New HPHS Band Director Has Some Cleanin’ Up To Do
Tim Gunter, the new Highland Park High School band director, was the recipient of a surprise office redo. Can we get the guy a nanny cam?
Dear Band Family,As I told you from the very beginning of our relationship together, we were, have, and are going to share everything that happens to us as a band family, whether the news is good or not. Many of you have already heard of the vandalization of my office late last night or early this morning, since it was there for all to see as the day unfolded. When I arrived a little before 7:00 am this morning, I first noticed the shoe polish on the windows of my office, signed SKA ’11, but the news got much worse when I opened the door. Someone with a key had entered both the band hall and my office and completely trashed everything with toilet paper and several boxes of Lucky Charms cereal (grinding a lot of it into the carpet), including the mounds of cereal dust on my computer keyboard and other sensitive places in my office. All of the drawers were completely filled with cereal. I took a lot of photos for evidence and have attached a few of them for you to see. While I am very unhappy with the behavior of the student or students who violated our band home, I am not writing tonight looking for sympathy. I just think you need to see and hear what happened from your director.I could write a lot of words tonight, but let me get straight to the point. I have a plan for the growth of our band program, and am determined more than ever to see it through. If the intention of the vandal(s) was to make me mad, they achieved that, but only to a point and not for the reason they think. If the intention was to run or scare me away, they do not know me very well. Challenges only fortify and motivate me to work harder than ever with the students and parents who want to achieve great things in the HP Band Program. This sort of nonsense only gives me more focus and energy as we forge ahead with our plans to make HP a program of excellence in every way. I still believe in the great potential of our students and know that great things are ahead of us.The saddest part of the day was having to watch 99% of our student’s faces, as many of them took this personally. Many apologized to me on behalf of whoever did this, which I appreciated very much. That 99% of us had to deal with this really stupid act because 1% or less acted without thinking, or perhaps worse by believing that what they did was appropriate and cool, is not fair to the band that the vandals claim to love and defend.Here is all I ask. If you trust me to build your program, get on the train with me and let’s roll. Building a program is a process that takes steps like everything else, some small and some large - lasting success is not built overnight. If the students who did this plan to be in our band next year and are reading this email, I ask you to do one of two things:1) come visit about whatever your problem with me is and let’s see if we can find some common ground to work together. It is not a rare thing for a person who lashes out like this to make an attitude adjustment and become a successful and contributing member of our family. This is the scenario I would prefer. Or,2) if you are dead set against what we are doing, there are a lot of us who are asking you to get off the train, because all you are going to do is hinder our progress down the road. You didn’t just hurt me today – you took a shot at our band family and there are a LOT of people offended by your actions.Classes may be coming to an end, but the process of building a band program never stops. I encourage everyone to put this behind us and let’s move on to more positive issues. I am excited about the days ahead and hope you are as well! Go HP!!!!Tim Gunter
Director of Bands
Highland Park High School
By Merritt Patterson
May. 26, 2010 | 10:02 am | 93 Comments | Comments RSS
93 comments to "New HPHS Band Director Has Some Cleanin' Up To Do"
1. The guy sends some epic e-mails. I’m just sayin’
2. There’s some tension in the air with the “Band Family”
As a side note, I can’t get the classic movie line out of my head, “One time at band camp…”
Anyway, here’s that other Gunter-gram:
Dear Band Family,
Most of you will not know anything about the pink cord issue, but let me explain my side of this story to everyone at the same time so we can put all of the rumors to rest.
First, let’s identify what the pink cords are and are not. They are not awarded to every senior each year just because they have completed four years in band (or choir, orchestra, or theater). Because a senior does not receive a cord for graduation does not signify in any way that they are not recognized as being a member in band, nor are any of their past accomplishments, achievements and hard work any less important or cherished. The cords are awarded based on a set of criteria that a student must follow and achieve to earn the right to wear the pink cords at their graduation ceremony. And that is where this story sort of begins.
