MCPS Elementary school variety shows....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your opinion on this: our elementary school has a variety show each year and does cut acts, many acts. They have to audition in front of a panel of teachers, and then a few days later the results are posted in the hall for everyone to look and see. If your name is up there your act makes it, if it's not up there you are cut. No further explanations given. Better luck next year. Quite a few kids are cut and they always come out crying while the kids who got in are celebrating around them.

I think this is inappropriate for K-5 (and every kid whether Kindergartner or 5th grader goes through the same process), but I want to know if other people disagree and how other schools handle a variety show.

I WISH ours cut. It ran super long last year, in a crowded all purpose room. There were "try outs" but I think they only cut the kids with inappropriate acts.

[Anonymous]

Our school puts on an amazing talent show. All kids that want to participate can do so, but they put limits on the number of groups doing the same song. It's great to see kids out there trying to sing or dance or play an instrument. Our talent show may not have the state-of-the-art lighting and sound stages that they have at a Beverly Farms event (backed by the neighborhood millionaire, from what I hear) but everyone enjoys it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your 8 year old's soccer team cut players?

Yes, my daughters U8 team has tryouts. What is your point?

[Anonymous]

Our ES does do cuts but tries to get kids in acts if another dancer, etc can be added. They tell them up fronts, only 3 piano acts will make it. It most cases the acts that don't make it did not oractice before tryouts and the teacher does not have to feel bad because they did not out in the effort like others. But I can understand how it is hard to get cut as a 7 year old. But hopefully they learn to try harder next year or try s different talent. The show is consistently amazing because of the teacher....

[Anonymous]

No cuts at our mcps talent show, but the show is long and they don't even start it until 7pm, so a lot of parents with younger siblings don't even allow their kids to join.

Why not go to the PTA meeting and suggest two shows? K-2 one night and 3-5 one night. That way all the kids get in and it's not too long?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our ES does do cuts but tries to get kids in acts if another dancer, etc can be added. They tell them up fronts, only 3 piano acts will make it. It most cases the acts that don't make it did not oractice before tryouts and the teacher does not have to feel bad because they did not out in the effort like others. But I can understand how it is hard to get cut as a 7 year old. But hopefully they learn to try harder next year or try s different talent. The show is consistently amazing because of the teacher....

Yes I can see that. At our school many acts that have worked very hard get cut. There is no time limit on the specific acts, but many kids who have practiced hard do not get to participate.

[Anonymous]

6:58, that would require the complainer to actually help with something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your 8 year old's soccer team cut players?

Yes, my daughters U8 team has tryouts. What is your point?

Well this is off topic to the thread...but treating sports like that at age 8 is so unwise. 8 year olds should be in the DEVELOPMENTAL phase. Cutting kids at that point gives some kids an inflated sense of their abilities and could discourage others from continuing with the sport. What's going to happen to the little 8 year old whiz on the soccer field who thinks she/he is the best because they stood out at 8 when their small nimble size advantaged them...but then other kids grow big and strong and they stay small? Point is at 8 all competition should be is completely for FUN if it even exists at all. People in this area work so hard to feed their egos on their very young children's "abilities" that they lose all sight of reality.

[Anonymous]

If I were a spectator to such a show, I'd certainly appreciate cuts, both for brevity and quality of the acts....

[Anonymous]

Our elementary school limits the Variety Show to 30 acts; the first 30 kids to turn in forms. And for the first 30 people to turn in forms, we have tryouts, just to make sure acts are appropriate. Each act is limited to three minutes.

[Anonymous]

I love that PP said that Beverly Farms has a neighborhood millionaire underwriting the show. Reinforces why we moved to a different cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were a spectator to such a show, I'd certainly appreciate cuts, both for brevity and quality of the acts....

So then the focus should be on the spectators comfort, not giving kids an opportunity to perform? Since when are any kid activities...recitals/meets/games brief or only showcasing "quality?" That kind of flies in the face of the whole point of letting small children have experiences. Of course these things will take a while and and not be professional quality...they are small children! How do you know you will even ever be good at something if you aren't allowed to try first as a little kid? How many of us sit through interminable meets? Recitals where kids fall down and forget their routines? Childhood is the time for that. Want to see a professional production with brief well choreographed acts that are all high quality? Go watch professionals! Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Off topic, but I have to say, I find some of the songs that little kids perform to are inappropriate. I know most of the kids don't understand the lyrics, but some of the lyrics coming out of the mouth of a 6/7 yr old is just weird.

[Anonymous]

I guess the bottom line is....what's the whole point of the exercise? To give elementary school aged kids the opportunity to experience what it's like to put on a performance, or to showcase the perceived talents of a few of the kids? To me, at a public elementary school the objective should be process driven and designed to provide kids with a learning experience NOT to be product driven and cater primarily to the audience by showcasing only certain kids who can deliver more"high quality" acts in a shorter amount of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess the bottom line is....what's the whole point of the exercise? To give elementary school aged kids the opportunity to experience what it's like to put on a performance, or to showcase the perceived talents of a few of the kids? To me, at a public elementary school the objective should be process driven and designed to provide kids with a learning experience NOT to be product driven and cater primarily to the audience by showcasing only certain kids who can deliver more"high quality" acts in a shorter amount of time.

We get it. Your kid was cut from the talent show. Sorry to hear that, but there's always next year!