What Did YOU do for YourSELF this Weekend?

This post goes out mostly to my colleagues on the Facebook band directors' group, affectionately known as "The BDG."  I think it may be relevant to all of my teacher colleagues, and even mere mortals may find its content beneficial, so you're all welcome to read it.  I am hoping that on the BDG, at least, it will cause some (hopefully healthy and constructive) discussion.

Last month I rode in a mountain bike race.  For those who don't know me, this was no big deal - I'm no superstar; more of a "hey, that sounds like fun, and they let anyone do it" kind of weekend warrior on the bike.  If you're interested, you can read that post here. There's something about being on the bike for nearly four hours that can either clear my mind and make me forget about a lot of things, or let my mind wander in order to get through the ride.  Kind of along the lines of taking my mind off the pain and suffering, you know?

One of the things I got to thinking about as I had a remarkably enjoyable weekend was the fact that I was away from school.  And on Friday night I wasn't just away from school, I was away from a football game.  Yep, the team went deep into the playoffs again this season (the following week we won the quarter-final game, with the band marching in boots and hats surrounded by eight inches of snow on a freshly-shoveled field), and we had a home game and the band wasn't there.  
    *This wasn't because I was heading to a bike race; it was due to the fall theater production of "A Tale of Two Cities" happening in the auditorium.  Playoffs and the fall play frequently run into each other; this year the director asked if we would skip the band playing on Friday so he wouldn't have to deal with all of the extra hassle, and I agreed.  So no commentary on my slacker attitude and not supporting the team, please.  But indeed I was NOT at school, not reading email, not watching playing tests, or anything to do with my job.  AND I FELT GREAT.

During the race, as usually happens when I ride, snatches of band music would play through the jukebox in my head.  We're working on Overture to Candide with the Wind Ensemble, so that was there, but more apropos to the MTB riding were phrases from Hazo's Ride, which we did last spring with the Symphonic Band.  I say this because I'm proud of my kids and proud of the program, and yes, I can even say that I am proud of my teaching.  I do some pretty good stuff with and for students, from band to mountain bike club to having several kids in on a day off to learn how to re-wrap keyboard mallets. It is also, as you might have figured out, to show the level of playing we do, which may come into play as you continue to read.

For some reason I also started thinking about several posts I've read on the BDG (hey, I was on the bike for almost four hours...).  And the thrust of those thoughts went along the lines of what I personally do to make sure I can still do this job after three decades.

I offer these thoughts as something that works for me.  I'm writing this to the folks who wonder what they can do because they find themselves at school for 12-14 hours a day every week and are counting the days until they check out.  So here's what I do.

• I don't answer email on the weekends.  As a matter of fact I tell my parents and students that I don't read email after I get home at night, whether that be at 2:15 (I have a zero hour at 6:30) or 8:15 p.m.  TURN OFF SCHOOL at some point during your day.  When I started teaching we didn't even have email.  Hell, I didn't have a computer until my second year in 1988 (aaahhh, the Apple IIe with the famed dual disc drive...  the memories...).  We used to get messages from people on those little pink "while you were out" pages from the school secretary.  We weren't sitting at school at 8 p.m. waiting for the phone to ring, so why should we constantly check email?  It can wait.
• Same goes for voicemail, though this one is slightly different.  About 15 years ago I returned to my office on Friday for a game.  The message light was blinking on my phone, so I checked it.  "Hey, Keith, Mike here.  Say, there's a parent concern we need to talk about on Monday, so plan to be in my office by 3:30, please."  From the assistant superintendent.  After school on Friday.  WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE THIS MESSAGE WHEN YOU KNOW I CAN'T REACH YOU TO TALK ABOUT IT??  So from that day forward I don't wreck my weekend with voicemail, either.  It can wait.  (Yes, sometimes even on game nights - if a kid is calling in sick, the message will still be there on Monday.  Same idea as the pink phone slips that I'd get on Monday morning when the school secretary came in and got the weekend messages off the answering machine.)
• Sometimes I walk away from it all.  There are days when it's just time to leave.  And if that day happens to be a nice one, I will frequently leave at my contractual time and go ride my bike somewhere. Yep, contract time.  For me this year that's 1:55 p.m.  If I hurry I can be on the bike by 2:30.
•  Some weekends I'll spend some hours on my deck brewing a batch of beer or two.  Over the years I've spent far too much money on that particular hobby...
• I would love to practice my trumpet more, but that usually doesn't happen.  I've been doing it quite a bit lately because I played in a musical a few weeks ago, and every time I get a chance like this I remember how much fun it is to play.  At 50 years old keeping my chops in shape still sucks, but I love performing in groups.  I've done some brass quintets and such, as well as plenty of college and HS musicals over the years, along with weddings, church gigs, etc.