I was not informed of honors credit or pink cords when I started the job last year. I am not blaming anyone and am not upset with anyone – I just was not told. It was January when the question first arose in band when a student asked about them quickly in rehearsal, but then under his breath, said something to the effect that I wouldn’t know about it since I was new and suggested that seniors should go to the counselors. A week or two later, another student came to the office to ask about Honors Credit. When I asked him about the past process, the answer was very vague. So I asked him to bring some more detail to me so I could know where to start asking about it. In a couple of weeks, he and another senior asked about it, and this time about the pink cords. Since their sense of urgency was a little higher this time, even though I still had no idea what they were talking about, I asked Linda Raya about it, and that is when I found out for the first time that a process for Honors Credit for the fourth year of band existed and that a set of criteria was supposed to have been set up at the beginning of the year (again, this is not about blaming Linda or anyone else – that serves no purpose). I was asked how many students had asked me about it to that point, and the answer was five. I then discovered that Orchestra, Choir, and Theater also had a process in place, although the Theater criteria is more stringent than the other two. I asked Peggy and Natalie for a copy of their criteria, and adapted what they use for the band (a copy is attached to this email). When I applied the criteria to the five students who had inquired about the cords, all of them received enough points to earn a pink cord for the year. A few weeks later, it crossed my mind that it might be more fair to check all of the seniors against the criteria to see if they qualified for the cords, whether they had asked about them or not. I asked if I ! could do that, received permission, and discovered that 12 students qualified – the cords were ordered. There has been some talk that I tried to keep this a secret from everyone else, but that could not be further from the truth. First, keeping this a secret makes no sense and is almost a career-ending decision, but second, why would I have announced the pink cords to a 300+ crowd of students and parents if I wanted to keep this a secret?
Bottom line is this – if I had been told about this last summer, the criteria would have been established and this would not be an issue. I proceeded in good faith, following instructions and advice to take the steps I did, to try to get some seniors their cords this year, as opposed to no one getting them which would have been the easy way out. Today, it has been decided that the only fair thing to do this year is to award the cords to all of our seniors this year who want one, whether they met the criteria or not. Please understand that this is a one-time, one year decision. This will not be the case in future years, as students will have to earn their cords based on the set of criteria that is established and announced at the beginning of the year in August. This set of criteria will also be included in our handbook that is given to everyone at the beginning of a new school year.
The following seniors are yet to get their cords – the cords are in my office (I am two short, but Linda ordered more today and asked them to be overnighted to us so they would be here in time):
[student names]
I apologize for whatever angst I have caused, but I assure you that it was not my intention to cause hard feelings. It is always my goal to honor the outstanding work of band kids whenever I can. I thought I was doing the right things, based on the information I received. We will get this right next year.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Tim Gunter
Director of Bands
Highland Park High School
Methinks they’re taking themselves a bit too seriously in the band hall. Have they tested for leprechaun DNA?
“They’re Always After Me Honor Credits!!” “Now with pink cord marshmallows.”
I thought of this little management jewel with the Bradfield yearbook incident. You would think that the yearbook volunteer would also have a book with a description and outline of what worked and what didn’t.
This is the admin’s fault! These kids are capable of great things, and not just in choir/theatre – the favored arts.
I heard the office trashing called “the senior prank,” as if doing some prank is a tradition and not a slap at the band director. Possible the students didn’t think about cereal pieces becoming cereal dust and doing damage.
This band director sounds awful awful awful. Band was a time of kids being SO insecure due to performance anxiety, constant pressure to get it right, move up a chair/hold your chair in tryouts. This, combined with the regular teenage angst AND a band director who sounds like a real idiot in the human relations arena is a recipe for diminished self-esteem.
I had a sarcastic, egotistic band director but that was the extent of it. Awards were earned and respected, teamwork was encouraged, but fun always rewarded hard work. Administration involvement, standards, parental involvement, and hiring practices were different I guess. Hate to say “back in my day” but that’s what comes to mind.
This guy’s emails are horrendous — he oozes insecurity combined with overcompensation…
@Steve, the principal quit. No big loss.
This on top of last thursday’s incident along with the high school’s yearbook issues, it seems like the high school is having some troubles maintaining order.
