xandandl Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Life on tour with its gypsy/vagabond culture, different geographies daily, and transitional staffing as instructors, volunteers, and admin buzz in and out to other responsibilities all makes for a difficult laboratory in which to apply developmental philosophies of personnel management, So many corps are forced to work from an emergency resolution framework beyond the practice field and show site. With the usual corps on DCI tour involving about 200 individuals, a cadre of transportation vehicles, and a daily calendar that goes 24/7, little contemplation time or placid horizons allow the type of conversation Horn Teacher well voices and Lincoln builds upon. In an ideal situation with education and development of membership as the first priority, you say the right things. When they are discussed becomes a totally other matter. Just getting all persons in one place for said discussion presents quite a few hassles. Getting the psychological space to hear the real issues, listen to what really is being said, and to reflect on possible solutions in one's life and the corps' life isn't very easy. That most persons on tour accomplish as much as they do with insufficient sleep, no private space beyond a possible bus seat with 49 others, and rapid fire change after change to remain performance competitive makes such "dialogue" almost impossible. It should be given a greater priority but it usually isn't. Lincoln rightly cites the hole in the program that becomes more of a problem as the season continues. And more often the energetic discussions are performance driven unless the personnel problem is public and immediate. A "wait until after championships" approach is common. That such discussion concludes the season doesn't mean an August discussion as the membership quickly disperses to other worlds, instructional staff run from band camp to band camp and scholastic responsibilities, and admin. seeks to close the season in the black with all the details involved. there. Some corps who tend to be stable and successful season after season use the time from September and October but this is hampered by a scattered geographical memory. Such discussions on Skype and other media do not get the same results as face to face in my experience. How an adolescent or young adult internally hears and integrates what is being said is a whole other matter. Such growth for the individual and the organization is a challenge that has filled many, many libraries. There is no magic bullet here, just as there is no standard profile of the membership's individual personality. Edited January 16, 2015 by xandandl 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Maybe others will understand or perhaps just be insulted, but earlier this year I read that when typing there is no longer a need to put two spaces between one sentence and another. If one chooses to do so, it will give those reading an indication of how old they are because it is no longer a standard requirement. One space is enough. Heaven forbid giving the reader an additional space....my very first class on the first day of high school was typing (OMG - he's so old!). One thing I have noted, not only on this forum, is that if you are going to write a very long explanation of something, please allow for space between the thoughts. Your audience is much more likely to be able to grasp what you are saying. Edited January 16, 2015 by Lincoln 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornTeacher Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Life on tour with its gypsy/vagabond culture, different geographies daily, and transitional staffing as instructors, volunteers, and admin buzz in and out to other responsibilities all makes for a difficult laboratory in which to apply developmental philosophies of personnel management, So many corps are forced to work from an emergency resolution framework beyond the practice field and show site. With the usual corps on DCI tour involving about 200 individuals, a cadre of transportation vehicles, and a daily calendar that goes 24/7, little contemplation time or placid horizons allow the type of conversation Horn Teacher well voices and Lincoln builds upon. In an ideal situation with education and development of membership as the first priority, you say the right things. When they are discussed becomes a totally other matter. Just getting all persons in one place for said discussion presents quite a few hassles. Getting the psychological space to hear the real issues, listen to what really is being said, and to reflect on possible solutions in one's life and the corps' life isn't very easy. That most persons on tour accomplish as much as they do with insufficient sleep, no private space beyond a possible bus seat with 49 others, and rapid fire change after change to remain performance competitive makes such "dialogue" almost impossible. It should be given a greater priority but it usually isn't. Lincoln rightly cites the hole in the program that becomes more of a problem as the season continues. And more often the energetic discussions are performance driven unless the personnel problem is public and immediate. A "wait until after championships" approach is common. That such discussion concludes the season doesn't mean an August discussion as the membership quickly disperses to other worlds, instructional staff run from band camp to band camp and scholastic responsibilities, and admin. seeks to close the season in the black with all the details involved. there. Some corps who tend to be stable and successful season after season use the time from September and October but this is hampered by a scattered geographical memory. Such discussions on Skype and other media do not get the same results as face to face in my experience. How an adolescent or young adult internally hears and integrates what is being said is a whole other matter. Such growth for the individual and the organization is a challenge that has filled many, many libraries. There is no magic bullet here, just as their is no standard profile of the membership's individual personality. Truly, one of the best assessments of the activity, and the inherent problems within it, that I have read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Sometimes people age out before they actually age out. In the military, we called this being "retired on active duty". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Maybe others will understand or perhaps just be insulted, but earlier this year I read that when typing there is no longer a need to put two spaces between one sentence and another. If one chooses to do so, it will give those reading an indication of how old they are because it is no longer a standard requirement. One space is enough. Heaven forbid giving the reader an additional space....my very first class on the first day of high school was typing (OMG - he's so old!). One thing I have noted, not only on this forum, is that if you are going to write a very long explanation of something, please allow for space between the thoughts. Your audience is much more likely to be able to grasp what you are saying. THIS. Brasso's posts are unreadable to me for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello Dude Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 The last once sentence paragraph is unnecessary Lincoln as it completes yours thoughts on the second paragraph and should be included in it. Just for accuracy and whatnot. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornTeacher Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Speaking only for myself, I'm not sure that it is necessary to point out foibles on a selective and/or individual basis (in application to individuals, I mean). Us awl make misteaks from thyme to time, since nun of us 'R perfeckt. Just saying... Edited January 16, 2015 by HornTeacher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 The last once sentence paragraph is unnecessary Lincoln as it completes yours thoughts on the second paragraph and should be included in it. Just for accuracy and whatnot. ;) You are right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 OK - understood. Why then isn't the "Vet" let go during the season when it is apparent that they are causing issues either with the staff of the other marching members? Is it to avoid the hole in the drill? Edit: The questions I asked are not pointed at perc2100. I think he has raised some good issues so they are for the people reading the forum who might be able to respond. 1) it could be to avoid the hole in the drill 2) it could be a staff mindset of "grit my teeth and bear it for the rest of tour but this kid is done afterwards" 3) it could be a staff mindset of "lets give this kid every single opportunity to improve attitude: everyone has bad days in tour perhaps this member will shape up before it's all said and done" 4) it could even be the member was OK on tour (not 100% awful, not 100% model member) but came back to camp with an awful attitude and/or skill deficiency 5) it could be that the member was OK on tour (see above), and an influx in auditioning rookies made the 'OK' vet obsolete: if there are a lot of better options why stick with the lesser option if you don't have to? Like a lot of issues, there isn't necessarily a black and white solution, or sometimes a great staff evaluates a problem, formulates many different 'solutions' and picks the lesser of the evils 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RContra Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 1) it could be to avoid the hole in the drill 2) it could be a staff mindset of "grit my teeth and bear it for the rest of tour but this kid is done afterwards" 3) it could be a staff mindset of "lets give this kid every single opportunity to improve attitude: everyone has bad days in tour perhaps this member will shape up before it's all said and done" 4) it could even be the member was OK on tour (not 100% awful, not 100% model member) but came back to camp with an awful attitude and/or skill deficiency 5) it could be that the member was OK on tour (see above), and an influx in auditioning rookies made the 'OK' vet obsolete: if there are a lot of better options why stick with the lesser option if you don't have to? Like a lot of issues, there isn't necessarily a black and white solution, or sometimes a great staff evaluates a problem, formulates many different 'solutions' and picks the lesser of the evils This. 100% this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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