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Random community mom:  It's so disappointing that the school hired someone to replace [The Church Lady] who only wants to do the bare minimum.  How does your daughter like her, the new girl?Choir Mom: My daughter really enjoys her and says she's learning a lot, more than she ever did with [The Church Lady].  Where… Continue reading #11 – Piano lessons

The gymnatorium had these huge heavy plasticized mats that had to be pulled out and spread over the floor before chairs could be set up, to protect the gym floor.  Setting up for said concert was an all day affair, and had to be done all in one day, because even though we had 2… Continue reading #10 – The condom

School #1 - first yearWhile administering a quiz one morning, one of my quickest students walked up to me with her completed quiz.  We had already taken a pre-test and a few other quick quizzes to see where this class was in their basic music literacy, so the kids were used to my quiz behavior… Continue reading #9 – Inconceivable

I was back in Principal Hugs-A-Lot's office.I was called to the office about my continual problems with one student's behavior in class.  (Mind you, he was an idiot in everyone's class, he was just an uncontrolled idiot in mine.)  So naturally, rather than calling this student to the office to tell him to knock it… Continue reading #8 – Get some

I started piano lessons when I was 4.  I took lessons until I started band.  After that, I still played piano at home and at church, and sometimes at school when our band/choir/drama director was out.  I finished my piano profiecency requirement in undergrad a full year before I was scheduled to graduate (some people… Continue reading #7 – The piano and my hands

I'm 21.  I've landed a high school choral job, which is great, in concept.Here's what isn't so great: my 'classroom' feels more like a dungeon.  The classroom is half-underground and half-underneath the bleachers in the student gymnasium overhead.  If school buildings were a subway, the music department would have been the last stop.  There is… Continue reading #6 – 90 or 83 to 1

Principal Hugs-A-Lot.  He was a great football coach.He was a great big hulking man, well over 6' tall and still built like the lineman he once was, I'm sure of it.  He was a very likable, seemingly approachable guy and he used that to his advantage. He had this uncanny way of sensing that you… Continue reading #5 – Principal Hugs-A-Lot

Still school #1 - same school year that 'no one was allowed to take over night trips'... you know, unless there's an election coming and you get bum rushed by the band parents...The Church Lady had run several barbershop quartets during our 'homeroom' period every morning.  (She'd taken the liberty of auditioning and selecting those… Continue reading #4 – Barbershop Disharmony

The music ensemble trip.  Almost every program has one.  In high school, every 4 years the choir/band/orchestra takes a big trip, where they do a few token performances to justify the trip and reward the kids for being (or bribe the kids into staying) in the program.  In Ohio, the biggie is Disney.  Lots of… Continue reading #3 – Grounded