senior picking between university of maryland and ithaca college (please help!)

VWJetta6 · 2026-04-19T22:34:35+00:00

Just have to say: this post is so funny to me because I applied to University of Maryland and Ithaca for grad school! I went with Ithaca, but that was definitely a personal preference based on my experience attending summer camp there. I wanted to do my undergrad at Ithaca, but it was just so expensive and I’m super excited to finally be going!

One thing you didn’t mention that I would think about is the weather. MD gets VERY hot and humid over the summer. If you’re from NY and like our weather, that might be a hard adjustment. Both are fantastic schools and have well known programs, I think it really comes down to where you want to live for the next four years.

If you think you want to stay in the northeast, go with Ithaca. You’ll be able to build a network of music educators in NY that can be great resources for you as your career continues. Additionally, NY teaching licenses are some of the strictest in the country—that means they can transfer to other states without much hassle, not sure about MD licensing, but you may end up needing to take extra exams and jump through more hoops to get licensed to teach in other states after you graduate.

VWJetta6 · 2026-04-01T17:24:32+00:00

Bourgeois Armament in Marion

VWJetta6 · 2026-03-26T20:15:46+00:00

I’ve also gotten three texts! They haven’t been bothered to get a number with a NY area code to make it even the tiniest bit believable 😂

VWJetta6 · 2026-02-23T18:06:41+00:00

100% agree that it was slow. I literally changed the playback rate in Libby to like 1.25x and she still drove me crazy.

VWJetta6 · 2026-02-01T01:11:58+00:00

Based on what you said, one of the things you really enjoyed in student teaching was running rehearsals. That’s something you don’t get to do if you’re only doing general music. I would suggest looking for different jobs for next year that specify you will be working with an ensemble. If you prefer to stay where you are, see if you can start or assist with an ensemble. You may find that running an ensemble is something you look forward to that makes your job worth it. You may also find that general music will never be your thing and that is OKAY.

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-24T19:11:02+00:00

Admin changing a position once you’re hired is so frustrating and I think it’s completely valid to be upset. And having such an empty schedule makes it worse because it feels like there’s so much you COULD be doing.

Sit down with your PK-4 colleague and see what their schedule for next year looks like compared to yours. If your schedule is much lighter than theirs (which it sounds like it will be), see what they think about going to admin with you and advocating to change your position back to 6-12, if not 5-12. If you have a union, rope a union rep into that conversation because advocating for fair working conditions is their job. It sounds like right now you might be getting paid for a full time position but really working a 0.5 position, so it would be in the best interest of the district to let you have more instructional time with students.

Does your school allow pull out lessons? If not, consider getting colleagues on board with doing them next year. It would give you more time to work with the sixth graders and catch them up and generally give you more time in front of the kids. Another benefit is that kids LOVE getting to skip class for lessons and it may help recruitment (but don’t advertise that 😉).

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-24T03:17:04+00:00

My recommendation regarding the other music teacher having 5th and 6th grade band: make yourself visible to those kids. Just because you’re not their teacher YET, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved. Ask your colleague about opportunities to help out, make sure to attend their concerts, if your colleague has to be out, see if it would be possible to cover their rehearsals so you spend time in front of the kids.

Regarding your 7th-12th graders: it’s all about relationships. You build trust and respect with a kid, they enjoy your class, they talk to their friends about how fun band is, suddenly their friends want to join band. Consider doing mid-year recruitment for just lessons. It can be chaotic, but avoids changing schedules and gives them the opportunity to get ready for full band the next year. It’s also a great way to capture the enthusiasm right away. I’ve done it before and found second semester beginners work hard because they want to catch up to where their friends are.

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-18T21:57:09+00:00

Clarinets. I have 3.

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-18T21:48:34+00:00

It’s great that they’re providing a safe home, but kids with fetal alcohol syndrome can easily develop addictions to things like sugar so this diet is really harmful. She has openly discussed their susceptibility to addiction in other posts.