That new principal will have a lot to deal with.
As far as the long emails he sends out – I’m just thankful to get information. It took over 5 emails from me to a “regular” classroom teacher to get a response about the lack of grades being posted on the gradebook viewer. Really? Do you actually think it’s appropriate to deride a teacher who’s attempting to include parents in their child’s program? Wow.
We pay way too much in taxes to that school district to have it run like a country club for naughty children.
Agreed, parents feel entitled, raise kids to feel entitled, and good luck to any teacher who stands in their way. A town full of experts is what we have here, just coach Kindergarten sports and you’ll see where it all starts.
I think this adds further argument that we need someone with a strict approach to discipline as principal at the high school.
I still vote for Bohac.
This is a vicious circle headed toward mediocrity and mendacity. The parents are the ones who can break the cycle and actually bring sanity and discipline back to HPISD.
The former band director was fired – for cause – and left quite abruptly. The former asst director left quite abruptly as well. The fine arts department at the high school in general could use a serious tune up. Unfortunately there is no principal in place to handle this, and the previous principal only addressed the issues if he was absolutely forced to. The arts are the red headed stepchitorn vs the golden children, the sports teams.
In response to this nonsense:
The fine arts at this high school in regards to the choral program and theater are in great hands. We do not hear about these types of issues in Mrs. Waters, Steinbergs, or Mr. Masters classrooms. So as to your blame on the ” fine arts” check your facts before writing your statements.
As for the “loser” section, I don’t think it is right to call it that, but if any of you are in sports, you know what happens there. Even in middle school, if you miss a day of offseason for a doctors appointment, you have to SIT OUT on friday’s dodge ball game. On THe sidelines. In girls basketball, if you miss for excused appointment, the coaches make you run sprints til you puke. REALLY. in 7th grade. So by comparison, this seems tame.
Gunter has great vision and like many of our new coaches, he is bringing up the younger talent. Who can blame him? Let’s support him, and if your band kid really wants to have that PINK cord, then he needs to do the time and practice and take it seriously.
Your comment brings to mind the old joke that goes “With friends (advocates) like you, who needs enemas?”.
@ Avid – brief, simple, and well-played.
We’re not talking about competitive sports, here. We’re talking about band and orchestra!
I strongly suspect Gunter was FULLY vetted before being hired by HPISD. While that’s no excuse for an office being vandalized, it does explain some of his very ‘peculiar’ predilections.
If the issue is Gunter, say goodbye.
If the issue is students’ attitude, an adjustment is needed PDQ.
what issues did the high school yearbook have? could you be referring the the bradfield thing? that is an elementary school, so maybe thats not what you’re talking about
Nobody said everything with the band was “rosy” I dare say there is no organization where everybody thinks everything is “rosy.” What i don’t hear (or read) is what’s the complaint? I’ve re-read every post and I haven’t seen one solid “fact” or even simple conjecture as to the reason these kids are allegedly quitting.
So now (according to these posts) there’s a problem with Mr. Gunter, the band, the fine arts curriculum, the principal, the administration, the high school, its students, the parents, and apparently the entire community because our kids are spoiled and have an ill-directed sense of entitlement…. Good grief.
1. The HP Band is larger than I’ve ever remembered. It also appears to involve a broader crowd within the student body. I remember a time when the ‘band’ was a ‘jazz ensemble’ of about 8 musicians that stood around microphones set up on the field. They sounded good but knowing (and displaying) that that was the entirety of the HP band program was embarrassing. Whatever the current issues are, the band is WAY better than its been in a long long time. SO, get over your personal differences and move on to bigger and better things.
2. Mr. Cates seems to have been either a very weak leader or asleep at the wheel. Too many people have pointed out his inability to address and correct conflict. Unfortunately the effects of his shortcomings will be felt for a while and a strong leader is greatly needed. I wonder how many of the issues we are hearing from the high school could have been avoided had a better leader been in place?
