Re: Re: Re: Re: Teacher wont let me use my new CC horn!!


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 15, 2001 at 14:21:43:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Teacher wont let me use my new CC horn!! posted by Klaus on August 15, 2001 at 11:56:43:

Klaus, nobody, so far, disagrees with the notion that a kid who brings his own CC tuba to school ought to be allowed to play it.

The disagreement is in how to approach the problem. Here are the choices:

1.) Open defiance, advocated by more than a few.
2.) Blind obedience, also advocated by more than one.
3.) Or something in between.

Chuck G is saying that we cannot judge which of these approaches are the best, because we don't know all the facts. I absolutely agree, but we can still present the possible responses, and we can still present principles that should direct those responses. Those principles are:

1. The band director is the authority in the band room, whose authority should be respected, but whose authority can be challenged by appropriate means.
2. The band director has the responsbility to do the right thing.
3. The student has the responsibility to treat the band director with respect.

It was the student, not the director, who opened this line of discussion, and so far much of the discussion has been dominated by what the band director should or should not do. We aren't talking with the band director, so what we think about his actions are immaterial and not helpful to the student.

In my own early response, I suggested that the student employ the means to challenge the directive in appropriate ways, through channels, and in ways that don't undermine the authority of the band director or the relationship between that director and the student. This, to me, is far more important than the results.

So, to sum up:

1. Open defiance will ruin the relationship between the player and his director, which will have negative results for both. Tom Mason's response rings accurate in my ears. This is utterly disconnected from the merits of the argument either way. Being right will not help the student if the well is already poisoned. And if he is forced to use the BBb tuba as a result of a public showdown, he'll have no choice but to leave the band or do damage to his self-respect. Part of maintaining self-respect is to not paint yourself into a corner that requires you to defend it with such drama.

2. Blind obedience will diminish the value of the musical experience for the student, and will also miss the opportunity to discover and (perhaps) correct the thinking of the band director.

3. Having the student's private teacher and parents work with the band director in private gives respect to the authority of the band director while still providing the potential for a solution to the problem that leaves the earth unscorched and gets everyone what they want.

Rick "focusing on the student's real problem, not on the band director's stated problem" Denney


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