Quitting+Band?

Are you considering Quitting Band?
//Do you think Band takes too much time?// Talk to Mr. Spang about how to fit all that "practicing and stuff" into your schedule. //Do you think that being in CORE+ class will help you cut down homework?// Hardly. In fact, it is Folly Quarter policy that no homework be done during CORE+ time. //Are you frustrated when playing or practicing your instrument?// Ask Mr. Spang for help!!! We will set up some individual instruction time to see if we can get you over this hump!
 * Don't.** Seriously, talk to Mr. Spang about why your are thinking about quitting Band. Not just so that he can convince you to keep playing, but so that can truly find out why you want to stop.
 * Band is an excellent way to learn **//to understand//** and appreciate music, one of humanity's greatest contribution to the greater good.
 * Making music is a **life-long** skill, unlike many sports.
 * Skills that you acquire in Band will assist you in life, as well as **//all//** of your other school classes.
 * Instrumental music is a large determining factor in many **college scholarships.** Stop now, and lose that advantage later.
 * FQMS feeds two of the finest band programs in the state! Don't miss this opportunity that other kids across the state would kill for!

Is __your__ __child__ considering Quitting Band?
Plain and simple: **it is up to __you__ if your child will quit Band.** I have an issue with the argument "well, I don't want to make them hate playing their instrument." Does that argument hold true for Math Class? //"I don't want Susie Q to hate Math for the rest of her life, so I am withdrawing her from all math classes at Folly Quarter."// No, of course not. In fact, I have //**never**// met a person who said "my father or mother forced me to continue playing the [instrument of your choice] and I hated it and resented ever learning to play it." Yes, you will have periods in your life where it is a struggle, even a battle, to get them to practice or even play. **But do you give up on them? No!** Let me put it this way: sometimes you have to force your child, against their wishes, to clean their room. You might punish them into doing it, or guilt them, or bribe them. But never would you have the (irrational) fear "I hope that I don't make them hate cleaning their room... I hope that they don't grow up total slobs because they learned to hate clean rooms because of my actions." You make your children brush their teeth. They may cry and wail and complain, but you make them do it. Why? **Because you are the adult and you know more they do.** Because you can see "the Big Picture" and you know that the time and effort invested will be well worth it. You know that eventually they will come to love and embrace the feeling of a clean mouth, that they might one day even thank you for still having beautiful teeth and an attractive smile, as well as the ability to eat corn-on-the-cob.


 * It is up to __you__.** What is important in your house? What values do you want to pass along to your children? I invite you to consider participation in Band as important as anything that you would be willing to argue with your child about; anything with which you would force your child to do "for his/her own good." Because it is. Plain and simple.

Ninety-nine percent of all children who stop playing in school never pick up an instrument again in their lives. If they stop, they simply will never start again. If they want to quit, most likely there is a very real reason why. Let's find out what it is and deal with it. They may not be able to admit what it is out loud. Most likely, it is a source of embarrassment - at their inability to master a new skill, to play at a level equal with their peers, or to be with some new "crowd" or "clique." Let's work together to solve this (often hidden) reason and keep your child invested and active in the act of making music. It will make them a better person and a more responsible citizen of the world.