The Meetings...

...how is it that i feel like i have a meeting everyday, or at least every time i turn around. i know that's not the case, but wow!

here's an interesting bit about the time that i spend doing what i do:

when i take a look at the past three weeks (and when i say three weeks, i'm including the next two days, even though they haven't happened yet, but they should be normal days) i have only seen my classes 10 times in three weeks. that's a third of the time i should have. why?

the first week back from break i had FMEA conference/clinic - fun, rewarding, somewhat rejuvenating. the next week we had exams which usually two normal days (mon./tues.) an then two half days, and then teacher work day on friday. then i had this week. normal except for today which is when i had all-county rehearsal all day (i had to be there to chaperon) with an FBA meeting thrown in there, and i couldn't go to the performance tonight because i had a booster board budget meeting. (say that 5 times fasts!)

why am i writing about this...

this all goes back to "the hours" and the time that is put into the job and what the job really is. you think...'band director' which is a teacher or an educator. right?

i wish. i wish that more of my job was teaching. maybe more of it is teaching than i realize, but the truth is...the amount of time i actually spend teaching is quite minimal and i'm looking to balance that as well. for 30 minutes before school i'm emailing or doing paperwork. then i get my "planning" period during 4th block which is 90 minutes plus lunch before that, so make it 2 hours in there for paperwork. monday i have leadership after school for two hours, then i stay till about 6 for paperwork. wednesday and friday i stay till about 5 (on a good day) so that i can go to the gym and actually be active. maybe go home and make dinner and have some normality to my life. so that's another 2 and a half hours on those days. tuesday, is the after school rehearsal which usually is preceded by 30 minutes of paperwork or talking to students, putting out fires, or fixing issues from 2:30 to 3:00. then when rehearsal ends, i usually stay till about 9 (which is when the guard finishes) so that i can catch up on paperwork and emails or other corresponding. thursday i have rehearsal starting at 5:30 so that would be 3 hours of work time (weeeeeeee!) that i have to get stuff done.

so, in a "normal" week i have three 90 minute classes each day that i teach for 5 days a week, which is about 22.5 hours a week. after adding up the time i spend doing paperwork i come to about 28.5 hours (on average) per week.

then we have two meetings per month (normally) for about 2 hours each. then i have saturday guard shows in the winter (which we are starting this weekend) which is about 11am to 11pm each saturday (for me). another 12 hours. :-)

then you have FBA meetings, and parent meetings, and sit downs with the students from time to time. then you have design meetings. then you have parents before and after rehearsal needing information. then you have phone calls and talks/meetings with administration or guidance. then you have the extra band rehearsal (teaching time) and band performances. then there is music/score study.

let's just look at today...

up at 6, at school by 6:45 to get the sub work set for each class, out of there by 7:30, up to all-county rehearsal by 8:15. i sat and study scores for about an hour and a half, then talked with some directors, then started putting together some ideas and thoughts for my leadership "classes" that i teach after school. then we had an FBA meeting lunch at 12:30 and then meeting at 1 till about 3. then i went to approve a composite at the photo store, went home to change and then workout, and then i got dressed and went to school for a meeting from 6:30 till 9:30. that's a 15 and half hour day and i didn't even teach a note. SHIT!!!!!!

meanwhile, my buddy was there and all we talked about what surfing/kiting and his hot girlfriend. that stuff would fall under hobby and relationships. i have neither!!!

okay, well, speaking of time...i'm running in to my beauty sleep. i got's to go!

...oh my life as a band director.

Added questions....

here's another question to add to the original post. and this will probably be discussed further in the financial section of the blog, once i get there.

- how do i gain enough financial security and cushion to be able to improve my credit and be able to buy something that i would really benefit from. say...a new macbook. how does that happen?
- much less a house.

meanwhile, i'm writing this on a macbook at best buy wishing i had $2K to drop. my mac mini is old and decrepit and it's time to move on. how do i get financially comfortable enough to say..."okay, i can afford to do this."

it's it will power? is it purely the ability to save money? based on the teacher salary, i guess that's all i have.

and what if there were other ways that i would like to make money.

i.e. - write music, music editing for color guard (easy), etc.

anyway...much to think about.


