It depends on the school. our flagship is incredibly competitive in this area and so some kids make it into the MB, others do not but if you arenāt a music major it can be hard to play. My S17 actually just recorded a session with a graduate who is now at our flagship who has a couple of different bands outside of the school and they worked with an instructor from the flagship at the session. Pretty fun stuff. There are some strong programs in the area to be sure and many kids stick with it in some fashion everything from playing in an ensemble to majors/minors. We have a neighbor who graduated several years ago, amazing cellist, (the orchestra is quite good too) who is high demand these days and touring like crazy. I miss the days of the cello wafting through the cul-de-sac in the late evening but I am enjoying his flute girlfriend who is here with him for a couple of weeks!
My S17 plans to keep playing although he will not major or minor in music, his college list only includes schools where he is likely to be able to play jazz and in some cases possibly receive scholarship money for it (which basically pays for private lessons with a low credit 1 class commitment, a win win in our book. One also offers $$ for theater tech which he does as well and so while itās not the top program fitā¦it is super high on the list overall. It is nice as at several of these schools he knows kids that are non music majors and are in various bands at the schools so is able to
When I was in HS the 2 schools of the district would form a summer concert band every 4 years for interested students and go on a European trip/tour. I was lucky enough to participate one year. That tradition has continued and evolved, now the kids go to Ireland every 4 years for the St Patrickās day parade and several local competitions. This was the year for that and the band did amazingly well, beating out college bands at the 2 main competitions.
It is too early to say on S19 whether he will keep playing in college but it wouldnāt surprise me at all. He also plays piano but only as an EC, not at school as there are more talented players in the line up. SS11 was a music major (different HS and the band program is not nearly the same although their choir/vocal jazz is better) and itās not a path we prefer career wise but we do love having it in the house! H played trumpet through MS. As for me, I moved on from band into vocal jazz (aka Glee lol) for Jr/Sr years as cheer and flags meant I couldnāt be on the field with an instrument and it was a better fit for the latter years but I wouldnāt trade it for the world. SD 14 is the only one who gave up an instrument after elementary but she did choir through 11th, it was sad when she gave that up.
Regarding comp sci stuff, my kids have liked doing free code academy courses.
Our marching band is an all consuming force that gobbles every minute of free time in the fall. There are 2 weeks mandatory 8-5 home band camp followed by a full week of away band camp. Once school starts practice is Mon - Thur. from 3:00 - 6:00 with a football game most Fridays and 4 Sat. competitions that take all day (most leaving and returning in the wee hours).
And you canāt be in the band without doing marching band. If you play an instrument that doesnāt march you can choose another instrument (like marimbas in the pit) or do colorguard.
My kids do get a lot out of marching band but it is a real challenge in the fall to keep up with a heavy academic schedule. Especially since most teachers like to hit hardest at the beginning of the year.
@mom23travelers - and then there is no time for a sport or any other academic EC! I donāt get why band has to be all or nothing, but Iām kind of glad to hear that itās not just that way at our school. Itās a shame that kids have to give up music if they want to play a sport. Many, many kids do both around here and then are shocked when they get to high school and find out itās virtually impossible.
Actually the only excuse from marching band is to be a football player and even then you have to do extra band work.
I love band but my biggest regret is that it leaves little time for other activities and I really think high school should be a time for exploring a lot of different interests.
@mom23travelers That is an insane time commitment. Kids are excused from MB for football, flags, cheer. Pep band for basketball, flags, cheer.
I bet the band is amazing though!
I am grateful that for the most part our school really tries to let kids do everything they want. The only real exception is actually with drama, it is next to impossible to do drama and sports at our school. You can manage drama and band but arenāt allowed to try out for drum major if you are involved with drama at all, either cast or crew.
Well, even if football players get out of MB, that leaves boys and girls XC , boys soccer, girls tennis, and boys golf athletes from having time enough for band and thatās just the fall sports. Anyway, I always mention to my friends with middle schoolers that the time will come when they have to choose. If a seventh or eighth grader is spending hours year round playing a sport and is in the middle school band, something will have to give. For better or worse, itās usually bandā¦hence the mandatory marching band requirement. If kids were allowed to do band and not MB, we would have a very small marching band because kids would choose to use that time to devote to their sport. The problem feeds on itself! It all works out and none of this is earth shattering, but I just think itās too bad that the school makes is hard for the sporty/musical kid.
^agreed! I am grateful we really do not have those conflicts and I am sure that is why we donāt āmarchā as one really should. All things considered, I think it is a smart compromise and the band overall is stronger for it. One of the selling points that they really try to hammer home is that kids can do it all. Within reason. Drama is far less flexible which is tough as a lot of our music kids are also drama kids
Yeah, as the earlier conflict for us illustrated, drama/theater and sports donāt mix ā if we had a marching band Iām sure itād be the same. I didnāt do sports or theater in HS so didnāt have these conflicts; I was in the stage band, but you didnāt have to do MB, and I was able to have a happy mix of clubs, newspaper, etc, and get it all done and still have oodles of time for homework and a part-time job. Ugh - this time commitment for my kid is uuuuge.
Are your kids reading for fun this summer? Our S19 used to read voraciously all year long but, during freshman year, just didnāt have any time to read anything other than what was assigned for school. Right now, heās reading Shoe Dog, Phil Knightās bio (CEO Nike). I worked for Nike for years and know that the story is inspiring and heās enjoying it. Iād love to hear about the books your kids might read this summer! Fahrenheit 451 is assigned for English 2 H, but he wonāt read that until right before school starts so itās fresh.
My d is waiting on her assigned book until right before school starts too so that its fresh.
I donāt know yet what she will read. We will head to the library as early as we can next week and load up. We usually go every week or two in the summer and get a pile of books. We would already have been in except she has her last exam this morning, so she was studying for it all weeK.
Personally I think marching band should be optional and if that means itās tiny then itās tiny. But no one put me in charge and my kid loves band so I just roll with it.
My daughter is reading for fun this summer, but then again, sheās always reading for fun, often at the expense of assigned reading. Iām not sure I really mind that terribly much, actually.
DS19 is reading one of DS13ās college engineering text books called āFundamentals of Digital Designā. DS19 was asking DS13 a bunch of questions but he doesnāt have a lot of time to explain things this summer since he is taking classes so he went to his room and got the book and said here read thisā¦ At first I thought it was nuts but he seems to be interested in it.
I know Iām not a parent but, I didnāt read at all during the school year. Not because of too much school work, I was too tired and wasnāt in the mood most of the time. Now that Iām on summer break I been going through about 2 books a week, itās great! I love going to the library and getting piles and piles of books!
So here I sit with S19ās summer assignments for two classes in front of me. He hasnāt started them yet. Heās had about a week and a half of no homework since school ended. The kid deserved a break, but now itās time to tackle these assignments.
Iām trying to break them down and give him an idea of exactly how much he should finish each week so that heāll be on track to complete it all before school starts, without last minute marathon homework sessions. A mom can hope, right?
This is on top of his summer class/homework and his 3-4 nights/week of musical theatre rehearsals! I miss the lazy summer days of being a grade school parent with our time spent at the pool, beach, park, zoo, museums, or hanging out in our pjās all day! How are summer assignments going for your DC?
My daughterās summer work is pretty manageable so Iām not really worried. Even if she waited until 2 weeks before school starts, she would have plenty of time.
