*WARNING* This post is not really string teacher related and contains spoilers. I've spaced out my reviews though so you can skip over the movies you haven't seen and still want to see and read what I wrote about the ones you have seen. If you want. If you don't, screw you, get off my blog.
There are many things I enjoy doing on my vacation, but I truly cherish the minimal time I have set aside to relax. I have plenty of vacation, but often it is spent traveling, spending time with friends or family, cooking/cleaning, and catching up on school stuff. I have very few days set aside to do nothing. I enjoy reading a lot. Last night I stayed up until 2:00 am reading my Kindle (I've been trudging through "Casual Vacancy", JK Rowling's latest novel, for about 2 months and it finally got good so I'm trying to read it in one fell swoop before I lose interest again...) and the other morning I worked my way through a stack of US Weekly's that had been piling up (did you know princess Kate is having a baby?! And she was hospitalized with a severe form of morning sickness?!) which I know isn't exactly reading, so let's categorize that under "I enjoy celebrity gossip and trashy pop culture." But what I really enjoy the most when I'm relaxing is watching movies and/or a good TV series (last summer was Mad Men and I really want to watch Breaking Bad and Homeland all the way through- must find someone who owns them so I can borrow...) I've seen several movies this season and spent all of today at the theater watching the movies I knew I wouldn't get a chance to see again until they came out on BluRay. Here are my humble opinions about the movies I've seen this season. Please feel free to share with me your opinions as well- I love a good debate! (Although I'm much better in person what with my bossy personality and loud voice...)
The Hobbit
Loved it. Would pay to see it again in theaters. I actually read The Hobbit, unlike Lord of the Rings, so I feel it had potential to score poorly with me much like all of the Harry Potter films. I did not feel it was too long because I was entertained the whole time. There were a few additions to the story including Gandalf's cousin/brother/wizard-bro, Radagast, who I hear is very briefly mentioned in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, that I didn't much care for, but again, I was entertained so I don't mind. I loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo- I think he might be Bilbo in real life all stammery and blunderingly endearing. I liked the little throw back to Frodo and the birthday party, I loved Flight of the Conchords, Brett, as "Elrod's Elf Bitch", as my sister calls him, Gollum was as brilliant as ever and the Riddles in the Dark scene was very well done. I could just sit and list every scene and my comments would basically be- I really liked it. The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is the fact that it was not very deep- I didn't feel any emotion when watching other than contentment, which is just fine with me sometimes. So I give this one a hearty A-.
Les Miserables
I am a Les Mis fan, so I had misgivings going into this one. I was not disappointed overall. The singing was not good as a whole but the fact that I, a singer, a generally critical person all around, and one who is not easily impressed by many performances by untrained musicians, could overlook poor singing technique due to such powerful acting and cinematography is pretty amazing. The baracade boys were most impressive vocally, especially Enroljas. I liked his voice the best out of the whole cast. Marius was my second favorite if only I didn't have to watch his wobbly old woman jaw vibrato, blech! Hugh Jackman performed beautifully as an actor and added so much emotion to his character that I can forgive his through-the-nose singing and vibrato so wide you could drive a truck through it. Anne Hathaway stunned. Her performances as Fantine and as Cat Woman have all but washed away my hatred of her born from Princess Diaries, Devil Wears Prada, and her and James Franco's horrible horrible horrible hosting job at the Oscars. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen were a pleasant surprise and played very despicable Thenardiers, though a bit dark for my taste- could have used a bit more comical relief. And then there's poor Russell Crowe. I'm sorry Russ, I loved you as Maximus, but you just don't cut it as Javert. It was Crowe's horribly awkward performance, lack of any emotion in his singing or acting, and weird stiffly cupped hands that keeps Les Mis from receiving the highest marks from me. I give it a B+.
Life of Pi
Meh, it would have been better had I not read the book- it may have been more shocking or original. Kept pretty true to the book. Thought the white writer guy was dumb- like a low budget Ryan Reynolds. Should have had someone famous do a cameo, maybe Ryan Reynolds... Or they should have had a voice-over the whole time and cut out the whole author/interviewer aspect all-together. It adds nothing to the movie; if anything, it just makes the story feel unbalanced and interrupted. The animals were great: all very well-trained and well-used throughout. Graphics were very good. They definitely made a conscious effort to keep it kid friendly- I was kind of hoping to see a flashback when he tells the "different story" at the end. I thought the dreamy sequences while he stares into the water were dumb. Also thought they could have done a better job making him look more and more emaciated. The Pi actor did a good job, wasn't blown away. I give it a C+/B-.
This is 40
Well I'm not sure I've heard the F-word more times in 2 hours ever before in my life, that's for sure. My favorite variation was probably a cycling Paul Rudd's outraged cry at an SUV of pre-teens "...You Twilight-ass mother fuckers!" What can I say about this flick? There was no plot, just fight, make up, fight, make up, fight, make up, etc..., only a couple good laughs, and too much make-it-up-as-you-go dialogue. Improvising funny lines works (sometimes) on a sitcom, but there is no place for it in the movies. A redeeming aspect of the flick was how easily I think most married couples could relate to the couple's fights and the paths each fight took. In fact, I'm pretty sure I may have said some of those exact lines in real life. More than once... Also the actress who plays the younger daughter was mildly funny. No Dakota Fanning or even Olsen twin, but cute. Probably the best part about it for me was all the Lost references- very clever indeed. Jason Segal was a moderately funny addition with his personal training company "Bodies by Jason" and Melissa McCarthy's brief cameo as defensive mom, Catherine, was over the top as usual but also moderately funny. I give it a C-.
