Captured Oct 7, Survived 11 months, Murdered
Captured Oct 7. Survived 11 months. Murdered 2 days before the IDF could get to her. https://lnkd.in/gZrUpp8Z
Captured Oct 7, Survived 11 months, Murdered Read More »
Account “permanently disabled”
I use a password safety program to generate passwords. This one is not real, but is the type I use. Even so, someone was able to hack my M3ta/Fbk account and cause my FB page to be “permanently disabled”. Appeal denied. No further appeals allowed. I had 20+yrs, hundreds of friends and probably thousands of posts/pics in albums from hs, college, teaching, family, friends…. So sad. I will be doing more with non-M*t@ programs. Stay tuned.
It happened to suddenly. I was IN the program when it went blank. While I was trying to figure out what happened, my wife came in to tell me a friend had contacted her and asked her if I was okay, and that when she tried to look me up, I didn’t exist.
I could not access the “help”, “hacked”, “identify” or other links suggested by every source I could find. I got messages like:
I’ll be writing more, but here are some things I’ve learned (so far) through this experience:
- There are plenty of scams on media sites that ask you to follow or call individuals. I heard things like, “I’m an honest professional, sir”, and “I will do an honest job for you, sir”…
If someone tells you they are honest, professional and will do a great job for you, or if everything sentence ends in “sir”, …..RUN!
- I tried one of those “Ask a Question” site that came up in a “social media recovery” search. I paid the initial $5 and understood that if I decided to continue, there would be an additional charge. I chose NOT to continue, but when I checked my credit card account, I found TWO charges, one for the $5 I knew about and a $40 charge that said it was the first monthly payment of a subscription to which I “signed up” for. After calling the company, escalating the case, and arguing with the “manager” that I wanted to utilize their “money-back” guarantee. Only then did I receive a credit.
Before you click on one of those “Ask-Us-Anything” type of online tech support, or at least before you authorize any payment (especially if it seems innocent enough, such as a $1 or $5 payment), READ THE FINE PRINT.
- Someone suggested I try the “Geek Squad” as they are trying to expand their services. I called and was told they could help, so I scheduled an appoint, which required I bring an affected device to the store. Fair enough. The tech was helpful and informative, and offered a couple suggestions of paths to take, but indicated his store’s “contracts” would prevent him from doing any more there. NO CHARGE.
The Best Buy Geek Squad tech was very polite, professional, empathetic and helpful, even though he was not able to resolve my case.
Since it didn’t look like I was going to recover my account, I chose the option to “Create a New Account”. I put in my phone, used a different email (the one I had been using wasn’t acceptable), did the video facial recognition and clicked to submit. At that point it told me my “appeal” would be addressed in 48 hours. It only took 1-2. Then….
If you have a recommendation, I would appreciate it.
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Band Students Make Better Employees
By John Gardner
Teens are looking for part-time jobs during high school. Common is the parental directive that he must at least pay the insurance and for the gas to drive the family car — or to purchase her own vehicle.
The challenge, for both the student and the employer is the complexity of band student’s schedule.
Band students make better employees and employers find the payback for working around rehearsal and performance schedules is a win-win for the business too.
Marching bands start training right after school is out in the Spring, if not before. During these early sessions, a challenge is to keep the newbies from giving up.
After enjoying top-of-the-heap status in middle school they start high school marching band at the bottom of the section with the lowest status and the least seniority. New skill requirements include memorizing music, horn angles, posture and feet-with-the-beat. Never before have they had to endure high temperature rehearsals that last 2-3-4 hours at a time, often standing with water and restroom breaks few and far between. Everybody (directors, staff, section leaders, seniors, upperclassmen) is telling them they’re messing up and pressuring (hopefully constructively) them to “get it”. They are thrust into a whole new level of physical activity with a strict discipline code. Some will quit and most will think about it as they try to answer the question, “What did I get myself into?”
“Band will be fun. It is fun being together during the football games, on the buses for those long trips, and for hours at competitions. But before you get to the fun part, you have to pay the price…..and there is no short cut, no easy way out, no discount. Pay the price and enjoy the results.”
By the time they are old enough to get a job, they have learned to pay the price. They have seen the benefits of dedication and are willing to commit to a job. Band students won’t quit the job because the manager gives them criticism because they understand that is what makes them better. And they learn that striving for excellence is a worthy goal.
Band students understand dedication, commitment
and that striving for excellence is a worthy goal.