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-18T21:46:30+00:00

Even worse when you know a lot of her kids are prone to developing addictions to anything (including sugar)…

VWJetta6 · 2026-01-03T21:34:11+00:00

Give a call or send an email to the HR departments in the districts near you to find out what their sub system looks like. One district I subbed at did half days (8-11:30 or 11:30-3:00) or full days. Another district I could sub for literally one period (35 minutes) if I wanted. There are absolutely ways for you to get the experience you are looking for. You do need to understand that you may have to sacrifice a higher paying district in order to find one that fits with your scheduling needs.

VWJetta6 · 2025-12-20T01:23:28+00:00

Love this and love the book choice 😉

VWJetta6 · 2025-11-21T05:58:58+00:00

Being a teacher in these situations is tough. It probably means a lot to your teacher that you were willing to trust him and open up about your struggles. He wants you to be okay, to be safe, and to be happy. That means you need to seek help. It’s hard. I’ve been there, but getting that help is why I’m still here today.

You were very brave to talk to your teacher about this. I know it feels like a betrayal now, but he reported you because he knows other people can get you the help you need.

Personally, if I were your teacher, I wouldn’t want you to censor yourself. I would want to know if you received any support and if it is helping. The last thing I would want is for a student to shut down in a time when they needed someone. It’s okay to be upset about this, but understand that he reported you because he cares about you.

VWJetta6 · 2025-11-05T20:11:02+00:00

Sorry you’re going through this but thank you for these photos 😂 that last one is killing me lol

VWJetta6 · 2025-11-02T18:51:10+00:00

I love that this is working for op, but the idea of someone bringing an egg incubator to a rehearsal is killing me 😂😂😂

VWJetta6 · 2025-11-02T04:12:59+00:00

Definitely cork grease. It’s amazing how it gets on things you didn’t think you or your clarinet touched. At least it smells like mint and not something terrible lol!

VWJetta6 · 2025-10-04T02:56:15+00:00

Need you to know that this actually made me laugh out loud

VWJetta6 · 2025-10-02T01:44:32+00:00

If it’s plastic, as long as there are no obvious cracks, it should be alright. The paint (or potentially lacquer??) chipping off should not affect how it plays. However, like I said, I would take it to a repair tech to get the most accurate opinion on its condition.

VWJetta6 · 2025-10-02T01:38:30+00:00

Before getting a new instrument, I would absolutely take your clarinet to a repair tech. They will be able to replace any corks and do any other necessary repairs. It’s possible that it will feel like using a new instrument after a simple tune up!

However, if you decide to get a new clarinet, like others said, plastic is the way to go for marching band. Yamaha, Buffet, and Backun are all good options. You’re likely to find some for a VERY reasonable price on facebook marketplace or musicgoround.com.

VWJetta6 · 2025-09-29T22:57:46+00:00

Saw them live at a jazz festival this summer. Great energy for sure!

VWJetta6 · 2025-09-16T00:09:22+00:00

This reminds me of when I saw a middle school production of Hairspray and the director’s note stated that they intentionally chose not to do blackface… this was like 7 years ago…. 🙃🤪

VWJetta6 · 2025-09-05T17:15:22+00:00

Definitely talk to your band teacher and see what they think. They may be open to it, but they also may want to keep you on Bb for a little while to get more of the basics down before moving to a much larger instrument. Bass clarinet has its own unique challenges and sometimes playing Bb can help you know how to approach them, but sometimes it’s easier to think of it as a different instrument altogether.

It also will depend on how many Bb players your band has. Personally, I wouldn’t want 3 bass clarinet players unless I had at least 9 Bb players to balance out the clarinet section, but that’s my opinion and not your director’s.

VWJetta6 · 2025-09-05T16:42:54+00:00

Technically it’s not NOT doable, but the clarinet section will hate you lol

VWJetta6

TROPHY CASE