Silver Linings Playbook
This movie was absolutely brilliant. The only bad thing about it is the title. Refreshingly honest, great acting, clever dialogue, and some really hilarious moments- literal LOL stuff, puts this film at the top of my list this year. Bradly Cooper, who usually plays some kind of pompous douche bag in all his other movies, showed a side to his acting that I've never seen. It gives me a lot of respect for him and makes me wish he's take on more serious roles and do fewer chick flicks/action dude flicks. Jennifer Lawrence is no Katniss Everdeen in this one. She ignites both extremes of the acting spectrum with her flawless performance of her crass, blunt, yet oddly introspective crazy widow character. Robert De Niro is hilarious and is such a phenomenal actor. His character had the potential to be unrelateable and comical in a bad way, which would have spoiled the chemistry of this brilliant cast. However, he delivered the goods allowing this bizarre story to click in a way I never expected. I give SLP a solid A.
Lincoln
I can't say I'm feeling Best Picture with this one although Danial Day Lewis probably deserves Best Actor. His portrayal of Abe Lincoln was quite charming in every aspect: from the plodding way he walked to the long-winded slow patience of his exasperating story-telling. DDL was excellent all around, no doubt about it. Sally Fields as Mary Todd was only OK- I can't really put my finger on what I was disappointed in, other than maybe Lewis just outshone her. James Spader gave a fun, raw performance as Lincoln's most to-the-point hired vote-recruiter-guy. Freakin' Joseph Gordon Levitt improves every movie he's in, whether he's the star or a minor side character. He plays Lincoln's eldest son who yearns to enlist and I swear my favorite scenes were the ones that included him. And he was only in about 15 minutes of the movie! Boy, Tommy Lee Jones is old- all I could think about when he was in the shot was how much he resembled a toad. And I'm getting a little tired of Tommy Lee Jones playing Tommy Lee Jones in every single movie he is in. It's the 1860's for crying out loud, can we get K out of the House of Representatives? This movie was loaded with famous faces- including Moocher from Breaking Away- which irks me in an inexplicable way. Not that it's bad to have B-list/border-line A-list actors play one-liner roles, but I feel like it's like a false way to beef up the film or something. I dunno, maybe the actors all asked Spielberg if they could play a minor role in his movie and he was like, sure whatever, you can be General So-and-So and sit in this chair for 5 minutes of screen time. My opinion over all was that it was too long and too long-winded, but Lewis was excellent. I give it a B.
So there you have it- my unimportant opinions on some movies I saw recently. Ranking from favorite to least favorite here they are:
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. The Hobbit
3. Les Miserables
4. Lincoln
5. Life of Pi
6. This is 40
Honorable mentions (saw these too but a while back):
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Avengers
- Looper
- Argo*
- The Amazing Spider Man
- Hunger Games
- Moonrise Kingdom*
*Also rank among my favs
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
Old Lane's Eye
I can't speak for all teachers, but as a teacher I don't think of a year as January through December, I think of it as August through May/June. So when I look back at 2012, it's weird that I was in such a different place in January. I wasn't even thinking about leaving my current school to teach elsewhere, in fact I was planning out my schedule for "next year" and making sure I archived every homework assignment, test, or quiz that I created so I'd have it to use again: no fuss, no muss. In January I was prepping a hundred ill-prepared voice students to sing solos and ensembles at ISSMA, I was still teaching about 15 private students after school, and I was still playing in Carmel Symphony full time. Then everything changed in May and a new chapter of my life began. I have had a wonderful year- I can't really think of any low-lights except having to say goodbye to all of my friends and colleagues at my last school, and that was all for the best. Here are some highlights from this year, in no particular order:
- I take orchestra to organizational ISSMA for the first time and got a Gold with distinction
- The Super Bowl is held in Indianapolis
- I am hired at a school at which I truly wanted to work
- I get my first significant pay raise
- I celebrate my 2-year wedding anniversary with my best friend
- I make fudge for the first time and it turns out great
- I plant a garden on the side of the house
- I get a smart phone
- I take a group of students to All Region Orchestra for the first time
- I start blogging
- I teach my own class of beginning strings for the first time
- I am hired as a wedding manager for the first time
- Glenda Ritz is elected Superintendent of Schools in Indiana, thus giving Tony Bennett the boot
- IU basketball finishes the best season they've had in years and starts the next season ranked #1
- The Colts get Andrew Luck as their new quarter back
- I turn 25 and my dad turns 50 (yikes!)
- Aaron builds a stone patio with a fire pit off the back of the house
- Aaron puts in hardwood floors
- I lose 40 lbs
- We get closer to our small group and study the New Testament every Monday night
- Our puppy, Shelby, turns 1 year old- 7 in dog years
Every Christmas I watch It's A Wonderful Life. This year our whole family watched it on Christmas Eve. I find it fascinating that I can have watched this movie over 50 times yet I'm captivated each viewing. I can quote pretty much the whole movie line by line, except some of the lines are in my head as I learned them when I was ten. For an embarrassingly long time I thought "Auld Lang Syne" was "Old Lane's Eye" and I didn't understand that the strings around Uncle Billy's fingers were supposed to serve as reminders for things- I thought it was just something cooky that old Uncle Billy did. I understood the moral of the story; Clarence did an excellent job at illustrating how much George effected everyone's lives in Bedford Falls. But I thought when Harry referred to George as "the richest man in town" it was because everyone had just given him all their money. I've always had a secret fantasy of Clarence coming to show me what life would be like if I weren't born, but then I have a fear that nothing would be different and he would be like, "What was the point of this again? I got some Tom Sawyer to read..." I've never been a New Year's Resolution kind of person, but this year I am definitely going to continue working on putting others needs first. Maybe then everyone will give me all their money and I'll be the richest woman in town...
For Old Lane's eye, my dear
for Old Lane's eye
We'll take of cup of time uh yep
for Old Lane's eye
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Feedback
Holiday concert update:
Pros:
1. It's over
2. Every single member of my music department was there and played a significant role
3. My principal was there and raved about it's success on the next morning's announcements
4. I had only 4 kids out of 115 not participate. 2 actually showed up- 1 was out of uniform so he wasn't allowed on stage, 1 was without a cello so he wasn't allowed on stage. 1 girl told me ahead of time, albeit earlier that day, that she wouldn't be there because her family didn't celebrate Christmas and her dad wouldn't let her perform (couldn't tell me that ahead of time???) So only 1 no-show without notice.
