BigW Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Member of a corps got left behind and a parent voiced concern about how it could happen or does it happen more often. That thread was closed after a bit and this one opened. And to go with Guardling w/o getting of the DC Forums. How do corps handle members/staff/volunteers/whoever when they come across something that goes against their beliefs? Thought of that with the gay community stance since I have both extremes (and everything in between) in my current church...... Nah... stopping there... I'm on record with that, Jim, and I will repeat that. I'll preface it by saying I am a God -fearin' person, not church-goin Right-Wingin' Republican. I think you know that much about me- we did march together... In this activity, you WILL march with, be taught by, teach with, be judged by, judge with people of ALL lifestyle choices. One thing you will also learn from marching and being involved in this activity is TOLERANCE, RESPECT, and dare I say it, Long term FRIENDSHIP regardless of those differences between the people you interact with. Maybe that was the BEST thing I learned from corps. If people have an issue with those things and want to be involved... they need to think hard about things. That's another Mom and Dad's son or daughter over there who's exhausted and needs cereal, who's maybe not looking forward to this rehearsal because they've had a bad day yesterday and obviously needs someone to just talk to a bit. Does it matter what their lifestyle choice is, or will you give them a smile and a kind word of encouragement and some good advice? The way I was brought up, the Christian thing to do is love that person and help them out. At least that's my sincere and personal beliefs on that. I may not toe the party line on that issue, but I know truth, good people, and friendship when I see it. That should not be a Berlin Wall boundary between people. Just my 2 cents here. I promise the one guy I won't knock on his door and yell about Mr. J.C. If he brought it up, I'd talk to him, but if not, I'd still be glad to be be his friend and talk about corps any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) a suggestion: if, as a parent of a new or potential drum corps member, you are concerned about your child, then volunteer. my youngest son, at 14, was the youngest member of of his corps during their first season. i checked in, went to shows that were close and hopped on for the last couple of weeks of tour. his second year i was even more involved (because i enjoyed it and wanted to help). i know not everyone can spend many days or weeks on tour but contact the corps and find out what you CAN do. it helps the corps and it helps you. Absolutely. You get a Big W Fistbump award from me. My Mom and Dad would agree and did much the same for my Sis and I. I started when I was 16, my sister...the same. BTW, those awards are hard to come by. You only get them when you're doing something important for a corps that might not get noticed by the average Joe but deserves to be. For some reason it won't let me upload the cat. Edited August 17, 2012 by BigW 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Gads. Something in the java is messing with my PC or this board. My apologies. Edited August 17, 2012 by BigW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) The people who say "it's the kid's responsibility to make good decisons" and "not the staff's responsibility to monitor or baby sit the kids" are LEGALLY wrong...and part of the very problem itself. LEGALLY, a kid under the age of 18 is not old enough to take such responsibility. ALSO...LEGALLY....the corps staff (particularly on the administration level) ARE legally responsible for the well being and protection (yes...baby sitting/child care of) any child under the age of 18. This is a fact. A fact of the laws of liability. Any corps administration that does not take responsibility as such for kids under 18 have no business running a drum corps and should not even be allowed around kids. PARENTS....sign a contract TRUSTING the corps administration with the well being of their child. Fortunately, most (if not all) corps at the top DO take this responsibility. Unfortunately, it's the yahoos running corps at the bottom with no business sense who are usually the offenders. And we wonder why Hop and Gibbs want to eliminate those at the bottom. Go ahead...minus me. Edited August 17, 2012 by drumcorpsdrummerman2012 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katysand Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 a suggestion: if, as a parent of a new or potential drum corps member, you are concerned about your child, then volunteer. my youngest son, at 14, was the youngest member of of his corps during their first season. i checked in, went to shows that were close and hopped on for the last couple of weeks of tour. his second year i was even more involved (because i enjoyed it and wanted to help). i know not everyone can spend many days or weeks on tour but contact the corps and find out what you CAN do. it helps the corps and it helps you. I wish I could recommend this thread more than once. My son was older when he started, I was not worried but interested in the activity. I went to experience it, but came to love it and work as a volunteer because I still love it, even though he has been out of it for 11 years. He did screw up a couple of times and was dealt with by the corps staff. It taught him a lot. He is now a productive member of society. What more can you ask for? As for getting a ministry to deal with corps policy and procedure I think that is a very bad idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGTech Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Apparently clarification is needed. No one is calling on a ministry to come in and unilaterally administer morality for all. That would be weird. What is also weird is turning down volunteer help just because you don't happen to like a persons beliefs. That seems petty and childish. We take a bunch of young adults and kids, put them under an unusually heavy physical and mental workload, make them live together and drag them across the country for weeks on end. We do this not only in the name of creating entertainment but also with the hope that the