3. This continues to be a great community and school district. If we have a flaw, it’s that we over protect our children. Eventually, like it or not, our kids will grow up and need to face life (and its hard choices and consequences) on their own. These are the years where we need to let them fail, pick themselves up and move forward with us there to guide and encourage. Working through tough situations builds stamina and courage and we are robbing our kids of the experience.
I highly recommend ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’ by Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg.
“When the going gets tough, H. “The Train” Smith does work.”
and
“Keep your friend’s close, but your enema’s even closer should you need one”
actually I’m aware of the Bradfield thing and no that’s not what I’m talking about. Although it’s not at such a grand scale issue, students at the high school are upset because quotes were published in the yearbook that were never said. I believe the yearbook staff is dealing with this accordingly so as of right now it’s blown over. It was one of the things that never fully made it on the community’s radar so yes it probably doesn’t mean anything now. When I wrote that comment it did seem troublesome however.
But, I digress! Mr. Gunter is doing a fine job. I have a child in the high school band and the middle school band. I do have first hand knowledge and his performance is excellant. Suffice to say, the last band director was, well I’ll be polite, a “POS”. Frankly, Mr. Gunter is a big relief for those of us who do have children in the band and who are actually involved and pay attention.
With respect to the office being trashed – Mr. Gunter is rightly indignant. I read his email and discussed it with my child and I can say his reaction was well measured and the Class of 2011 is appropriately upset at whomever did this. It is fairly well certain a senior or seniors created this mischief. (Any self-respecting junior would have written SKAXI [pronounced skacksee], not SKA 11) Regardless, both Mr. Gunter and the band will get over this mischief. And, for certain, there will be more – there always is, it is kids for goodness sakes. I recall when we put a snake in my 7th grade english teacher’s desk – and I still — well mind you it wasn’t pretty for a few minutes.
Real mischief is burning down a teacher’s office or pulling a firearm on a teacher. I have seen these first hand. As such, ceral does not count as a real problem except to the poor janitor – although some younger park cities’ sibling(s) missed his or her fruit loops.
Congrats to all the band members who did such a fine job this year and thanks to Mr. Gunter and his staff. The band is moving in the right direction for the first time in a long time. For those that don’t believe it, please come to some of the concerts next year. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
ps. only 2 seniors left the band this year.
coming from the perspective of a current band student, here are the concerns:
While Weisberg was short-tempered and at emotionally abusive, he was a fantastic director. Ask any kid in the band and they will tell you the same. We played incredible music, and we played it well. So, having such a strong band director in the musical sense, our standards were incredibly high.
While Mr. Gunter’s music choices were challenging for us, the majority of us are quite disgruntled at the fact that we were not able to play the music well. at all. This was the first year that i was actually embarrassed for people to hear us play. I have completely lost respect for the UIL system for giving us straight “1″s (the highest score), because the music we played was not deserving of that.
Our lack of excellence is a direct result of the inadequate preparation we received. Most rehearsal time was wasted discussing “business” which could all be found in his very detailed emails. It was further wasted on excessive warming up. There were days when literally 1/2 of our band class was spent reviewing scales. I nearly hurled.
When we finally did get around to playing our performance literature (usually the last 15 or 20 minutes of class) time continued to be wasted. Rather than actually practicing a difficult passage or transition, Mr. Gunter would talk about it for excessively long periods of time.
So, one of the most prominent sources for our dissatisfaction is simply disappointment. We know our potential and, although our scores did not reflect it, it was humiliating to preform under-prepared music.
In addition, we students feel like our input is completely ignored. From the simple minutia, to the band slogan, we have felt ignored. It is tradition for the seniors to come up with a few possible slogans and then vote on them. However, for this upcoming year the seniors were given three options, all construed by mr. gunter. Unfortunately the options were all ridiculous (i.e. “Rootin Tootin Band”. ugh…..
While these are two legitimate reasons for our disliking Mr. Gunter, I feel that a great deal of it comes from simply not liking change. We have our traditions, we have our way of doing things, and it’s difficult to have someone completely new come in and try to change that.
All in all, Mr. Gunter needs to work on his stuff, and the students need to be more open to having things be different.