5. We performed a full orchestra piece in the 8th grade and it sounded good
6. The Honor's Orchestra learned their carols well and played in the lobby
7. Nothing fell apart, musically speaking (a cello did fall apart, see Cons)
8. I had 3 wonderful high school students come help tune and direct kids- I brought them baked goods the next day.
9. No one died
10. Everyone got picked up on time
Cons:
1. I'm exhausted but can't sleep
2. My principal had to pull some students out of the audience for talking during the 8th grade performances
3. The big combined 7th/8th grade number that we rehearsed really well and that sounded great earlier in the day was really bad- almost the entire back of the orchestra was off by a measure or maybe 2, who knows?
4. Unenthusiastic crowd- makes it seem like nothing sounded good or maybe just not as good as they were expecting?
5. My 7th grade was not good
6. My Honor's Orchestra did really well given they could barely hold their piece together a week before the concert, but they didn't sound great which isn't great advertising for Honor's Orchestra
7. My kids don't practice and they're lazy
8. My kids don't respect their instruments- I returned to my cello rack to find over half the bows still tight, the instruments put back all crooked an every which way, and one cello missing a bridge with a big fat gouge under the tailpiece.
9. There was music left all over the stage that we, the staff, had to clean up
10. There were two basses and 3 bows left on stage
11. No parents approached me and said "Great concert" or anything
12. My kids said I talked too much and their parents said I talked too much. I didn't talk too much! I hardly talked at all!
I need some honest feedback! (Do I?) I do! It is making me crazy- I know what my kids and I went through to get to the concert and what we learned and what we will do better next time. I heard the recording. But I just haven't heard a musician-outsider's thorough opinion! It's frustrating because when no one goes into detail about my performances, it makes me paranoid that they just don't want to say anything negative. Like, so far all anyone has said is, "It was good! You know, there were some rough spots, but over all it was pretty good." That is not feedback, people! I need details! What was good? What was rough? What about it was good, what about it was rough? The most annoying part about all of this is that I know the answer to these questions and can go into great detail and explanation about them. I just want someone to talk to me about it, but no one will. And frankly I don't have many people whose opinions I trust enough to truly discuss with my concert in depth. And since I already know how the concert went and since everyone I've asked has already told me how things sounded, why do I still need feedback? Is it feedback or validation that I need? I don't even know. I'm so tired...
I just know my friends and family are going to roll their eyes at me and tell me to calm down, I'm being high maintenance and caring about the wrong things. I know I know I know- didn't you all hear me say I know? I'm a crazy person. But you know out of all the space in my brain that is being taken by thinking about this concert, 90% of the space is occupied by items in the Cons list and the tiny 10% of Pros are smushed to the back of my brain, rendered unimportant because no one has told them to me over and over and over... Seriously, what is up with my need for validation? I'm so tired...
Pros:
1. It's over
2. Every single member of my music department was there and played a significant role
3. My principal was there and raved about it's success on the next morning's announcements
4. I had only 4 kids out of 115 not participate. 2 actually showed up- 1 was out of uniform so he wasn't allowed on stage, 1 was without a cello so he wasn't allowed on stage. 1 girl told me ahead of time, albeit earlier that day, that she wouldn't be there because her family didn't celebrate Christmas and her dad wouldn't let her perform (couldn't tell me that ahead of time???) So only 1 no-show without notice.
5. We performed a full orchestra piece in the 8th grade and it sounded good
6. The Honor's Orchestra learned their carols well and played in the lobby
7. Nothing fell apart, musically speaking (a cello did fall apart, see Cons)
8. I had 3 wonderful high school students come help tune and direct kids- I brought them baked goods the next day.
9. No one died
10. Everyone got picked up on time
Cons:
1. I'm exhausted but can't sleep
2. My principal had to pull some students out of the audience for talking during the 8th grade performances
3. The big combined 7th/8th grade number that we rehearsed really well and that sounded great earlier in the day was really bad- almost the entire back of the orchestra was off by a measure or maybe 2, who knows?
4. Unenthusiastic crowd- makes it seem like nothing sounded good or maybe just not as good as they were expecting?
5. My 7th grade was not good
6. My Honor's Orchestra did really well given they could barely hold their piece together a week before the concert, but they didn't sound great which isn't great advertising for Honor's Orchestra
7. My kids don't practice and they're lazy
8. My kids don't respect their instruments- I returned to my cello rack to find over half the bows still tight, the instruments put back all crooked an every which way, and one cello missing a bridge with a big fat gouge under the tailpiece.
9. There was music left all over the stage that we, the staff, had to clean up
10. There were two basses and 3 bows left on stage
11. No parents approached me and said "Great concert" or anything
12. My kids said I talked too much and their parents said I talked too much. I didn't talk too much! I hardly talked at all!
I need some honest feedback! (Do I?) I do! It is making me crazy- I know what my kids and I went through to get to the concert and what we learned and what we will do better next time. I heard the recording. But I just haven't heard a musician-outsider's thorough opinion! It's frustrating because when no one goes into detail about my performances, it makes me paranoid that they just don't want to say anything negative. Like, so far all anyone has said is, "It was good! You know, there were some rough spots, but over all it was pretty good." That is not feedback, people! I need details! What was good? What was rough? What about it was good, what about it was rough? The most annoying part about all of this is that I know the answer to these questions and can go into great detail and explanation about them. I just want someone to talk to me about it, but no one will. And frankly I don't have many people whose opinions I trust enough to truly discuss with my concert in depth. And since I already know how the concert went and since everyone I've asked has already told me how things sounded, why do I still need feedback? Is it feedback or validation that I need? I don't even know. I'm so tired...
