Liz - posted on 09/11/2010 ( 22 moms have responded )
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I am 56, my last son is in the marching band, at his high school. he is 16, and since I could not volunteer when his older brothers were in the band, I am now 'doing my part" with him. I am a "pit parent" which means while the band is at the football games in our home stadium, I stand and watch the band members so they do not get in trouble, like with cellphones out, eating stuff that is not allowed in the pit, making sure that their friends from outside the band don not clogg up the walkway behind them, and just generally keeping order in the pit. we have a two tier band, varisty which do the half time shows and competitions, and the concert with march in all parades and the opening of the football games, and all pep music in the pit during the games, along with the varsity band. combinded we have well over 225 students.
Last night we had our friday night football game, and there was lightening just before half time and all the students were told (by us and the high school) to assemble in the gym of the middle school( where our football field is. When we opened the 'new" high school 10 years ago, the old hs was made into a middle school, and the football field stayed there). We had all the students in there, first and formost for safety reasons, that way we could make sure that parents would be picking them up, instead of just letting them go willy nilly, and secondly so we could make sure that all the instruments, music, uniforms, warmups, and just the general stuff were safe and not damaged. Since we had all grades of high school, 9 through 12, we had students who drive and students whose parents pick them up after the games. Last night, and I understand it was a stressfull time, we had a few parents who cursed us out, because we could not just let their kids go with out them 1) tell us that they were going and 2) who they were going with. We require parents to come and check them out with either the director, the assistant director, or one of us. some of the parents were mad because we would not release their students just because they were out in the car somewhere in the parking lot, in all the traffic. They had called on the cellphones, and were demanding them to be out in the parking lot. There were 100's of cars out there, and frankly some of those parents were driving worse them some teenagers. I would not allow students to just leave, no matter if they said that their parents were out there. I'm sorry, I do not believe students when they say.."my parents just called and they said it was ok for me to go with so and so." I have a hard time with a 15 year old saying this with her 18 year old boyfriend standing there going"Yep, they said it was ok". I am not going to let a student go just on that.
Anyway, I was on the recieving end of this "stuff" last night because I was following district rules about releaseing from a school function(yes marching band is a school function if they are at a football game) during an emergency. I am thinking, you know, I am too old for this. I almost told off a parent, who was standing there yelling at me because I had not allowed his son to leave when the director was giving them instructions on what to do with their uniforms, their instrumnets, and telling them what time to be where for the resumption of the game. YET, I didn't. but now I am wondering if I am too old for this crap.
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