——————–
At the age they are joining marching band, teens are battling with balancing the reality that they are not quite adults with the increasing desire for freedom, responsibility and individuality. Some rebel against parents, push back against teachers and are super-sensitive to peer-criticism. And yet, marching band requires they give up individual freedoms for the good of the cause, makes them earn responsibility and tells them they have to look, act and behave like everybody else – uniformity.
The first time they are thrust into a fast-paced, pressurized workplace environment, teens from the general school population will be more likely to throw a tantrum, quit — or get fired. Not band students.
Band students understand the value of,
and respect for chain of command.
——————–
Students are together in lots of different classroom mixes, but only for fifty minutes on school days for a semester or two. Band students can be together for 10-15 hours Monday through Thursday, plus 3 hours for a Friday night football game and 14 hours for a Saturday rehearsal/competition. Couples break up, personalities don’t mesh, they come from different parts of town and with different family and economic situations — but they learn to work together, a skill many non-band teens and a lot of adults never develop.
As I talk to teens (and even many of their parents), one of the most common reasons to quit a job is because of relationships with co-workers. Band students will be even more frustrated with the mediocrity and lack of cooperation and weak work ethic they will find in the workplace, but they will commit to making it work.
Band students know how to cooperate
and collaborate with those from
different backgrounds and capabilities.
——————–
In a part-time work environment there will be competition for hours, raises, promotions and responsibilities. The tendency is to look out for self and to heck with the other guy. Students compete within a band but they want everyone to do well. They compete with other bands but will wish them good luck as they pass on the way to the competition field. They will applaud for other bands – even those that beat them. Band students are team players and they understand sportsmanship.
Band students learn good sportsmanship.
——————–
By the time they’re ready for that first job (students usually turn 16 during sophomore or junior year), band students have already learned patience as marching band staff is teaching or fixing drill; perseverance and endurance through extreme temperatures, long rehearsals and so much more we teacher types throw at them.
They understand, through the system of seniority in most bands, that they will need to prove themselves and demonstrate strong work ethic to earn leadership positions or, when they get a job, a raise.
Band students learn patience,
perseverance and endurance.
——————–
There is often a penalty for arriving late to a band rehearsal. When I was in a marching band, it was a lap around the field per minute late. Some bands use push-ups — or job assignments. Arrive late today and you get to take the water to the field tomorrow. And because there are always new things happening in a rehearsal, missing is never an option. Some bands will make you an alternate for an unexcused absence. So when band students get a job with a schedule, they are there — and on time.
Band students learn the value
of attendance and punctuality.
——————–
Bands rehearse scores of hours per minute of marching band show. Stretches, running and endurance exercises, fundamentals (yes, they already know how to march, right?) and then sets of drill over, and over. Do they get tired? Absolutely, but they understand the price of success and that there are no shortcuts to achieving it.
Band students learn that there are
no shortcuts to success.
——————–
Most years, prior to the final competition of the season, we allow seniors to talk to the band. They say a variety of things, but there are two predominant themes: 1) Band is family, and 2) band taught them responsibility with accountability.
Band students learn
responsibility and accountability.
——————–
Where, outside of public education, is the focus on making the student (or employee) feel good about themselves at the expense of excellence? We read about schools eliminating valedictorians and class rank or even grades, so lower achievers don’t get a negative vibe.
When my child was in first grade, the education fad of the day was a program called “writing to read”, where the emphasis was on the child being able to read whatever they wrote. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc…. were not corrected. Teachers emphasized that a child reader would have a higher self-esteem.
Students who have gone through a feel-good system can hit a brick wall when they get to college or into the workforce. Good band directors instill in their students that a healthy self-esteem comes through achieving excellence. In that pursuit, however, the student learns to accept criticism from directors, staff, seniors and section leaders – and they are willing to pay the price to get the prize. Here is a post I wrote about Excellence and Self Esteem.
Band students learn that self-esteem
is raised by achieving excellence
——————–
Because of their extreme rehearsal schedules on top of homework and, especially with the responsibilities of a job, band students develop good time management skills.
Band students develop time management skills
——————–
Band students make better employees. Hire them.
Band Students Make Better Employees Read More »
Dr. William Revelli
William Revelli was a legendary Director of Bands at the University of Michigan for decades. I didn’t know that when he stepped on the podium to rehearse the high school clinic band I was in at the Morehead State University. There were six bands. I was in the top (Honor) band and had earned the first chair. That was a pretty big deal — and so was he.