I just know my friends and family are going to roll their eyes at me and tell me to calm down, I'm being high maintenance and caring about the wrong things. I know I know I know- didn't you all hear me say I know? I'm a crazy person. But you know out of all the space in my brain that is being taken by thinking about this concert, 90% of the space is occupied by items in the Cons list and the tiny 10% of Pros are smushed to the back of my brain, rendered unimportant because no one has told them to me over and over and over... Seriously, what is up with my need for validation? I'm so tired...
Social Symphony
Last weekend I returned to play in the local symphony for the Holiday (CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS) concert. I hadn't performed with the group since the summer because since I started my new job, I've had conflicts with every concert and/or dress rehearsal until now. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I showed up at the first rehearsal and all my colleagues greeted me with surprised, genuine smiles and comments like, "You're back!" and "Well look what the cat dragged in..." and "We missed you!" and "I almost didn't recognize you with your hair down!" I call my fellow musicians "colleagues" not "friends" because, well, they're not my friends, but they greeted me like the Prodigal's Son. They made me feel like family and I interacted with them as if we had recently met for lunch and had long, meaningful conversations. We caught each other up on our lives during each 15 minute rehearsal break with quick sentences centered around jobs, family, and, well, that's it. Each conversation took approximately 30 seconds. It was weird though because each interaction with my musician colleagues wasn't forced or uncomfortable; I didn't feel the need to invent an exit strategy from the conversation ("OMG, is that Josh Bell?") and I didn't have to talk about the rehearsal ("So he is taking that blahblah piece is so fast! I'm pretty much faking, like, half the notes, you know?") or how tired I was ("Wow, I need some caffeine-these are late nights...") although all of these quotes were actually spoken at some point in time, minus the Josh Bell one. The atmosphere was just so familiar and comfortable. It was cozy, warm and friendly, like being wrapped up in a blanket of slightly awkward complements mixed with the one-armed hugs and jaw kisses of non-friends who are truly happy to see you.
I think the relationship between my description of these symphony rehearsals and my description of my feelings toward said rehearsals is, if you think about it, an accurate depiction of my personality and outlook in life. I am social, I care about people more than experiences, I enjoy being surrounded by people regardless of their level of love for me or I for them, I like to laugh and joke and smile even if the topic of conversation is not particularly funny, I liked to be noticed, I enjoy hugging and kissing strangers, I rate how good or bad my day was on how many people I made laugh, I take pleasure in external validation, whether it be about my musicianship, appearance or intelligence, I would rather have a 30 second conversation about nothing than quietly stand in like for the toilet, and I would rather have a job where I am bombarded with kids and other teachers every second of the day than have a job practicing and performing on the most beautiful musical instrument in the world (don't even fight me on this one, you know it's true.) It's never been a secret: I am a teacher first, cellist second. I've always hated practicing- bleh! Boring! I'm all alone? For more than an hour? And I have to do the same thing over and over? Gross. You mean there is a career in which I can boss other people around and they have to do what I say? Sign me up!
That said, there could not be another group of people with which I have this awkward yet comfortable, unconditionally friendly yet non-friend relationship. Is it the music that brings us together and forms that special bond or is the people that make the music so special in the first place? I don't really know and I don't really care. What I do know is this: in my opinion, the bonds formed while performing with an orchestra far outweigh the notes and rhythms- this I must remember when I teach.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Holiday Hoedown
It is nearing that time again when I become a crazed lunatic whose patience is little and temper is hot. I've had a count down on my board of how many rehearsals left until our holiday concert since there were 15 rehearsals. We have reached the 4 rehearsals mark. I will announce the "Don't piss me off" disclaimer on Monday.
I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew for this one- at least that's what the panicked part of me thinks. The logical side of me is all like, "Dude, chill out, it's middle school orchestra..." Just last rehearsal I did something stupid. Like, really stupid. Ugh, why did I do it? So my 7th grade is playing "Angels we have heard on High" (spelled 'Angles we have heard on High' on many of their parts because I had a student make copies and she cut off the title and wrote it in that way...) and also "Holiday Waltz," which is a combined piece with the 8th grade. Then they are playing "Jingle Bells" flash mob style during one of our many stage transitions. They're going to be out in the audience and pop up to play the song by memory- it'll either be really awesome or really sloppy, but cute either way so who cares? But they were only going to be on stage by themselves for one piece and I felt bad for all the parents who came to see their kid perform and they only play for 1 minute and 30 seconds? Plus another 2 minutes with the 8th grade? So the very, very, stupid thing I did at the 5 rehearsal mark was add five pieces- one piece per section (easy 2-part stuff for soli violins, violas, cellos, and basses) and another large group piece called "Christmas Sampler." I decided if they weren't able to play everything I handed them semi-decently by the end of the block, we'd scrap the idea. It was risky because either way we're losing a rehearsal close to show time. But those little nuggets pulled it off with style. God love 'em, why couldn't they have just bombed and made it clear to me that I should just have stuck with Plan A?
The 8th grade is playing "Holiday Hoedown", a hilarious piece that cracks me up every time we rehearse it. It mixes like 50 Christmas carols with a bunch of fiddle tunes 2 bars at a time. Freakin' hilarious! They don't get it. "See?" I'll say, "It's funny!"
"I think only composers think it's funny."
"No, musicians think it's funny." Awwww burn! Anyway, they're playing that and then "Holiday Waltz" with the 7th grade. Then the other stupid thing I took on for this concert was a full orchestra piece. It's called "All is Calm," an arrangement of "Silent Night," and it is really gorgeous when it's played together and in tune and with all the right parts... I've had 2 really quick rehearsals with some of the strings and some of the winds that went relatively well, but I sincerely don't think we'll have everyone play at the same time until the night of the concert, which is scary. It's just so hard to get kids to attend extra rehearsals all at once, especially when they're band kids who are playing for free, so to speak. Though, I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the wind players are doing. They are all really sweet kids and they play with great tone quality and respond well to my conducting and direction. But like I said, we've yet to rehearse with all the parts, so if we pull this off it will be a miracle.
