<p>At our HS gym is required for all students k-12. No way to get out of it. Until recently you were required to write a paper if you couldn’t participate in gym due even if you had a note from your doctor! S1 injured his eye right before his senior year (ran into a tree playing flashlight tag) and the doctor didn’t want him to do anything that might jar the eye. S1 asked for permission to walk on a treadmill so he didn’t have to write the papers! Marching Band is an EC for our kids. Jazz Band & Theatre are ECs as well. We are in a very competative Field Band conference and do a couple of football games and parades as a courtesy to the school. Our HS is very supportive of all the music programs so it is generally easy for kids to take one or two music classes a semester without any major conflicts.</p>
<p>Fascinating. In Maryland, just one year of high school PE is required but I bet marching band enrollment at my kids’ high school would leap if it could be substituted for PE. One perk - our marching band kids do get credit for state-required community service hours by doing marching band.</p>
<p>At our school district in PA, PE is required for all four years and in HS, no one gets out of it and there is no summer option. Band is first period and is considered a credited class.</p>
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<p>D. plays the clarinet in MB. So far clarinet is her major instrument. But since 8th grade, she picked up oboe and will take some private lessons to improve her oboe. The HS band teacher would love to have her play oboe in the spring concert band. She’s putting a lot of time in music. She also plays in a community orchestra (so far, with clarinet, but it may be switched to oboe if she gets better) and a community band in the summer. She does NOT want to major or even minor music in college. It will just be her hobby like it has been to my DH. So from time to time I wonder if all these are worthwhile. But oh well, she seems to really enjoy it.</p>
<p><<trust me,=“” after=“” seeing=“” them=“” ‘march’=“” in=“” parades,=“” i=“” am=“” not=“” sure=“” that=“” would=“” want=“” to=“” do=“” any=“” formations=“” at=“” a=“” football=“” game.=“” they=“” have=“” trouble=“” walking=“” straight=“” line=“” down=“” the=“” street!=“”>></trust></p>
<p>LOL! Yeah, we always had a few freshman who marched like a bunch of confused ants! </p>
<p>I know I have posted this before…but this thread made me go back and watch the band’s performance from 2008. </p>
<p>[THS</a> Band Show- KA’ - YouTube](<a href=“THS Band Show- KA' - YouTube”>THS Band Show- KA' - YouTube)</p>
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<p>I will HAVE to show this to my D. It’s great!</p>
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At my high school, the double reed players marched with cymbals or bells. And the school had mellophoniums (sp?) for all the French horn players.</p>
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<p>We had plenty of percussion players to do the cymbals and bells. My kid oboe playing kid carried the banner…and she hated doing so. She wrote a proposal to have a flag team for their two parades. The band director gave her the thumbs up…she did this for her senior year and actually wrote her college essays about it.</p>
<p>Band has been a good EC for D. since 4th grade and music is her strong hand. However, just like some people who posted here, music will just be her hobby. I’d be fine with it but she herself sometimes wonders if spending so much time in music/band is worthwhile. She wants to go to a very good college, some ivies are in her wish list. She has to be very competitive academically. If her school gives PE credit for MB, she can free up that PE time to take a course she likes and will benefit her. But right now, the way things go, we are not sure if she can continue doing band all four years. Our board won’t budge in their PE requirement. In her plan, there are also other electives like web design, journalism, etc. It’s hard to fit everything in.</p>
<p>In our Texas HS, band is a class–marching band in fall and symphonic/concert band in spring. PE credit is awarded for fall band up to the PE requirement. After that, it is a “local elective.” Fine Arts elective credit is awarded for spring band up to the Fine Arts requirement. After that, I believe it goes to a local elective as well. </p>
<p>Our band practices from 7:30 AM to the end of first period (about 1.5 hours), and Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00. There are after-school sectionals on some days, but there is a rule limiting out-of-class-period practice to eight hours per week. The band performs at all (10) home and away football games. There is a region marching contest and usually one additional marching contest and a marching show/fundraiser. They march in the annual town Christmas parade. This is far more physical activity than goes on in one of our PE classes. IMO, that credit is earned the hard way. :)</p>
<p>At D’s HS, it is run very similar to the above poster. PE credit for marching fall (with practice and hour and half before school through first period band) and fine art for spring. Some high schools have bands that march in national shows and these shows are fast and physical and I agree that PE credit earned this way is the hard way. I would bet the majority of school system principals couldn’t get through a marching band practice, simply because they don’t have the physical ability.</p>
<p>Auspicious - I believe our kids are at the same school. I suspect the PE waiver is given for financial reasons. 300+ kids not taking PE for a semester means less teachers on the payroll.</p>
<p><<some high=“” schools=“” have=“” bands=“” that=“” march=“” in=“” national=“” shows=“” and=“” these=“” are=“” fast=“” physical=“” i=“” agree=“” pe=“” credit=“” earned=“” this=“” way=“” is=“” the=“” hard=“” way.=“”>></some></p>
<p>No joke! My older son marched with a drum corps this summer and lost 15 pounds and ended up dropping from a 32 to a 30 pant size. It’s tough work!</p>
<p>Our marching band was so desperate that they recruited the viola section to hold up the banner and got the violinists to play percussion. :)</p>
<p>No gym credit but musical groups did get you an arts credit.</p>
<p>I forgot to add, we march oboes, too. If they’re not in the arrangement, they’re doubling another instrument’s part.</p>
<p>We also march “real” French horns. Hunt, you’re probably thinking of the mellophone. Mellophonium was a C.G. Conn animal that looked like a French horn with the bell bent to be in a line with the leadpipe and mouthpiece. It retained the circular wrap of the French horn. Stan Kenton’s big band had a section of these in the early sixties.</p>
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<p>Steve…what marching band arrangements have oboe parts? They don’t.</p>
<p>We had that “discussion” with the band directors in our region. The double reed players are NOT expected to learn and play another instrument (embouchure for oboe/bassoon is very different than for other instruments) during the marching band season. If there is no instrumentation, they carry the banners and flags.</p>
<p>PE is a requirement for every year, 3 out of 4 marking periods, in my state. Dd is in marching band, and i must say that she gets 3 times more exercise in marching band than she does in PE class. They practice marching Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6-9. Fridays are football games (they march and play in the stands), Saturday is either all day rehearsal/marching from 9-4, or 9-1, with a competition after that, finishing up around 11pm.
DD lost about 10 pounds during the marching band season last fall.</p>
<p>Because of the time commitment, getting a “study hall” period, instead of PE, could allow band members to catch up on schoolwork that they may not have had time for because of band.</p>
<p>@Maxwell, I share your and your daughter’s concerns. </p>
<p>However, I’d also like to give the band activity a lot of credit, esp. in its social aspect. D. as a freshman is taking a math class with upper class. She likes the math challenge but was afraid there would be nobody in the class that she knew. It turns out there were two of her band buddies in the same class, who are sophomore and junior. She was very happy to about that. She also is hoping to play a leadership role in band when she is a senior or junior, either drum major or section leader. </p>
<p>Of course, it depends on if she can manage to stay in band with all the classes she wants to/need to take.</p>
<p>@Grcxx3
I’m not a parent at all, but I got quite a shock when I recognized that stadium that band was in. I guess there are some CC people that are near me, it made this website seem so much more “real” to me. It’s quite a good show, as well. :)</p>
<p>OtherWindow - that is not “our” stadium, but is very close to us. But that is often where some of the bigger marching competitions are held.'</p>
<p>Glad you enjoyed the show! :)</p>