By the way, there is no such thing as “the loser section”. That’s just ridiculous.
and lastly, Mr. Gunter, when someone pulls a prank on you, you don’t ignore it, you don’t get angry… you get even. This was not a personal attack. It was simply some kids, whoever they may be, overwhelmed by their excitement about the summer and perhaps their new stati as seniors. (assuming the pranksters were juniors). You are doing a fine job, especially considering the chaos you walked into. In my opinion, you may consider being more open to student input, and restructure your rehearsals to maximize time. Every last detail of your emails do not need to be reiterated during band class. (Perhaps this is why no one reads them… because you read them to us in class). The way I see it, if they don’t read the email, they don’t get the information, sucks. You are dealing with highschoolers, but we’re not illiterate, and we’re not babies. Treat your students like adults and maybe they will act like adults.
You are dead wrong, however, to be embarrassed by the way the band sounds. I’ve been to every football game and every concert. It was a little shaky at first, but consider that the upperclassmen were a smaller ratio than normal after the disaster that was Mr. Weisburg. That problem quickly went away and the band sounded great by the end of football season and is terrific now.
Apparently you disagree with Mr. gunter’s teaching style (i.e., playing scales until you want to “hurl”). I wonder how many years of advanced instruction Mr. Gunter has with respect to the art of teaching music? And you and the other band kids have how many years of college musical insruction and how many years leading college-level marching bands? While you may not understand and certainly do not appreciate what he is doing maybe, just maybe, you should let him be the instructor given that he’s probably had more years of schooling that you’ve been alive and certainly been conducting college-level bands longer than you’ve been alive. Anonymous, if you’re my daughter in the band, forgive me. However, there’s a reason the school district hires professional, educated instructors and doesn’t let the students decide how much time should be spent on scales v. other practice.
Hang in there. For the first time since I’ve been going to HP games (and that’s been 26 years), the band got as many people to sit in their seats for the half-time show as the Belles. Who would have thought that? It’s your Senior year. Be part of the solution — I bet you if you went and talked to Mr. Gunter he would listen and explain his methods to you. Maybe he is treating you too much like children but maybe he doesn’t have a good feel yet regarding the difference between a college-level student and a 9th grader (who may still be 13 years old and probably REALLY needs to practice their scales). Make a suggestion, how about a Freshman Clinic or something where they can play scales until they dream about them and save all you poor frustrated seniors and juniors who, in theory, don’t need quite so much practice on your scales.
What an excellent post. I am a mom of a graduated band member of the Weisberg era, and I couldn’t agree more with your comments about him. He was a little crazy, but he prepared you, and your band sounded like a professional ensemble. I encourage you to send this message to Mr. Gunter. Regarding the band traditions, Mr. Gunter has enough to do without having to reinvent every aspect of the band program, and the traditions mean so much to the students. I had heard about his long-winded rehearsals. It’s important to make the most of every rehearsal minute. Gunter should understand that better than anyone.
@artsadvocate: you have either never played an instrument, or have never had a voice lesson in your life. It isn’t easy to do any of it if you are doing it well. You may be an advocate for the arts, but if you aren’t an actual “artist”, or if you’ve never pursued a professional music career you should avoid making ignorant comments.
It’s very difficult to find the qualities of excellent musicianship and good interpersonal skills in one person. Most really excellent musicians place a higher value on musical skill, and do not place as high a value on relationship building. They often end up alienating parents and students. But, the great communicators tend to value relationship over product.
I think Mr. Gunter can overcome the issues the students have without sacrificing his strengths. For the students who are really serious about music, they have to understand that they will not get the serious challenge through a high school band, but they can supplement through private study and other activities.
It also seems that the former band director was also qualified. I do’t think that being nice is a necessary part of being a band director (though, of course, I’m very nice). I have performed in orchestras and know that large music ensembles are some of the few environments where it is quite appropriate for one person to have have quite a lot of authority over others. It is impossible to direct a large music group by committee. A big part of learning to play music is learning to do what they are told with alacrity.