In addition to a combined 7th/8th grade piece and a full orchestra piece, I also have the new Honor's Orchestra performing. They are playing "Dona Nobis Pacem," which is the first piece they've played that is in the key of A major (G#'s are a bitch...) and it's slow and requires a lot of bow control. It's going well, but we haven't consistently played it through without someone dropping a beat and getting off. Plus this orchestra meets from 7:30 to 8:30 Monday and Wednesday mornings and inevitably at least 2 or 3 members will be missing from the 13 member group. These guys are also playing "Kwanzaa Celebration" (yay for diversity!), a piece with some African drums- it'll be a crowd-pleaser I think. In addition to the two pieces on stage, I've also planned for them to play carols in the lobby while people enter. I bought some books that should be easy to sight read and provide plenty of variety, however the books did not get delivered until after class on Friday, which means none of my Honor's Orchestra kids have seen the music yet. And we still have the other pieces to perfect and those 18 Christmas carols need to be learned and able to be played without me all in four 7:30-8:30 AM rehearsals. Yikes.
So in conclusion, here is what our Orchestra Holiday Concert looks like:
6:40-7:00 Honor's Orchestra Carols in the Lobby
7:00 7th grade Orchestra, Angles we have heard on High; 4 section pieces; Christmas Sampler
7:15 7th/8th grade Orchestras Holiday Waltz
7:20 Honor's Orchestra: Dona Nobis Pacem; Kwanzaa Celebration
7:25 Flash mob 7th grade Jingle Bells
7:30 8th grade Holiday Hoedown
7:35 Junior Symphonic Orchestra All is Calm
7:45 Pack up and go home
We work like slaves for 9 weeks to perform for 45 minutes. It makes me feel depressed. And panicked. Did I mention panicked?
I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew for this one- at least that's what the panicked part of me thinks. The logical side of me is all like, "Dude, chill out, it's middle school orchestra..." Just last rehearsal I did something stupid. Like, really stupid. Ugh, why did I do it? So my 7th grade is playing "Angels we have heard on High" (spelled 'Angles we have heard on High' on many of their parts because I had a student make copies and she cut off the title and wrote it in that way...) and also "Holiday Waltz," which is a combined piece with the 8th grade. Then they are playing "Jingle Bells" flash mob style during one of our many stage transitions. They're going to be out in the audience and pop up to play the song by memory- it'll either be really awesome or really sloppy, but cute either way so who cares? But they were only going to be on stage by themselves for one piece and I felt bad for all the parents who came to see their kid perform and they only play for 1 minute and 30 seconds? Plus another 2 minutes with the 8th grade? So the very, very, stupid thing I did at the 5 rehearsal mark was add five pieces- one piece per section (easy 2-part stuff for soli violins, violas, cellos, and basses) and another large group piece called "Christmas Sampler." I decided if they weren't able to play everything I handed them semi-decently by the end of the block, we'd scrap the idea. It was risky because either way we're losing a rehearsal close to show time. But those little nuggets pulled it off with style. God love 'em, why couldn't they have just bombed and made it clear to me that I should just have stuck with Plan A?
The 8th grade is playing "Holiday Hoedown", a hilarious piece that cracks me up every time we rehearse it. It mixes like 50 Christmas carols with a bunch of fiddle tunes 2 bars at a time. Freakin' hilarious! They don't get it. "See?" I'll say, "It's funny!"
"I think only composers think it's funny."
"No, musicians think it's funny." Awwww burn! Anyway, they're playing that and then "Holiday Waltz" with the 7th grade. Then the other stupid thing I took on for this concert was a full orchestra piece. It's called "All is Calm," an arrangement of "Silent Night," and it is really gorgeous when it's played together and in tune and with all the right parts... I've had 2 really quick rehearsals with some of the strings and some of the winds that went relatively well, but I sincerely don't think we'll have everyone play at the same time until the night of the concert, which is scary. It's just so hard to get kids to attend extra rehearsals all at once, especially when they're band kids who are playing for free, so to speak. Though, I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the wind players are doing. They are all really sweet kids and they play with great tone quality and respond well to my conducting and direction. But like I said, we've yet to rehearse with all the parts, so if we pull this off it will be a miracle.
In addition to a combined 7th/8th grade piece and a full orchestra piece, I also have the new Honor's Orchestra performing. They are playing "Dona Nobis Pacem," which is the first piece they've played that is in the key of A major (G#'s are a bitch...) and it's slow and requires a lot of bow control. It's going well, but we haven't consistently played it through without someone dropping a beat and getting off. Plus this orchestra meets from 7:30 to 8:30 Monday and Wednesday mornings and inevitably at least 2 or 3 members will be missing from the 13 member group. These guys are also playing "Kwanzaa Celebration" (yay for diversity!), a piece with some African drums- it'll be a crowd-pleaser I think. In addition to the two pieces on stage, I've also planned for them to play carols in the lobby while people enter. I bought some books that should be easy to sight read and provide plenty of variety, however the books did not get delivered until after class on Friday, which means none of my Honor's Orchestra kids have seen the music yet. And we still have the other pieces to perfect and those 18 Christmas carols need to be learned and able to be played without me all in four 7:30-8:30 AM rehearsals. Yikes.
So in conclusion, here is what our Orchestra Holiday Concert looks like:
6:40-7:00 Honor's Orchestra Carols in the Lobby
7:00 7th grade Orchestra, Angles we have heard on High; 4 section pieces; Christmas Sampler
7:15 7th/8th grade Orchestras Holiday Waltz
7:20 Honor's Orchestra: Dona Nobis Pacem; Kwanzaa Celebration
7:25 Flash mob 7th grade Jingle Bells
7:30 8th grade Holiday Hoedown
7:35 Junior Symphonic Orchestra All is Calm
7:45 Pack up and go home
We work like slaves for 9 weeks to perform for 45 minutes. It makes me feel depressed. And panicked. Did I mention panicked?
