Klarinet Archive - Posting 001206.txt from 1999/01

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] HELP!
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 07:48:41 -0500

On Sat, 23 Jan 1999, Paulette W. Gulakowski wrote:

> The ENTIRE school district is under court mandate for a no cut policy
> - that includes the basketball team. The court order came about
> originally because of inequities between neighboring schools districts
> - economic, social, racial, educational etc. It was meant to give
> everyone an equal opportunity and education.

I was a high school and middle school band director for six years before
beginning my career as a college teacher. Ojn quite a few occasions, I
would have a student come to me and say that even though they had not
begun instrumental music training when their classmates did, they wanted
to be in the band. If they were willing to work and to learn, I would
work with them to determine the instrument to which they might be best
suited, (and which one the band was most in need of), and eventually they
would join the band program. Also, on one occasion, I had a student in my
band who was rather severly physically handicapped. When we marched, she
marched right along with us. Her gait didn't look exactly like that of
others in the band, but my attitude was, "so what."

However, the situation you describe seems to be different. A student can
annunce that they want to join the band, not being able to play any
instrument, and not having any intent to ever try to learn to play one.
Their only purpose might be to try to disrupt the class and hinder the
learning on the part of the other students. As I understand it, the
teacher can do nothing about this, so every student in the program will
suffer.

I still say that there is a word that describes this judicial policy very
recisely - and that word is "stupidity." You can tell the judge I said
so.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu

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