Two remembrances of that Honor Band experience. These are the only two things I remember. I can’t tell you what we played or anything else. But these made a lasting imprint.
At precisely the start time for the rehearsal, Dr. Revelli stepped onto the podium, introduced himself, pointed to two empty chairs and asked that they be removed. Some of us could see the two girls walking quickly toward the stage via the auditorium isle. When they got the the stage, Revelli asked what they were doing.
“We’re in this band.”
“No. You’re not. There are no more chairs.”
“What are we supposed to do?”
“Go tell someone to put you in a different band.
My rehearsal has already started.”
And then, he turned to ME and asked me to stand. He asked my name and turns to the band and introduces me as their Concert Master. And then, he asked me to play a tuning note. I did.
After a pause, he asks me to play it again. I did.
“No, play the same note you played the first time.”
(He was saying I didn’t match my first pitch.)
“I can do that.”, said the 4th chair clarinet guy
“No, you cannot. You are not the Concert Master.”
And then, rehearsal proceeded.
Dr. William Revelli Read More »
If you drive a car the way you play an instrument
Periodically, as the band is playing a new piece of music, they tend to put their focus on getting the right notes and maybe the right rhythm. Dynamics, key signature, accidentals, etc…… are often missed. Two quotes I use in situations like these:
“If the notes are on the paper it is your job to play ALL of them.”
and “Play EVERYTHING you see.”
And sometimes, especially with the younger band where many of the students are not yet driving, I will compare playing an instrument to driving a car.
“You want to turn the key, start the car and go…..
and hopefully, no one is coming up beside you;
You think you’re good as long as you stay on the road,
but what about how fast to drive, that school zone sign or crosswalk?
If you drive the way you’re playing, you’re dangerous,
you’ll hurt yourself, or someone else,
or you’ll get the cop’s attention and get a ticket.”
If time, I’ll go into some detail.
| BEFORE STARTING THE CAR You fasten your seatbelt, adjust the seat and mirrors. Make sure you have your license. Put the key in the ignition. Do you have enough gas? | BEFORE YOU PLAY Check to ensure your instrument is ready; (reeds, valves or slide moving freely). Look at the music. Observe the tempo, time signature, key signature, dynamics — and listen to the conductor’s instructions. |
| AS YOU DRIVE Make sure it is clear to pull into traffic. Don’t just look straight ahead, check your mirrors. Watch for other traffic, watch for signs (speed limits, road curves, stop signs, traffic lights, railroad crossings, etc). | AS YOU PLAY Be award of the others around you. Blend in. Watch the conductor. Note any accidentals, articulation, dynamic or tempo changes that come along. Follow the road maps; fermata, cesura, DS, DC, Coda, repeat, etc. |
Some additional comparisons during the rehearsal might include:
Wrong note/accidental – You hit that pothole
Missed cesura – You ignored the railroad crossing and got hit by the train
Dynamics/tempo changes – You missed that curve in the road sign and just crashed
Have you ever watched someone learning to drive? They are super cautious and focused on everything. Pretend like you’re learning to play this piece and focus on ALL the details.
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Teen girls were my weakness
Ok. Ok. It is NOT what you’re thinking. C’mon, you know me better than that.
My problem was that I was having trouble hearing conversations, especially at school, which can be problematic. This intensified after a severe ear infection that never completely healed. My ears felt stopped up similar to what can happen when descending from a high altitude in a plane. There was a graduation ceremony, mid-infection, where I could not hear anyone. The other band director realized something was going on. Fortunately, school was out.
When a student, more often a girl, would come to me in a rehearsal, we would have to move into the office so I could hear without all the band noise.
One student explained it to another this way…..
He might ask you to repeat things a lot, and he doesn’t always get it right…..but you can be in another room and miss a note and he is on you immediately.
Voices were a problem. Wrong notes were not.
I was fitted for and received a moderately high-level pair of hearing aids.
They were supposed to be able to pull the voices out of the background noise, but that didn’t really work in a rehearsal setting. The band volume would often be painful. In church, I could hear the pastor better, but the congregational singing became too loud — so I stopped wearing them.
Fast forward two years past retirement, it was a large, noisy hotel meeting room with hundreds of people at tables of ten having conversations, which was the catalyst for unpacking the hearing aids and giving them another shot. There were several college friends at my table and I really wasn’t hearing any of them.
I got them out and tried to put them in….but something has died and the out-of-warranty repair cost would be several hundred dollars.
But there is good news.
Now that I am retired, part of my insurance covers an audiology exam AND a healthy allowance toward new hearing aids.
