4th of July parade

[KEN]

~shakes head wearily~
ODDS BODKINS Deb ! I thought we went through this on another topic! LOL

[Deb Richardson]

~nods head knowingly~

[neup99]

~shakes head wearily~Some people just don't get it.

No, I get it exactly. It's more popular on this forum to complain than to do something to make a positive impact. You make snide comments about someone that you don't know and play defensive when you get called on the carpet for it. I remember you saying in a post a while ago something of the effect that on this forum people do not ridicule others. However, you have yet to create your posts in this manner.

It's nice that you can play queen here, but I honestly hope you have a better effect on the area in which you live. People visit this forum and see it as a reflection of the Tomahawk area. I know that you don't live here, but in the future, please have the decency to consider how the snide remarks will effect those that do live here.

[Deb Richardson]

Only a princess. Like it or not I'll be back in Tomahawk.

[Old Scout]

I know that you don't live here, but in the future, please have the decency to consider how the snide remarks will effect those that do live here.

Well for the record, I do live here and from my point of view, you need to take the blinders off and see what is really happening and what the facts of the matter are. Having talked to many local residents about this you can believe that what is happening to our band is a sad situation. Perhaps in your own mind you had a good experience with this instructor but then again as a student you probably didn't know any better and had never experienced a quality teacher. A good friend of mine who is an accomplished musician and studied music in college offered to work with him when his children were in high school and he was basicly dismissed with an "I can handle it" attitude. Fortunatly he was able to work with his kids and help them through their music training so that they were able to become quite good. And the teacher probably took credit for it, even though he had very little to do with their skills.

And you think this looks bad on a message board, how about when thousands are watching the parade and see our band.
Think what you like, but in the opinion of many, myself included, this dude needs to be sent down the road, the sooner the better. Perhaps then our band won't be an embarrassment to our city.

[Catfish]

So let me see if I got this straight. Some think the teacher sucks----some think he's the most on toast. That's cool---done deal---end of discussion already!
This goes nowhere---minds are made up.
but.........I beg to differ.... Haha, and lol, and yada yada!

[Old Scout]

Yes Master !

[Catfish]

haha , lol , yada yada

[Catfish]

hey scout, no master here. maybe master of nonsense.
I salute you, you're great to have on this forumn.

[Jeff Boettcher]

I don't get it. Abnerman states that they got what they wanted from the Tomahawk Band Teacher. It didn't include a minor in close order drill. Then folks jump on the comments. You say the Band teacher stinks, Aberman was happy. Leave Abnerman alone & harass the school board. ****, volunteer to be the Marching Master.

The city I went to school had Band Teachers with different strengths. Appleton East had a Band teacher who lived for marching band. AHS East went to several new years parades to perform. Appleton West"s band teacher was a jazz man. AHS West jazz band rocked, & the marching band lagged behind East. NO ONE CARED. They knew what they were getting & accepted it or had their kid transfer.

[Old Scout]

volunteer to be the Marching Master.

Jeff, if you look back on one of my previous posts you will see that people have volunteered and were turned down.

It is one thing to not be good at something but this is beyond that. It is obvious that he makes as little effort as possible and still make it look like he is doing his job. what is really sad is that they don't play all that great either. Most of the time all they are doing is walking down the street with the drum beating and looking like they are out for a sunday stroll.

It has been brought up to the school board and went nowhere. A friend of mine was on the school board and when-ever it was brought up most of them didn't want to push it for some reason.

You really should come up on the 4th some time and you can see for your self what we are talking about.

[mickey129]

For some reason this thread really amuses me. I was in the Tomahawk band back in the day and quite honestly I hated marching in the parade, mostly because I had better things to do. That being said, I don't have any issues with the band teacher.

What amuses me is how worked up people are getting over one performance in one parade (ever notice that we have a parade every month around here). Seriously, this is what we are talking about! I don't really have a dog in the fight, but for the people that use words like "probably" and "I'm sure this happened". That is what's called SPECULATION. Are you really calling for the band teacher's job because the band was out of step? Wow! I mean really Wow! First, I want to see anyone group together a bunch of teenagers in the middle of the summer, all of whom want to be somewhere else and get them to march in a straight line. Second, does anyone know what kind of priority the music dept and the school put on the 4th of July parade? If the school says that we should have a top of the line music dept, then the school is to blame for letting the instructor slide.