The I Ching says that before one can lead, one must learn to follow. Most musicians are great followers as well as leaders. We look to the ones who hired us for direction and have no problems doing what is asked of us, even if it doesn’t make that much sense to us. We expect the same when we lead others.
This is an intolerable error in judgment and the principles of teaching.
This isn’t even a subject for discussion.
There are many complaints the kids have about Gunter, and if you haven’t been hearing them, then you either don’t have a kid who is honest enough to express them, or you don’t have an open enough relationship with your kid. As a student, I could not tell you a single person happy with Gunter other than those who have never had anything other than him. (Freshman) I am a child of the Weisberg era, in fact I’ll be open enough to say that I am a recently graduated senior who was with Weisberg from the start, so I know him better than any other generation. He was an ass, for lack of a better term, but he was honest and he pushed you to your maximum potential. Some people didn’t like that because it turned into a program that did drive some people out, and often put results before feelings. After three years, the students and parents became fed up and he was “asked to leave”. Now I won’t agree with you on saying he was a “POS” director like someone said above, but I can agree that at times he did make you feel like a “POS”.
Gunter is the complete opposite. He was HIRED because of that. The administration was looking for someone who could be friendly to students, which is what they found. At the cost of being a fantastic band. The parents who said the band was great at the last concert obviously must be blinded by the love for their kids, or never heard us before, because as the above student said, we are not challenged. We played “America the Beautiful” at our last concert. While it is a great piece of music, it was something I last payed six years ago as a sixth grader. It was embarrassing. I also agree with the above student’s opinion on our UIL scores, because the entire band did not expect straight ones.
But I feel that the most disgust with Mr. Gunter does not come from musical incompetence. The only thing worse than someone who chastises you for your flaws like Weisberg, is someone who just chastises you without telling you why. Gunter is simply that: passive aggressive. There were several occasions this year were the man would be mad about something and not a single person in the band would know or understand why. He is a man who bottles up his emotions and releases them later at inappropriate times. The pink cord saga is true, regardless of what his email says. I was given one without meeting the criteria the first time and I feel that was because I was one of the students on good terms with the man. That is why his band officers for the year “failed” him, because he creates such obstacles for people to jump over that it just becomes not worth it to deal with them.
Since people on this board are demanding proof, I’ll throw two examples at you. At the beginning of the year, the seniors came up with the slogan “Go Big or Go Home” for the band poster. It was a slogan to show that we were serious about band, and you better bring your game face or you might as well go home. Mr. Gunter didn’t like that because it sent the wrong message. “Why is anyone going home?” was his direct quote I believe. Why anyone would read a band poster and take it as a direct insult is beyond me and shows how he picks little stupid things to fight about. A second example is the actual weekly officer meetings Mr. Gunter used to hold. Apparently he was tired of sharing power and “phased” them out. (Each week would be postponed to the following week until they disappeared completely) It seems to follow his solution to other things by sweeping it under the rug. The punch in the face was his speech months later about how the year’s leaders “failed” him and it needed to be restructured for next year.
As for the prank, it’s time to lighten up people. People snuck into an office, put cereal in a desk and you’re wanting to call the police? I’d hardly call it vandalism, nothing was broken or stolen, and nothing can’t go back to the way it was before. The people could of stolen something important if they really hated the band/Gunter but truth is that they don’t. They were in a position to do serious damage and they put cereal in a desk. They’re just giving him a hard time. A similar prank was pulled on Weisberg last year where his entire office was wrapped in saran wrap and moved around. It’s part of being a kid, and getting back at your teachers as an adult said before. Though it’s good to see that a thousands spent on security cameras went to good use (haha).
Let me share some thoughts I’ve had about this year and what to do. Being someone very close to him on his officers, it’s clear to see that he wants to do things differently. The band is a traditional program if I’ve ever seen one, and they don’t take lightly to change. After years of getting yelled at and being taught through strict discipline, not having that suddenly has caused all students to lose their interest as well as their behavior. You want people to stop being late Mr. Gunter? You need to call them out just like Weisberg did. It’s time to realize that you can’t have a program run smoothly your way instantly, you have to change things over time. Maybe things will be fine in three years when all of the Weisberg kids are out and the remaining students don’t know any better.
