It's been a month since my last post, and a lot's been going on. The business has been on hold due to the fact that neither I nor my partner has enough income to do the things we need to do, and we need to raise some funds to incorporate so we can get said funds via loans, grants, etc. We've got lots of great ideas. It's going to be a home run. It's just a waiting game right now, and that sucks.
Band season ended this weekend, and I'm going through that period where you look back and assess what went right, what went wrong, what you could have done differently, what you will do differently in the future, do I really know what the hell I'm talking about, etc, etc, etc. It's a yearly ritual that starts painfully and then usually ends with me having learned something. It's how I try to get my students and drum corps members to approach rehearsals, but I'm not usually very successful with my convincing.
Self assessment is hard for most people. Being able to detach yourself emotionally from a situation long enough to try to take an objective look at yourself and how you're doing what you're doing is not something that comes natural to most people...at least not anymore. Parents, media, society all tell people that their poop doesn't stink and that hurt feelings or experiencing failure are wrong. I disagree. Life is spent in various stages of failure...some minor like not doing the dishes, and some major. I feel that it's absolutely essential to your personal development to acknowledge your failures, to take a good hard look at them and experience the feelings and emotions associated with said failure to the fullest. This will allow you to recognize success and to enjoy it, plus it will teach you what your tendencies towards failure are and how to improve upon them to create more instances of success...not to mention that when you experience success you'll become hungry for it and strive harder for success.
You cannot approach life with a fear of failing. Instead, prepare as much as you can and be confident in your ability to succeed. If you fail, get up, assess, learn, and go right back out there to take another punch.
I have some very strong beliefs and feelings when it comes to programming, writing for, and teaching marching bands and drum corps, so it's sometimes difficult for me to look at it and see what is a failure and what is something I believe in but just wasn't successful with. For instance, I believe in programming interesting shows that keep the kids engaged, let them to put some of themselves into the production, and teach them skills about performance and music that they would not likely learn otherwise. Of course, these kinds of shows are more difficult and take more concentration, rehearsals, focus, and planning to achieve them while other bands are not challenging their students and perform easy, unimaginative shows and have more success. Is this a failure on my part to recognize the "game" and give in, or is it a failure on my part that I'm not always able to motivate all of the students to put in the work at home, or motivate the parents to help hold the kids accountable for practicing? Is that even my job?
I think there are some tendencies towards failure that I need to work on. My teaching style has become a little "forgiving," I should say, over the last few years. Maybe I'm not concentrating on the discipline aspect of band or corps as much as I should be. However, I don't think that I'm likely to change my approach or my beliefs in challenging my students and giving them a show that they can feel good about. Any band can pick 3 songs, write some drill, and perform a show clean...but what are they learning? Are they learning? They could be...but are they engaged in the program? Are they being pushed to achieve more and expect great things from themselves? Is it worth their time to put down the Guitar Hero and practice their instruments instead?
Of course, there's little evidence that my way is worth their time to put down the Guitar Hero and practice either. That's where I question myself. Am I simply just making my job harder than it needs to be and getting the same results that other bands get from a more simple approach?
Probably.
It's hit or miss from school to school. I'd like to blame it on the culture, but I can't. I've taught at schools in bad areas where the kids are generally lazy and blame everyone else for everything and have had success. I've taught at great schools where the kids are motivated and hard working and have not had success.
Part of the key seems to be the parents, because for better or worse they are the most influential people in their kids lives...way more influential than I could ever be. Instilling a good work ethic, manners, and confidence in kids from an early age is paramount to success. Parenting is the most important job in the world without question, yet no parents receive any training aside from trying to remember what their parents did with them. If you get the parents on board with the program, that's a big help.
Another big key is the staff. You don't need the big names that command tons of money and have a resume a mile long. What you need is chemistry and respect. You need a couple of people who really know what they're talking about and the rest of the staff needs to buy in. If you're all on the same page and everyone knows their role and WORKS from the time they show up until rehearsal is over, you should have success. Kids aren't dumb. If you don't know what you're talking about, they'll know it within 10 minutes of your first rehearsal. If you work your butt off for them, they'll see it and respect you for it. Few kids give a damn about your resume or what you've done before. They want to know what you're going to do for them NOW.
Finally, I believe you need solid member leadership from top to bottom. I'm not just talking about drum majors and captains or whatever...I'm talking about anyone who's been in the band or corps more than a year taking ownership in the program and leading by example...showing the new members how we do what we do and accepting nothing less. You need members who believe, whether you come in 1st or last, and who hold themselves and each other to the highest of standards.
If you have supportive and positive parents, a staff, and members who all buy into the program and will do what it takes to be successful, you will have a much easier time achieving that success than without any one of those essential elements.
I look back on this season and I see many successes and failures. I obviously learned a lot from 2008 about drill writing, design, flow, staging, and other elements of show design. I'm looking forward to learning from 2009 and using it this summer with the Bushwackers...pushing those guys harder, teaching them more, and leading them back to where we belong. We'll see what next fall brings. For now, I'm just glad to be able to take a breath and enjoy some time off.