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Feather Me Manipulative
I wish people simply gave to charity out of the goodness of their hearts without need of incentive or competition. Fortunately, 8th graders are easy to trick into doing things, so when there is an incentive that is desirable enough and a competition that is hot enough, it's the perfect storm for Mrs. Martin, Super Saleswoman! Here is the competition: to raise money for families in need during the holidays, the lunch room supervising teachers (yours truly and the rest of the poor souls who were assigned this duty) are selling paper feathers to students for $1.00. When a student buys a feather, he writes his name on it and tapes it to one of the the cafeteria windows. Whichever team (the school is divided into teams depending on their schedule and lunch times) purchases the most feathers wins a prize. In the past, the prize has been gym time during homeroom. This was what the prize was thought to be for the first week of the competition. My team, the Jaguars, bought a grand total of three feathers. Yeah, it was pretty indicative of their attitude for charity. "I don't have any money. They should be sending me food during the holidays!" "Who cares about gym time?" On Friday, it was announced that the competition had been extended to the following Wednesday and the prize would not be gym time, but instead a movie with free popcorn for the whole team in the auditorium, during the school day. Feather sales would soon start to increase.
On Monday I started my pitch. The Jaguar's feathers are black to match the color of their hearts and their lanyards. I took a big stack of black paper feathers and a silver marker and waved them above my head as I walked around to each round lunch table.
"Who's buying a feather today? Who wants that free movie day? Who wants to help give to families in need during the holidays?"
No hands shot up in response. I walked up to a table and bent down.
"Come on guys, who wants to donate a dollar? You guys could get a free movie day!" I said.
A curly-haired mixed kid responded, "There's no way we're going to catch the Cardinals. They have a full window filled already!"
The Cardinals are the honor's team. Their feather color is red. They're the rich kids, they're the white kids, they're the generous kids. I frankly love having them in class. They may be snobs, but they be snobs whose parents taught them manners. They donated lots of money before they even knew what the prize was. They are, of course, a bit cocky though.
"No, no, no. You guys don't get it. You see, the Cardinals won't see you coming. They're content. They sitting pretty. They have a comfortable lead. You have three measly feathers up there! You're a joke! That's why you're in the perfect position!"
The table of Jaguars stared a me. A skinny black girl with a bad hair weave spoke.
"But how we gonna get as many as them? They got like a hundred. We only got two days. We don't got a chance."
I countered, "Yes you do! If every Jaguar donated just one dollar, you could have a window covered by today! Trust me on this: you plan a sneak attack. Donate a ton at the last minute. No one will see it coming! It's the perfect plan!"
They Jaguar table looked at each other skeptically.
I tried another tactic. "How much do you pay to go see a movie?"
The mixed kid said, "Like, ten bucks. Plus popcorn and stuff, like twenty maybe."
The other Jaguars nodded in agreement.
"This is one dollar. Just one! Maybe two if you want to be safe."
"But what movie is it going to be?" a fat kid argued. "It's probably going to be like PG or something lame."
"Who cares?" I said, throwing my hands up theatrically. "It's during the school day! And you get free popcorn!"
I bent over lower.
"And you get a chance to beat the Cardinals without them even knowing it. See, you have lunch after them. You have the advantage of knowing exactly how many feathers they have, so you'll know exactly how many feathers you need to win. It's the perfect plan, guys. Trust me. It's seriously perfect. Imagine, the Jaguars, the team who came from only three feathers in the first week, winning the movie day..."
The Jaguars looked around at each other. I could see the wheels turning.
"How much for one feather?"
I smiled. "A dollar."
Two of the Jaguars dug their hands into their dirty jeans' pockets and pulled out some dollar bills.
"I'll take two."
"I'll take one."
I shouted, "Yeah, that's what I'm taking about! A Jaguar surge! A sneak attack! It's all you, you're going to win! Spread the word!"
I performed my act at a few more tables. I got $5.00 from one kid and several more single orders. By the end of Monday there were 20 black feathers on the cafeteria window and promises from several students to bring money the next day.
On Tuesday I spread my plan to more tables. The Jaguars were buzzing. One wiry blonde boy with crooked teeth tossed me a bag with $20.00 worth of quarters and dimes. I cheered them on and excitedly urged them to spread the word! Every Jaguar had to bring at least a dollar to win! By the end of Tuesday's lunch there were 83 black feathers on the window. There were 120 red feathers. The Jaguars were closing in...
Wednesday was the final day to donate. I told my homeroom that if everyone in our class gave at least a dollar, I would bring them candy on Friday, regardless of if they won the overall competition.
My sassy little Mexican girl who always, I mean every day, always, wears some form of leopard print said, "If we don't win, I want my money back!"
I looked at her. "What do you think this money is for?"
Everyone got quiet.
"You want your two dollars back? Really? For what? So you can buy Air Heads at the book store or a cookie in the lunch line? Come on. If you lose, you still will have given a lot of money to families who don't have food or warm clothes. You want your two dollars back if you don't get to watch a stupid movie?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I'm just playin'. They can keep it."
I let the silence hang for a bit. "Good," I said.
Another one of my homeroom students came into class a little late with a money bank full of change.
"There's $27.52 in here!" he exclaimed, slamming it down on my desk.
"Alright, awesome!" I said.
He asked, "Can I go around to all the homerooms and ask for spare change? We can just put 'Jaguars' or something on those feathers. Or just leave 'em blank, who cares? We're gonna win!"
He was practically jumping up and down. The rest of the class didn't even mock him or laugh under their breath like they usually would at anyone who showed the least bit of positive emotion. They all just smiled with excitement and said encouraging things like, "Wow, that's so awesome!" and "I have some change in my locker!" and "Can we, can we please go collect change, Mrs. Martin?!"