Well there you have it, the ramblings of a student who’s band career ended with less than a bang.
I was beginning to get extremely worried about the quality of an HPISD education after reading the “writings” of current students about that incident.
Though my current profession has nothing to do with the arts, I can never imagine making a statement like this. They seem so ignorant – almost fighting words.
Band is important. Choir is important. Theater is important. Belles are important. Cheerleaders are important. The list goes on and on. These are the places where we learned to work together as a team. Even if a child is featured in a play or a song, there isn’t only one star. Both talent and hard work are rewarded. I had friends through these groups that I never shared any other class with because of age or whatever. I gained confidence and had an outlet at school that wasn’t strictly academic. I also gained in cultural knowledge.
I think all of that matters. I think all of that helped me get to the place I am today.
But, hey, maybe I’m wrong. Let’s just go with your perspective and get rid of the arts – too much drama. None of it really matters anyway.
And I agree with you that the really talented kids will never be challenged in HS Band or Orchestra. It’s just not supported . Luckily Dallas has many outside ensembles.
Is Mr. Gunter a full time employee? How many classes do we have? Other schools Plano, etc – have freshman, JV, Honors type classes for the arts. It is really hard to play as a group if some don’t care to practice.
But there’s the problem. We don’t respect him. So no, no apology is coming. If anything he should apologize to us for being an embarrassment.
No where in my statement did I say we should get rid of the arts I just think that there at other schools people bring guns, at HP we pour cereal in a teachers office, whom we hate. There could be much worse, so honestly I don’t know why this is such a huge issue. And FYI, it wasnt until I stepped out of the bubble that I learned about real culture, and thats also where I learned to work as a team. I had a great time in high school, but I felt like 100% of the time people took it way too seriously.
The band seems to have several new directors, again. I could barely hear them playing in the stands last Friday night, which was not that huge, until I learned that a freshman I was looking for on the field wasn’t marching. I thought maybe he/she was sick, but no, I heard later that not 100% of his/her music was memorized so they were not allowed to perform with the band. I was told he/she knew most of it, just had trouble with a few measures. i question why perfection is expected so early in the season, for the first home game, as I doubt any judges were rating them on a small portion of a half time show. They only played 1 or 2 songs. Do you want to help kids, or drive them away? This is band, not something they had to try out for like basketball or volleyball at the middle school. It is music, and I always thought anyone who put in the effort and time could be part of the band. It seems like now if you are not perfect you cannot be in band either. I have been told many Belle’s don’t ever dance, even if they make the team, but they go into it knowing it. Band, however, was different and everybody was supposed to be able to participate. I would not blame every freshman, who wasn’t good enough/perfect last week, if they quit. Maybe, they still have time to find something at Highland Park they can be perfect at? It seems sad that for a few, their first memory of marching in the band, at a home football game, was having to stand on the sidelines because they were not perfect yet. I was also told some kids got to try again with different directors, and they played worse the second time but a different director passed them. This doesn’t seem like a good way to build spirit in the band. It doesn’t seem like a good way to help kids who are trying hard but just not perfect yet. Maybe these kids will get over it, or maybe it didn’t even bother them, but it bothered me. I hope that Coach Allen gets a lesson in this. Maybe if someone misses a tackle or doesn’t make a catch during practice next week, he should not allow them to play Friday night. I bet if he adopted that practice, even Highland Park would run out of players to play. Perfection is hard to reach.
There seems to be a great deal of dislike in the Band Community towards the new director. He came from a University? Maybe he needs to be reminded that this is High School. I am new to the area, but have heard the band is better than years ago, worse than years ago, bigger than years ago, smaller than years ago, and on. It sounds like the band program has not been as strong and consistent as the athletic program. I hear Coach Allen treats every player with honor and respect, so maybe he could teach the band directors a few lessons.
