Music Banned

I realized recently that all three of my children have, at one time or another, been kicked out of music class. In fifth grade, Darla was banned from chorus. Banned! (Don't look at me.)

What do you mean banned? I asked her.
It means I can never be in chorus again for the rest of--
I know what banned means, but why?
I don't know, he's crazy.

What is it about most music teachers that suck the joy and life out of a subject that's so joyful and lively. My own teacher, Ms. Engel (yes she was one of the first to go by Ms. back in the day) had a big bald patch on the side of her head where she used to hit herself with her tuning fork in preparation for the first note of the song we were singing or playing. Mo's teacher "Denise"had a mustache and wore kneesocks with her birkenstocks and the only time she wasn't frowning was when she was playing the recorder.

Darla and Harry's teacher had long fllowing hair and wore his guitar strapped across his chest all day. At assemblies, he'd sing loudly along with the chorus and then say Thank you, thank you very much, like Elvis, at the end. I knew Dar was probably right in her assessment.



Too bad this isn't a requirement in music class.