"OK," I said, "but ask the classroom teacher first and don't be disruptive! And be back in less than 10 minutes to finish your work!"
He and a friend rushed out the room, the coin bank clanking heavily.
After he left and the room was quiet with Jaguars working on their morning math, one of my girls looked over at me. She has never spoke to me respectfully the whole year. She is rarely in her seat when the bell rings and she usually is stirring up some kind of disruption by gossiping loudly or dancing in her seat to silent pop music, which she mouths obnoxiously.
She said, "If it weren't for you, we would still have three feathers."
She said it very frankly. Not like a complement, not like an accusation, just sort of stating a fact. She stared at me for a few more seconds before I said, "I know."
She turned back to her math and quietly started working.
The cafeteria was mayhem that day. Jaguars were rushing up to me with handfuls of crumpled dollar bills. Everyone was asking, "How many do we need?" and "Are we going to win?" The Cardinals had also brought their A game for the final day of donating. A whole other window was feathered red. I didn't count the red feathers. I just kept collecting Jaguar money and animatedly answering "I'm not sure, we're close though! Everyone needs to give or else it won't be possible!"
The final score after Wednesday's lunch: Jaguars- $161.00, Cardinals- $258.00 None of the other 5 teams were even close. I didn't tell the Jaguars they had lost. They left the cafeteria bumping fists and excitedly murmuring, "We could win, we could win!"
When I told one of my colleagues what I was doing, she said, "The kids you hate? These are the kids in your homeroom, right? These are the kids who give you all the trouble? Why are you helping them?"
I just shrugged. I don't know really. Maybe I got caught up in the competition. Maybe I love an underdog. Maybe I enjoyed tricking the black-feathered monsters into donating all their money to charity. I honestly can't say. All I know is that tomorrow I will feed my kids a story along the lines of, "There was one kid on the Cardinals that gave like $50.00 at the last minute." Or, "You were only about $20.00 behind! If only more people would have donate just one dollar, we could have done it!" Or, "We will hatch an even greater plan next time and we will win!"
I don't know if they got the message or understood that each those colored feathers on the window represented $1.00 and added together those feathers would feed several families Thanksgiving dinner. What I do know is that for those two short days, the Jaguars were a team. They encouraged, they fought together for a common cause (albeit a movie day and free popcorn), and they won me over. I know there are still going to be plenty of days when I could strangle the lot of them and walk away whistling Dixie, but now I've seen what they can be, and I know what role I can play, and now I know that every time, we will win.
On Monday I started my pitch. The Jaguar's feathers are black to match the color of their hearts and their lanyards. I took a big stack of black paper feathers and a silver marker and waved them above my head as I walked around to each round lunch table.
"Who's buying a feather today? Who wants that free movie day? Who wants to help give to families in need during the holidays?"
No hands shot up in response. I walked up to a table and bent down.
"Come on guys, who wants to donate a dollar? You guys could get a free movie day!" I said.
A curly-haired mixed kid responded, "There's no way we're going to catch the Cardinals. They have a full window filled already!"
The Cardinals are the honor's team. Their feather color is red. They're the rich kids, they're the white kids, they're the generous kids. I frankly love having them in class. They may be snobs, but they be snobs whose parents taught them manners. They donated lots of money before they even knew what the prize was. They are, of course, a bit cocky though.
"No, no, no. You guys don't get it. You see, the Cardinals won't see you coming. They're content. They sitting pretty. They have a comfortable lead. You have three measly feathers up there! You're a joke! That's why you're in the perfect position!"
The table of Jaguars stared a me. A skinny black girl with a bad hair weave spoke.
"But how we gonna get as many as them? They got like a hundred. We only got two days. We don't got a chance."
I countered, "Yes you do! If every Jaguar donated just one dollar, you could have a window covered by today! Trust me on this: you plan a sneak attack. Donate a ton at the last minute. No one will see it coming! It's the perfect plan!"
They Jaguar table looked at each other skeptically.
I tried another tactic. "How much do you pay to go see a movie?"
The mixed kid said, "Like, ten bucks. Plus popcorn and stuff, like twenty maybe."
The other Jaguars nodded in agreement.
"This is one dollar. Just one! Maybe two if you want to be safe."
"But what movie is it going to be?" a fat kid argued. "It's probably going to be like PG or something lame."
"Who cares?" I said, throwing my hands up theatrically. "It's during the school day! And you get free popcorn!"
I bent over lower.
"And you get a chance to beat the Cardinals without them even knowing it. See, you have lunch after them. You have the advantage of knowing exactly how many feathers they have, so you'll know exactly how many feathers you need to win. It's the perfect plan, guys. Trust me. It's seriously perfect. Imagine, the Jaguars, the team who came from only three feathers in the first week, winning the movie day..."
The Jaguars looked around at each other. I could see the wheels turning.
"How much for one feather?"
I smiled. "A dollar."
Two of the Jaguars dug their hands into their dirty jeans' pockets and pulled out some dollar bills.
"I'll take two."
"I'll take one."
I shouted, "Yeah, that's what I'm taking about! A Jaguar surge! A sneak attack! It's all you, you're going to win! Spread the word!"
I performed my act at a few more tables. I got $5.00 from one kid and several more single orders. By the end of Monday there were 20 black feathers on the cafeteria window and promises from several students to bring money the next day.
On Tuesday I spread my plan to more tables. The Jaguars were buzzing. One wiry blonde boy with crooked teeth tossed me a bag with $20.00 worth of quarters and dimes. I cheered them on and excitedly urged them to spread the word! Every Jaguar had to bring at least a dollar to win! By the end of Tuesday's lunch there were 83 black feathers on the window. There were 120 red feathers. The Jaguars were closing in...
Wednesday was the final day to donate. I told my homeroom that if everyone in our class gave at least a dollar, I would bring them candy on Friday, regardless of if they won the overall competition.
My sassy little Mexican girl who always, I mean every day, always, wears some form of leopard print said, "If we don't win, I want my money back!"