Stay tuned for updates.
Teen girls were my weakness Read More »
10+ Values Marching Band Students learn
By John Gardner
See Teens At Their Best
This is a followup article to an article, “14 Ways to Volunteer for a Marching Band to Appreciate and Applaud what is Good about Teenage America”, which focused on ways to share your talents and abilities and experience the youthful, enthusiastic atmosphere around a marching band during competition season. This post focuses on some of the values marching band students learn.
Some larger competitions can involve dozens of bands with thousands of students with nothing resembling the level of supervision in a high school before or after school or as classes change. For the most part, band parents and the directors are the only ones with direct oversight….. and after a performance, most students are free to congregate back at the stadium to watch the other bands as they mix and mingle.
In uniform, before a performance, you’ll see focused faces as students prepare to do what they are there to do. You might see them move quietly and in formation from the bus area to visual and musical warmup and then to the stadium.
Band students learn dedication, commitment and
that striving for excellence is a worthy goal.
—————————————————————–
Most marching band operations are very structured with responsibility and accountability. There are seniors, section leaders, drum majors, staff, directors (where do I put parents in this list) all with authority over the band student. Participants appreciate compliance and cooperation.
Band students learn the value of,
and respect for chain of command.
—————————————————————–
Unlike a basketball team with its starting five, there is no bench in marching band. Everybody is in. Everybody is a starter. Few other types of groups will involve people from varied backgrounds. There are children of doctors and lawyers marching with children of single-parents working multiple jobs or utilizing government help. There are the students who have their own cars and those who need rides, those with the iPhones and the free phones or no phone. You will find students in most bands from every church in the community and others who have never been inside a church. And yet, with all these differences, when they put that uniform on (actually, even before they dress)…..they are all on the same team, all equal. A good result requires the best from everyone. Students learn teamwork and cooperate with those outside their friend circle.
Band students learn to cooperate and collaborate
with those from different backgrounds and capabilities.
—————————————————————–
You will see students cheer and applaud for good performances of other groups, including those with whom they compete. You’ll see them wishing each other good luck, especially when a band is transiting through the pre-show stages and passing others who have either already performed or have a while yet to go. At a competition, I saw a band applauding the same-county rival band and the new band that their previous director had transferred to. When our band was relaxing and enjoying a band-parent-provided soup & chili bar supper following a recent performance, a competitor band passed by, still in uniform, returning from the field following their performance. Our students applauded their rival until the last one had passed. One of their directors found me to tell me that, “Your students are a class act.” That is sportsmanship….or should I call it bandsmanship?
Band students learn good sportsmanship.
—————————————————————–
Marching band is a time-consuming extreme weather sport. Summer rehearsals are in extreme heat and often go 8+hours a day for multiple weeks before school starting in the fall. Think about the temperatures in September and then imagine putting on a winter coat, hat and gloves and running around a football field at a fast pace. But then, by the time mid-October comes, it gets cold enough that students are wearing under armor and other garments under the uniform to try to stay warm. Then, add periodic rain. Sometimes they have to move rehearsals in and outside to avoid it and other times they get wet. When school starts, add 8-10 extra rehearsals Mon-Thur, 4-5 hrs for a Friday football game, then 12-14 hours on Saturday for a rehearsal, travel and competition — sometimes two.
Band students learn to commit, persevere and endure.
—————————————————————–
You’ll see both excited and disappointed students as the results are announced, but they will display professionalism many adults would be good to observe and learn from.
Band students learn that there are no shortcuts to success.
—————————————————————–
Many students, seemingly for the first time in any significant way, are given tasks and responsibilities and held accountable for them. The band student is responsible for loading and unloading his/her equipment; instrument, gloves, show shirt, correct socks and marching shoes. Some students have “section leader” responsibilities, which for most is a first time they’ve had management and oversight responsibilities for others. They have to learn leadership and people skills. Often, at the end of a 4-5yr career, graduating seniors will talk about how
band “taught them” responsibility and accountability.
—————————————————————–Band students learn that they are individually important.
There is nowhere to hide in a marching band. All students are active participants. In a typical Indiana marching competition, there are six judges watching and listening; four in the press box and two walking around the field going eyeball to eyeball with performers. Band students understand that a trained judge’s eye automatically goes to what is different; someone out of step, out of line, out of tune, and that an individual performance reflects on the total ensemble score. Seniors and section leaders learn how to balance their role as a mentor and teacher/trainer for the newbie members, while also ensuring that even the newbies get up to speed in time for performance.