kids come out the other side with experiences that they can draw upon for the rest of their lives. Along the way some of them may find it comforting to be able to reach out for spiritual guidance. If having that type of guidance available to them ultimately gives them a better overall drum corps experience is that not a good thing? Especially when it comes accompanied with hard working volunteers who cook, clean, sew and drive? If a message therapist wants to go on tour as a driver and also volunteers to treat sore muscles would we say no? How about a math teacher who comes in as a cook but also offers to tutor anyone who wants to brush up on math skills before returning to school? Should that offer be declined? What's next? Pepsi drinkers should not be allowed to volunteer because Coke drinkers don't want them around? -kg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForteParent Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I wish I could recommend this thread more than once. My son was older when he started, I was not worried but interested in the activity. I went to experience it, but came to love it and work as a volunteer because I still love it, even though he has been out of it for 11 years. He did screw up a couple of times and was dealt with by the corps staff. It taught him a lot. He is now a productive member of society. What more can you ask for? As for getting a ministry to deal with corps policy and procedure I think that is a very bad idea. it does get into your blood doesn't it?! i bet we could start a whole other thread about parents who have stayed to volunteer long after their kids have aged out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) If someone came in and just started telling everyone how they are wrong that would be a problem. Can you please show me where on the Box 7 website they state that is what they intend to do? You are taking the bad behavior that some have exhibited in the name of religion and assigning it to all who have a religious affiliation. I could take the same logic and say that anyone who is a teacher should not be allowed to volunteer because some teachers wind up sexually abusing kids. How about we accept with open arms anyone who wants to help out and make sure we kick out those who actually do something wrong. -kg Not only am I not religious, I'm agnostic. On top of that I'm gay. All that said, if a religious organization chose to sponsor a corps, like the CYO in the Good Old Days, I don't see a problem with that. It's just a matter of disclosure: if I know a corps is going to expect me to attend services every Sunday, or bible study etc., I'll just choose to go elsewhere. I recall reading a member blog a few years back where the author found a local church whenever possible on Sundays during camp and tour. I think it's commendable that corps attempt to accommodate those who might want to worship as they please. As much as I don't want someone evangelizing me, I do want that person to have the opportunity to spend an hour honoring their beliefs in church whenever possible. Edited August 18, 2012 by Phillygwm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 The people who say "it's the kid's responsibility to make good decisons" and "not the staff's responsibility to monitor or baby sit the kids" are LEGALLY wrong...and part of the very problem itself. LEGALLY, a kid under the age of 18 is not old enough to take such responsibility. ALSO...LEGALLY....the corps staff (particularly on the administration level) ARE legally responsible for the well being and protection (yes...baby sitting/child care of) any child under the age of 18. This is a fact. A fact of the laws of liability. Any corps administration that does not take responsibility as such for kids under 18 have no business running a drum corps and should not even be allowed around kids. PARENTS....sign a contract TRUSTING the corps administration with the well being of their child. Fortunately, most (if not all) corps at the top DO take this responsibility. Unfortunately, it's the yahoos running corps at the bottom with no business sense who are usually the offenders. And we wonder why Hop and Gibbs want to eliminate those at the bottom. Go ahead...minus me. Last I checked, Pio, one of the corps at the bottom of World Class, has been running an impeccable operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PioneerWebmaster Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Last I checked, Pio, one of the corps at the bottom of World Class, has been running an impeccable operation. Impeccable is a pretty strong word to use (and live up to). However, we try our best to watch out for all of the members. I personally have witnessed more than one occasion where Roman or another staff member has gone far out the way to make sure that our members are safe and accounted for. In fact, the past week Roman himself has been watching over the last of our out of country students to make sure they have a good time and make it to all of their necessary travel connections. All of that said... stuff happens. You can put all of the safeguards in place, but still have a member or two fall through the cracks. Even on the busiest of days on tour, there's still time (albeit very limited) for members to find ways to get into trouble if they really want to. This is a little unrelated, but proves the point. On my high school's band trips, the band director and a couple chaperones always slept in the hallway of the hotel to make sure band members didn't go between rooms after curfew. It seemed like a pretty foolproof system. Unfortunately, a couple band members realized that the distance between balconies for each room wasn't "too" far (it probably was about 4 or 5 feet). A couple of them ended up jumping from one balcony to the next room over. If I recall correctly, one student actually made it several rooms over before hotel security became aware of the situation and took immediate action. The situation could have been tragic if one of the band members fell. It was a situation that nobody ever could have predicted. Needless to say, when booking future band trips... the director made sure to specify rooms that didn't have balconies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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