I would rather be able to hear the band, even if they make a few mistakes, than see some of the kids have to just stand there. Maybe, just maybe, some people don’t perform as well in an intimidating situation like a try out. Come to think of it, I miss the days when a band member marches the wrong way, then runs to try to catch up. We all get tickled, and the kid learns from it, and everybody gets to joke about it, but how do you joke about having to stand on the sidelines? How do you get better if you are excluded from having a chance? If I recall correctly, memorizing music and marching can be tough, so give them a chance. Since I couldn’t really hear the band, I have no idea how simple/difficult the music may have been. If the fans can tolerate imperfection, maybe the band gods could too.
I sure hope these kids can learn their music and play it perfectly before every game, because if they don’t we really won’t be able to hear an even smaller group. Maybe, the Band Directors could take an hour or so to find out what help each kid needs to become perfect. I understand that parents even have to hire directors to give private lessons. I find it interesting that helping/teaching band students is no longer part of a band directors job. Well, if all the kids can’t get every part of their music perfect for each and every game, I look forward to seeing the show the Band Directors put on for us, as perhaps they are the only perfect ones. It seems to me, a former band geek myself, that the band needs to be twice as big to be heard and really be good. It doesn’t seem to me you are in the position to make kids stay on the sidelines. It seems to me you should be trying to recruit a few more imperfect potential members.
I am becoming glad I don’t have kids in this district yet, but when or if I do, I sure hope they are perfect. If not, they may not survive, and worse, may not want to.
I also asked around at the game and was told by several, that last year the second band did have a failing section, a loser section. Too bad there wasn’t a third band to put them in. Some kids were there most of the year and got used to it. A few short time visitors absolutely hated it, and still may not be over it. Lucky for the band though, some of the losers are no longer there. Like Michael Jordan, I hope someday they end up showing you!!!
I am an HPHS alum, my kids attended HPISD schools, and have stayed connected to HP students for the past 30 years. I have noticed a common thread arising from all aspects of HP school life. What was merely “parental involvement” in the past has become “parental obsession” in the present. The line between the two is not insignificant, yet many (not all) parents have crossed it.
I believe parental involvement is a significant factor in what has made HPISD one of the top public districts in the US. Somewhere along the way, some parents’ obsession with their child winning the competition for the top spot – valedictorian, team captain, editor, playing time, a roster spot, etc. – has caused them to veer from responsible parenting. Their sole desire is to pad their child’s resume; if their child is somehow merely above-average then they are doomed for failure.
I believe this obsession stunts a child’s natural maturation process. What good does it do for a student to get into a pretigious university when the application and essays were written by paid professionals? What good does it do to micro-manage every aspect of your kid’s life in high school, only to have them struggle in college when they’re on their own for the first time? You get the point.
I applaud well-intentioned parents. They CARE! However, they should allow the faculty and administration to do their job. Let them bestow recognition to those most deserving, and discipline when necessary, without fear of a meeting from an irate parent.
The high school years do not determine where we will land in life, they’re just stepping stones along the way. For example, these years should be the time where we parents begin progressively backing off and letting our kids make decisions – and to succeed or fail – on their way to becoming young adults. I believe this process will do more to prepare our kids for successful college careers than using politics to get them the accolades we beleive they deserve.
I believe a lot of this rhetoric would no longer proliferate if parents could retrain themselves in the spirit of “involvement” instead of “obsession”.
Look, this is HS, and people pull pranks. If you are the major authority figure over a group this large, you are going to provoke some pranks and retaliation. This incident merited a shop vac and a chuckle, nothing more.
Just sayin’ . . .
Good luck, Tim! Those who are under his teaching, I commend you for your patience and plead with those of you who are not so patient to give him time and I can promise you that you will be rewarded!
Whether or not you agree with his methods, Tim Gunter is a good band director and an even better man. He has a generous heart and his willingness to be there for his students is legendary.
Surely, the entire HP band isn’t a group of self-centered, immature and cruel people, but after seeing the pics and reading the article, that’s what you come away with. It’s a shame that the good members of your group let themselves be represented by hooligans who obviously have no concept of respect.
I hope you’re proud of yourselves, children. You ran off a good man.
http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/2011/05/03/pam-hyatt-named-hphs-band-director/
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