Either way, the only time I've EVER heard anyone say a negative comment about the marching band was when they were right in front of us, once the band has marched past, they have marched out of the memory of most (except for those of you posting on this thread). For those of you who think that there is some sort of lasting repercussions due to a misstep or two on the 4th of July need to get a grip on reality. And if you have a student in band and don't like what's happening, TAKE THEM OUT. Band is an elective and there are plenty of other electives.

Sorry this is so long, but really isn't the economy in the tank and aren't the terrorists plotting? I think we can give the THS band a break.

--
Mickey Loka

[Old Scout]

First, I want to see anyone group together a bunch of teenagers in the middle of the summer, all of whom want to be somewhere else and get them to march in a straight line.

Guess it doesn't take much to amuse you !

Apparently some schools are able to do that and have a band that not only looks good but even can play their insturments while marching. There were at least three other bands in the parade and all of them put our band to shame in every way. And this isn't just one parade, this has been going on for quite a few years.

I suspect that you also as a student did not know the difference between a good band instructor and the one we have.

And back when I was in school we not only had a good band but they wore uniforms and and looked the part. Perhaps they had a bit of pride in themselves and their band which seems to be missing today.

When I see some improvement I will change my opinion but until that day comes thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

And that is all I have to say about that !

[mickey129]

It doesn't take a lot to amuse me. For instance, I find this funny.... one horse looks at the other and says.... why the long face.

And please don't SPECULATE on whether or not I knew what a good band instructor was, you don't know me.

[Catfish]

This reminds me of the mother that goes to the military school her son is at and is watching with all the other parents the unit marching in formation. She says to another mother, "Look, every one is out of step but my dear Bobby!"

[abnerman]

So let me see if I got this straight. Some think the teacher sucks----some think he's the most on toast. That's cool---done deal---end of discussion already!
This goes nowhere---minds are made up.

Just because people might disagree about something doesn't mean that each side should not discuss their opinions on it. That's what a place like this is for.. discussion. If Deb and Old Scout just created a new thread and chastised a local teacher for sucking at life and then locked the thread so no one else could share their two cents, it wouldn't be much of a public forum.

I'm not trying to change Deb or Old Scout's mind, especially when it would be such an obviously futile endeavor.
But what I can do as someone with an opposing point of view, is go on record here and say that I disagree with some of the speculative things that are being said, and that I disagree even more with the way that some of it has been communicated (back to the adjectives again). To discuss something doesn't mean there has to be a winner and a loser. In this case if what I say causes someone to reconsider the way they conducted themselves and the way that they brought across their views, great. If not, then at the very least I've indulged myself and anyone else reading it will see that the perception of some does not necessarily constitute as fact for all.

No one is forcing anyone else to further participate or even read this thread, and the beauty of this fact is that no one has to be bothered with it if they don't care to be. If Deb wants to say her piece and say that she's done talking about it, she has that luxury. But to imply that the two sides have said their piece and no one should talk about it, is just not conducive to what I consider the purpose of a message board.

So, that being said..

[abnerman]

volunteer to be the Marching Master.

It is one thing to not be good at something but this is beyond that. It is obvious that he makes as little effort as possible and still make it look like he is doing his job.

While I don't doubt that this is your opinion, I'll say again that your perception of something does not constitute it as fact.

It's a high school band...
I don't believe I've ever gone into the experience of seeing a group of high school band students in the middle of their summer vacation with very lofty expectations. To be completely honest with you, I don't know that I've seen a high school band from anywhere NOT suck when playing in a summer parade. But once again, I guess it's all a matter of the expectations each of us has.

And back when I was in school we not only had a good band but they wore uniforms and and looked the part. Perhaps they had a bit of pride in themselves and their band which seems to be missing today.

Wait, so you weren't in the band?
(Honestly, I had to wear the wool uniforms... and they were so truly awful. If anything, it was my experience when I played in the high school band that dressing in a wool jumpsuit and hiking up and down the street in July demotivated kids much more than it instilled any semblance of pride. The entire country has been moving away from them in warm weather due to comfort and health reasons.)