I looked at her. "What do you think this money is for?"
Everyone got quiet.
"You want your two dollars back? Really? For what? So you can buy Air Heads at the book store or a cookie in the lunch line? Come on. If you lose, you still will have given a lot of money to families who don't have food or warm clothes. You want your two dollars back if you don't get to watch a stupid movie?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I'm just playin'. They can keep it."
I let the silence hang for a bit. "Good," I said.
Another one of my homeroom students came into class a little late with a money bank full of change.
"There's $27.52 in here!" he exclaimed, slamming it down on my desk.
"Alright, awesome!" I said.
He asked, "Can I go around to all the homerooms and ask for spare change? We can just put 'Jaguars' or something on those feathers. Or just leave 'em blank, who cares? We're gonna win!"
He was practically jumping up and down. The rest of the class didn't even mock him or laugh under their breath like they usually would at anyone who showed the least bit of positive emotion. They all just smiled with excitement and said encouraging things like, "Wow, that's so awesome!" and "I have some change in my locker!" and "Can we, can we please go collect change, Mrs. Martin?!"
"OK," I said, "but ask the classroom teacher first and don't be disruptive! And be back in less than 10 minutes to finish your work!"
He and a friend rushed out the room, the coin bank clanking heavily.
After he left and the room was quiet with Jaguars working on their morning math, one of my girls looked over at me. She has never spoke to me respectfully the whole year. She is rarely in her seat when the bell rings and she usually is stirring up some kind of disruption by gossiping loudly or dancing in her seat to silent pop music, which she mouths obnoxiously.
She said, "If it weren't for you, we would still have three feathers."
She said it very frankly. Not like a complement, not like an accusation, just sort of stating a fact. She stared at me for a few more seconds before I said, "I know."
She turned back to her math and quietly started working.
The cafeteria was mayhem that day. Jaguars were rushing up to me with handfuls of crumpled dollar bills. Everyone was asking, "How many do we need?" and "Are we going to win?" The Cardinals had also brought their A game for the final day of donating. A whole other window was feathered red. I didn't count the red feathers. I just kept collecting Jaguar money and animatedly answering "I'm not sure, we're close though! Everyone needs to give or else it won't be possible!"
The final score after Wednesday's lunch: Jaguars- $161.00, Cardinals- $258.00 None of the other 5 teams were even close. I didn't tell the Jaguars they had lost. They left the cafeteria bumping fists and excitedly murmuring, "We could win, we could win!"
When I told one of my colleagues what I was doing, she said, "The kids you hate? These are the kids in your homeroom, right? These are the kids who give you all the trouble? Why are you helping them?"
I just shrugged. I don't know really. Maybe I got caught up in the competition. Maybe I love an underdog. Maybe I enjoyed tricking the black-feathered monsters into donating all their money to charity. I honestly can't say. All I know is that tomorrow I will feed my kids a story along the lines of, "There was one kid on the Cardinals that gave like $50.00 at the last minute." Or, "You were only about $20.00 behind! If only more people would have donate just one dollar, we could have done it!" Or, "We will hatch an even greater plan next time and we will win!"
I don't know if they got the message or understood that each those colored feathers on the window represented $1.00 and added together those feathers would feed several families Thanksgiving dinner. What I do know is that for those two short days, the Jaguars were a team. They encouraged, they fought together for a common cause (albeit a movie day and free popcorn), and they won me over. I know there are still going to be plenty of days when I could strangle the lot of them and walk away whistling Dixie, but now I've seen what they can be, and I know what role I can play, and now I know that every time, we will win.
The Election
After only one week, I nearly forgot it happened. The election was such a big deal for approximately 1 year and 11 months leading up to it. And here it is, a mere 7 days later, and I seriously almost forgot to write about it. Middle schoolers are so funny about politics. They of course know absolutely nothing, other than what they see on TV commercials and what their parents say. And I'm sure they didn't know any politician's name other than Romney and Obama. And even then, I heard someone say "Bronco Bama" in reference to the president. Really?
One of my colleagues did a little experiment with his classes. He had them vote on two different hypothetical schools.
One of my colleagues did a little experiment with his classes. He had them vote on two different hypothetical schools.
- School #1 had a lot of rules and teachers and principals but students were given much more guidance and help and in many cases, several second chances at reform. At School #1, students had to pay a little more to attend but in return they were provided with better clubs and resources. Everyone at School #1 would be at a comfortable middle class socioeconomic status. Students who attended School #1 would be better prepared for college because of the strong guidance of their teachers.
- School #2 had fewer rules and allowed students to come up with their own rules and regulations. They would be given more freedom and fewer rules at School #2 and would pay less to attend. But School #2 would not offer as many clubs and resources for free and the teachers and administration would not help them with their school work or bail them out if they got in trouble. School #2 would have some poor kids, some middle class kids, and some rich kids. Students who attended School #2 would still have a chance to attend college, but wouldn't get the help of teachers.
For which school do you think 95% of his students voted? Yep, School #2. "We want more freedom!" "We don't want no one telling us what to do!" "We can figure our stuff out for ourselves!" "Clubs are stupid anyway." When my colleague revealed which school embodied the basic outline of the Democratic party's ideals and which one embodied the Republican party's ideals, the students were outraged. "You tricked us!" "Vote Obama! He tight!" "If you vote Mitt Romney, you racist."
On November 6th, all day I was asked, "Who are you voting for?" I just smiled and shook my head. I tried telling one class about Glenda Ritz, the woman running again the current Indiana State Superintendent of Schools, Tony Bennett and why I was voting for her. They didn't care, even though her winning the election will effect them more than President Obama's victory will. It's been a week and the smear ads are finally off the TV, Facebook status updates are no longer all about politics, and I haven't heard Romney or Obama's names spoken in the hallways once. Not sure what to take from this other than I'm glad voters grow up before going to the polls... right?
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