I once had a student who said being in Jazz Band was the best part of her day (I think she said it on a day we were having donuts and chocolate milk instead of playing). Jazz in the morning puts a song in the hearts of those students, and then those students sing those songs all day long driving the rest of the teachers stark raving mad.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a herd of armadilloes trying to escape the frying pan -- NO! It's the Mighty Mt. Vernon Junior High Band. Able to leap over flutes lying on the floor; faster than a speeding flow of spit coming out of the end of a trombone; smarter than your average band director; hungrier than a pack of wild dingos. Yes! It's the Mighty Mt. Vernon Junior High Band. Playing for truth, justice and the hope of becoming the next American Idol.

You haven't lived until you give a group of children a case full of plumbing and tell them to blow in it. The racket they make is akin to a combination of jackhammers and dying water buffaloes. Of course, that stage of beginner band only lasts until Christmas. After that, you can actually almost sing along with the tunes they're trying to play. Eventually, after much practice, things get a whole lot better and low and behold they're musicians!

Playing the recorder is not only about moving fingers and making squealing noises -- it's about mastering time, controlling space, manipulating sound, and seeing how long it takes your little brother or sister to yell at you to STOP PLAYING THAT THING! All the things that make this universe of ours spin. (And you thought your kids weren't learning ANYTHING up here at school).