Category Archives: School

Blah

7 Replies

We are officially behind schedule. Did some math last night, and this show is going to arrive right under the wire. Might even have to cut a number. It’s OK though. It’s happened before; probably will again.

Aren’t we funny creatures? Change. Heh. The times, they are a changin’. A change will do you good. I’ve got to change my evil ways, baby. Time may change me, but I can’t trace time (I’ve never figured out what that meant – I think Bowie wrote it that way just to confuse folks). I thought I was dealing really well with the time change on Dinner Theatre (we moved it from March to November), but I think it’s taking a toll on me in the “unknown” department.

I know, I know. “Isn’t a 7-week rehearsal schedule a 7-week rehearsal schedule?” Yes, and no. Kids are involved in different sports and other activities, which means different schedules somewhat, and the overall vibe is different in the fall. That, and they’re a little greener in the fall. We have to get the mojo back on the dance floor faster, and the energy back in the voices sooner.

OK, stop whining. I have to believe in the kids’ resolve and talent. They’ve never let me down before. Mm-mm–mm.  Great, now that song’s stuck in my head all day.

Have I thanked you recently for suffering through my self-absorbed drivel? Let me do so right now if I haven’t. Feel free to leave advice; I will always read and heed. Well, unless you tell me to stop doing shows, seein’ as how they cause me such angst. Alas…like the Thriller told me once: “You can’t NOT do them.” He’s right. And so terribly cognizant of what makes me me. Gotta have that vicarious stage thrill.

Speaking of stage — there’s one leaving in 40 minutes, and I have to be on it. Make it a Tunesday for the record books. And congrats to BoomR, who had his first day on the new job yesterday. Wahoo!

And on this date: school.

2 Replies

How about some cool school trivia?

Today, 23 April, 376 years ago, school was officially in. In 1635, Boston Latin School became America’s first educational institution funded completely by local government.

  • The first headmaster was paid “fifty pounds and a house” from the public treasury.
  • Its students were taught to “dissent with responsibility.”
  • Five signers of the Declaration of Independence (John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Robert Paine and William Hooper) received their boyhood training there.
  • The main purpose was to teach Puritan values and bible reading.

Well, look at the school now. We’ve all come a long way, baby. But…

  • School boards didn’t exist until 1837, so hiring practices were largely arbitrary (and often corrupt — *gasp*).
  • School wasn’t compulsory until 1851, when Massachusetts voted to require all children to attend.
  • High schools didn’t come about until 1820.

And schools, like countless other American institutions, changed with the times:

  • African American children were allowed to attend segregated, “separate but equal” schools after the Civil War.
  • The Smith-Hughes Act passed in 1917, and “tracking” was born. Students were pointed in vocational directions via “intelligence tests.”
  • In 1954, Brown vs. Topeka precipitated the Supreme Court decision that “separate” was definitely not “equal,” and that segregation must be abolished. We all know how that went over in the South. Eisenhower had to call in the National Guard to keep the peace.
  • In the 1980s, the first charter school popped up in Minnesota, and to some, signaled the renaissance of segregation.

And everything old is new again.

The agrarian school calendar has repeatedly come under fire. Personally, I think it would take a huge influx of cash and a systemic overhaul of union practices to pull off year-round schooling, so I don’t see it happening nationwide for a long time. And further, if you’re really a stickler for semantics, we don’t have a truly “agrarian” calendar. According to Dartmouth professor and researcher William Fischel:

The “agrarian calendar” was not the current calendar of fall-winter-spring. [C]ities in the late 19th century had school in the summer. Nobody had AC back then, so going to school or working in a hot factory was not a big deal. The real reason for the Sept to June calendar is the widespread adoption of age-graded schooling. Rural schools of the 19th century did not have age-specific grades, and so they could have a “term” of school whenever they wanted for as long as they wanted. But age-grading required coordination among different schools. You had to start and stop at the same time so the third graders could start fourth grade together with those from other schools.

Well isn’t that interesting. Teaching all these years, and never knew that. And if you’re still with me by now — did you enjoy this little Saturday lesson? Feels like school, no?

:-)

I think I’ll break with tradition and have some coffee this day. Resolutions, shmesolutions.

Nice Saturday

6 Replies

Why is that? Because I had one of the best Friday openings in years. It’s positively baffling. The same group of nineteen 15-18-year-olds who made me want to shoot myself a week ago (heck, two days ago) transformed into actors, singers and dancers who delighted two audiences last night. I told the kids last week that I was going to lobby to add my hair coloring expense to their school fees. I needn’t have bothered.

So if you’ll indulge me in some parent-like pride, I will unfurl the accordion picture holder and make you suffer through my family photos. All joking aside: these kids are exceptional.

~
Many thanks to the Norwalk Reflector for the great photos. Even more thanks to a fine cast and crew for wowing the crowd and making an old lady feel terrific. On to closing night…

FO

 

Vamos all over again

4 Replies

Tech Rehearsal XI. Same scene, different background and cast. I leave at 6:15, stop at the bakery and pick up four dozen pastries, get to school and hope I don’t trigger the alarm while opening the doors, schlep out the big coffeemaker, and set up the space while sleepy teenagers (and adults) drag in and wait for java. Definitely NOT morning people, haha.

I approach the coming week with a mixture of exhilaration, anxiety, anticipation and dread. Each state has its experiential component. But I guess I have to get through this morning first. :-)

Off to the showers and the school house. Have a good weekend, fiends.