—————————————————————–
Students are trying to follow the ‘dots’ from their chart/dot books that tell them where they are going. It is difficult to see the big picture from that spot on the field, so there are directors or instructors watching from farther back (and sometimes higher up) who will adjust a form or shape. Or perhaps it is to point out that an individual is playing too loudly and needs to balance and blend better with others around them. This is contrary to much contemporary educational philosophy which emphasizes only the heaping of praise on what students are attempting to do. Band students know better, and expect to hear how to improve individual performance. Achievement through excellence enhances self-esteem . The challenge for the individual is to “not take it personally”. I describe to students regularly that I highly value them individually, but that when we are trying to improve a marching performance, that they are but one small moving part of a larger machine and that my job (as a director) is to fix the part to improve the machine….no matter who the part is. Nothing personal.
Band students learn to accept criticism, and that
self-esteem is raised through the achievement of excellence
—————————————————————–
With the extreme time commitment a marching band requires, students must learn to prioritize their time and use it efficiently, especially when it comes to getting homework done.
Band students learn time management skills.
—————————————————————–
When you ask people who were in a marching band years ago, they may remember how their overall band performed or competed, but probably not likely that weekly score or placing that seemed so important at the time. But they will remember the values they learned, which is why former band students encourage their children to participate in band as well. This is not the article to argue that band utilizes academics, multiple arts and significant athleticism….. but they get all that as well.
—————————————————————–
Related articles you might want to check out:
And here’s an article published by American Music Parents called “18 Lessons Marching Band Teaches Our Kids“
Thanks for reading,
10+ Values Marching Band Students learn Read More »
“Tell My Father”
Son David sang this solo in several show choir solo competitions his senior year in high school (2001). It is an emotional solo from the musical “Civil War” about a son asking someone to “Tell My Father” about his death on the battlefield.
To increase the impact, David borrowed a reenactor Civil War uniform. He wouldn’t let me hear the song until he performed it. I remember the first time I saw him walk toward the competition room, in “full uniform”….he walked, pridefully, in total character and ignoring stares from other students in the hallways. Dressing in ‘costume’ was not a common thing for solos.
And the first time he walked on stage, he confidently and effectively commanded audience reverence and respect. Each time he finished, it felt like there was an ever so slight gap, prior to applause, where the audience was wiping tears and unsure if applause was appropriate, especially after the final line.
After one of his performances, I heard a couple girls from another school talking in the hallway:
“I just heard this guy dressed in a Civil War uniform sing a song to his father and it made me cry.”
It made me, David’s father, cry every time.
Here are the lyrics:
Tell my father that his son
Didn’t run or surrender
That I bore his name with pride
As I tried to remember
You are judged by what you do
While passing through
As I rest ‘neath fields of green
Let him lean on your shoulder
Tell him how I spent my youth
So the truth could grow older
Tell my father, when you can
I was a man
Tell him we will meet again
Where the angels learn to fly
Tell him we will meet as men
For with honour did I die
Tell him I wore the blue
Proud and true, through the fire
Tell my father so he’ll know
I love him so
Tell him how I wore the blue
Just the way that he taught me
Tell my father not to cry
Then say goodbye
Band Freshman vs General Population Freshman
By John Gardner
8th-grade students going into a large high school should consider the advantages of being in (staying in) marching band vs entering as a General Population Freshman. If you’re already signed up, yay for YOU. If you were in 8th grade band, but have not signed up for high school marching band…..read on — and know that it is not too late to change your mind. And if you have never been in band….the good news is that you CAN be. Join the Color Guard — or ask for a spot in the front ensemble. We can teach you auxiliary percussion parts. Play piano. You’re hired!
The local high school has a population near 1500 with about 40 outside doors and multiple main north/south and east/west hallways. Lockers are somewhat segregated by class….so most freshmen lockers are far away from seniors’. It is a safe school with only rare hallway confrontations. Great students, BUT…. a freshman walking down the “senior” hallway might hear some comments.
What’s that freshman doing in our hallway? Did you see him trying to talk to a senior?
For the most part, seniors ignore freshmen and freshmen steer clear of seniors….
except for BAND freshmen!
…
Band Freshman vs General Population Freshman Read More »
Suspended account scammers
Why is it that everyone who claims they can fix your account need you to “purchase” a tool? Should those who are professional “fixers” already have the tools they need? Where are the legit options?
Suspended account scammers Read More »