....another day in my life as a band director.

The Hours of Time...con't.

wow, so, i'm laying in bed last night (feeling like crap) just exhausted and all i can think about is the many things i have to do for school before the semester starts.

- get the field trip packets copies and stapled
- get the smart music cart set up
- make sure my smart music account is set up for assignments
- figure out how to get my students to set up their own account
- set up the first assignment with each class
- find info about mitch and get ready for that conference
- call jed
- get those last 3 kids into wind ensemble
- and all the rest...

here is why this has become a post. a continued post of the last one...

i'm at home on this holiday monday (MLK Day) and i really don't want to go to school to get all this done. LACK OF MOTIVATION!!!

i'll go in after i eat breakfast, and i'll get as much as i can done. but why am i so unmotivated. i am tired (as always), i don't feel well, i've been getting migraines lately, and i haven't been to the gym yet and i really want to go today. i want to start the week out right.

how am i going to do all this? i need to set a time line. a schedule if you will. i need to limit myself and help guide myself. how much time do i get for each thing.

- healthy breakfast w/ my buddy.
- get to school to finish up a bit of work
- get to the gym
- come home early enough to relax before the week starts.

quick side note...i hate to bring work home with me. weather it's a phone call, grades, or whatever, i don't like it.

...oh my life as a band director.

The Balance and the Life

how do we balance the requirement of the job with our own lives?

in order to truly come to understand and clear up the question of a balanced life of a band director, then we have first have to take a look at several questions.

what is the responsibility of the band director? what is their purpose from a curricular stand point? what is their roll within the school? community? what roll do they play in their students' lives as many of these 'directors' teach and guide their students for 4 years? what are their professional goals? what are their musical goals? what are their educational goals? how well do they communicate with those that are suppose to help and support them? what do their students want from them? what do they want to learn?

as we explore all these questions, i believe we can then begin to look into how to balance the life of the band director. based on the answers of all these questions (and many more) we may be able to find out what the band director should be offering, or maybe more importantly, what they are able to offer with the time time, support, and facilities that are provided for him/her.

the next step will then be a look at the personal life of the band director (in this case), himself and the many aspects of life. i.e. - finances, relationships, religion, hobbies, health & fitness, personal space and time, personal goals, travel, family, education and whatever else we will come across in our exploration.

will we come to a conclusion? will we determine one thing over another? will we be able to help balance the life of a band director?

...we'll see.

The Hours of Time

the hours...many hours...

this is by far the biggest issue. it is because of the amount of hours the job requires that it becomes difficult to balance a band director's life.

how many? at least 29 1/2 hours a day!!!

HUH?! ...29.5 hours of what?

it seems as thought each day of school/work is filled with 28 hours of work that needs to be accomplished in just about 14. arrive at 6:50, start to teach at 7:35 (school beginning at 7:30), a "planning" period at 1:05 that will be filled with numerous distractions of phone calls, student conversations, loud percussive noises, the annoyances of the class members opposite us in the building, and the typical thought, "are my students doing what they should be doing? i better go check to make sure." and this usually involves several walk-abouts filled with stern looks and questions of who is on task.

then there are the after school rehearsals. there's a parent meeting. there are the county meetings/rehearsals. there are director to director phone calls, vendor phone calls, faxes, purchase orders, field trip forms, grades and attendance, AND by zues' beard, the emails that are in and of themselves a full time job to keep up with and respond to.

and then there are times that i just don't want to deal with any of it.....

i hope as i continue to explore all these issue and continue to come closer to a balance, i simply hope that i find the time to keep posting. but, of course, at this point the words of yoda ring loudly in my mind in a perpetual cadence of self reminding that i have yet to realize....

"Do, or do not. There is no try."