That's probably a partial list, but you get the idea.  So back to the title of this post:  What did YOU do for yourSELF this weekend?  Score study doesn't count - that's school, even though it will benefit you as you teach.  How did you walk away?  Or did you? 

Posted on a board in my office is an ancient copy of an article from The Instrumentalist magazine entitled "Director Puts Band in Proper Perspective."  It's from a veteran teacher who finally decided that he'd had enough.  Enough of the after-school sectionals, enough of the all-day Saturday rehearsals, enough of private lessons, etc.  Midway through the article he says, "and you know what?  My bands got better."  And he goes on to detail the more relaxed atmosphere and his and his students' happiness.

One evening when my son was about three years old I came up the stairs from the laundry room wearing my jazz band shirt.  Nathan loved everything I did with the bands; once I even brought him up on stage so the jazz band could play "Happy Birthday."  He's a bass performance/elementary music ed major at MSU now, so apparently he wasn't too traumatized by my job.  But I remember on this particular occasion seeing his face fall in disappointment as he realized that if I was wearing that shirt it meant I was leaving again.  Who knows the reason for him not being excited about band on that one night?  But it really hit me. 

Occasionally I will read posts or replies on the BDG site that talk about the constant 16-hour days (not really exaggerating here) that some directors spend at school.  Sometimes it is the younger teachers, perhaps just married or with a new baby at home, wondering how they can change things or avoid burnout.  Recently there were a few posts about "I'm so sick I can't go to school, but I don't feel that I can take a sick day."  I can tell you honestly that I have never, in 28 years of teaching, spent 16 hours at school unless it was during the high school musical season or connected to a football game, etc.  In other words, because the band was performing or I was otherwise required to be there.  So probably a dozen times per year, give or take.

As a point of reference, I run a 200+ member program with five performing ensembles that meet from zero through 5th hours.  During the first semester my large marching band class counts as two classes in one, and splits into two separate hours second semester.  Virtually all of those students march; we had 197 on the field this year.  We perform for two separate high school football programs, covering virtually all Friday games for the regular season (full band or pep band), and usually all the home playoff games as well. The band does not travel to any away games except for state finals (three times in ten years).

Are you spending more than 12 hours at your building every day?  I would honestly appreciate a look at what you're doing.  No disrespect intended here; I am wondering what fills that much time.   How much time do you spend on your off hours doing school stuff?  This can include score study, sectionals, playing test evals, etc.  Anything "off the clock" that is officially not part of your salary.

• Do you require sectionals, private study, etc.?  Are your students buying in to what you are requiring?  Do they do after-school sectionals because they are excited to learn more, or because it will affect their grade if they don't attend?  The schedules my students maintain in activities do not allow me to require very many after-school band things; we do a Monday night rehearsal during marching season from6:30- 9:00.
• Can what you are doing wait until tomorrow so you can spend time with family or friends?  
• What are your requirements for lesson planning, etc.?  I know from more than one elementary teacher friend that many lessons take far longer to write than they do to actually teach.  I fear that I would be in serious trouble if my district or state starts requiring me to do all of that every week...

I sort of don't want to mention this next idea, but here goes: I fear that sometimes we as band directors do the "humble brag" thing as far as hours at school are concerned.  Maybe it's our competitive nature that makes that happen.  You know what I mean: the guy in the program five miles away, who gets straight I's at every festival is at school for 12 hours every day, so maybe you need to be, too.  But try as I might, I can't spend 12 hours at school every day. 

Well, I hope to get some constructive commentary going regarding these thoughts.  As I finish this post I am sitting in the living room with my wife and kids (who are home from college), having just completed a 12-hour day!  Today was the second audition day for the HS musical, so we spent some serious time as a staff putting together the cast.  Irony?  Maybe, but I get paid for my role with the theater, so maybe not.

So...  What DID you do last weekend? I hope it was fulfilling and meaningful and didn't have to involve your job!