 month break to forget a lot of what you've learned for no real reason other than it's summer isn't a very good idea. So I don't really want a nation-wide year-long school calendar but if it did happen I guess I understand... ...and I think "drumcorps" in whatever form would adapt and survive. cg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbevillekid26 Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 ...and I think "drumcorps" in whatever form would adapt and survive.cg Sorry I thought being in the DCI World Class forum it was implied that I was talking about that. Yes you are correct "drum corps" in whatever form would adapt and survive, but it would not be the same as it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcjosh Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 You don't need to worry about school years being any longer than they already are. The reason is that nobody can afford it. Many school districts have been cutting days to save some money. Obama is just trying to draw some attention from the economy and give people something to talk about. But, DCI is already having problems with finding housing sites due to schools being in session during August. They even advertiesed on their website to try to find hosts during World Championships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Sorry I thought being in the DCI World Class forum it was implied that I was talking about that. Yes you are correct "drum corps" in whatever form would adapt and survive, but it would not be the same as it is now. ...just as now isn't the "same" as "in the day." Personally, I don't give a fig how it morphs, because no one person is going to stop it or change its direction (insert Hoppy bash here...)...I would simply like to see the concept of "clean" carried on...and maybe good feet, too. cg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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