Junior High Talent Show

I wonder if I’m becoming a curmudgeon in the span of a single week.  I’m disappointed about the school schedule this week, with a major field trip that claimed 70% of my students on Monday, classes starting at 10:10am on Wednesday, an assembly day today and shortened classes on Friday just to satisfy district minute mandates.  And deviation from normal seems to set the kids off and it seems like the whole week they were expecting fun while I was expecting work.  Perhaps my department chair felt the same way — his ass is taking off Friday AND Tuesday!

Today’s assembly day was for the school talent show.  All I know is those are some brave-ass kids to perform in a JUNIOR HIGH talent show.  I told my 7th graders in the morning to show respect and to applaud whether they liked the performances or not.  I was just fearful of someone having a traumatic experience although I guess it’s character-building; young people do seem to be babied a lot these days.  I remember in 6th grade I auditioned for the talent show singing Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” (if you listen to the song you can understand how it would appeal to a 6th grader rhythmically — great song).  I guess I sang it reasonably well, but they said the song’s lyrical content wasn’t really something for the show.

The show was entertaining though not often good but, then again, that’s just how a kid’s talent show ought to be!  I cringed through the opening numbers by the band and chorus but the individual acts were okay.  A couple of singing acts were drowned out by their recorded backing tracks.  One of my science students performed an incredible drum set solo that left me very proud and impressed by him.  There were the requisite solo piano performances, too.  Another student of mine whom I wish I could follow as she grows up because she shows so much drive and maturity for her age pulled out a Chinese instrument I’d never seen and gave a fantastic performance.  It was funny to hear the room go deadly silent during the ballet dancing-girl’s performance.  She was really good, but the audience was not prepared for her underwear-revealing high leg extensions.  You know what I’m talking about?  When dancers stand on one foot and reach the other one above the head, effectively performing the splits standing up?  And they do it slowly, too.  Okay, enough of my R. Kelly moment.  The biggest applause came for the popular girls who completely butchered “More Than Words” by Extreme.  You know what, though?  It’s only in my mind.  To kids who haven’t seen artistic performances often (ever?) it was plenty good.  And you can never knock a person willing to get up on stage…unless it’s Michael Richards.