[Old Scout]

One last comment. I was in Merrill today for the Labor Day parade and had the pleasure of seeing the Merill High School band. It is amazing that after being off all summer they were marching in step, the lines were straight, the music sounded great and horror of horrors, they were even wearing uniforms.
Now what excuse are we going to hear about THS not having been together and practicing all summer which some think is the reason that they are so bad.

I know we keep hearing about the old heavy wool uniforms of the early years but I doubt that any of them are like that any more. That is part of history and has nothing to do with today. The uniforms that MHS was wearing looked light and comfortable and they made them look like a real band.

Perhaps we need to borrow their band director for a while !

[abnerman]

...wow.

[mickey129]

I think it is a matter of priorities. I have always heard the praises of the Merrill bands, heck they have a city band, so I guess there must be a bunch of people that really like being in a marching band. But as I said earlier, I was in the Tomahawk band, and we just didn't put a priority on marching. I think some of you have made it obvious that you would like to see the Tomahawk band put more emphasis on marching, but until the school administration dictates that they do, we will have to settle for what we have now - which by the way doesn't bother me one bit. The wool uniforms (or whatever they're made of) do make for a better look, but what the Tomahawk band wears is much nicer for the marcher (if that's even a word), and I don't want my kid having to be miserable on the 4th of July if the temp is in the 80s, and I'll admit this is all personal opinion, not many facts in this post.

[mickey129]

I think it is a matter of priorities. I have always heard the praises of the Merrill bands, heck they have a city band, so I guess there must be a bunch of people that really like being in a marching band. But as I said earlier, I was in the Tomahawk band, and we just didn't put a priority on marching. I think some of you have made it obvious that you would like to see the Tomahawk band put more emphasis on marching, but until the school administration dictates that they do, we will have to settle for what we have now - which by the way doesn't bother me one bit. The wool uniforms (or whatever they're made of) do make for a better look, but what the Tomahawk band wears is much nicer for the marcher (if that's even a word), and I don't want my kid having to be miserable on the 4th of July if the temp is in the 80s, and I'll admit this is all personal opinion, not many facts in this post.

[Deb Richardson]

I certainly hope that everyone is taking the time to stop and reflect on the day, September 11th.
In the big picture of life the high school band's less than stellar performances on Independence Day is really pretty pointless.
God Bless the victims, survivors, and their families on this the anniversary of 9/11/01.

[deebug]

I sure stirred up a bucket of worms since I first posted this. I am comfortable that I was not the only one who was shocked and embarrased by the band's lack of proper footwork. Maybe a stint in the service will show these kids how to march proudly in step. Maybe this was not posted in vain. Maybe some of the parents will step up and take notice so they can view their child with the respect they should get from their hard work in the band. Will see next 4th of July wont we?? i am not blaming the students. What goes around comes around. The post about it being hot and summer and the poor babies had to march is bull. My kids had to put up hay in the heat of summer and had they not kept up or been in step doing this there would have been alot to pay. They would I am sure rather been marching with a band which does not look like a big deal if done correctly.

[mickey129]

My kids had to put up hay in the heat of summer and had they not kept up or been in step doing this there would have been alot to pay. They would I am sure rather been marching with a band which does not look like a big deal if done correctly.

Exactly. You put a high priority getting that hay done (or whatever the correct term is). Everyone that wants to see the band march better should approach the school board and ask them to put a higher priority on marching. All I can say is that when I was in band there wasn't a high priority put on marching, and from the number of post on this thread, it isn't a big secret, I'm sure the leadership of the school and the school board have seen the marching band, so it is my OPINION that they must be fine with the way the marching band performs. If I wanted to see the marching band perform better, I would go to a school board meeting and ask why they are so out of step.

[deebug]

I did print out most of these posts and sent them to the band director. If that didn't work then I doubt the board would make any difference either. We will see won't we!!!! I would be thoroughly ashamed if I were him. It, apparently is not a priority. I would rather see a band marching perfectly and playing not so perfectly than watch them playing well and all out of step. We know they are capable of walking. Thanks for the posts guys, May not have been in vain.