A recorder is not expensive. I would buy her one. Doesn't matter if the school recorder is chewed or not, I would really not risk her taking in dry spit from another child! Wouldn't you agree?

I disagree. It's not normal to chew a recorder. You play one by blowing into it. Not chewing it. Teachers need to teach these things. It's the first thing I teach my class! How do you hold it. How you do not chew on them. How you keep saliva and spit out of the recorder. How you need to wash them so it doesn't smell and you don't get sick.

My class recorders do not have lots and lots of teeth marks. True, there will be a few kids that will chew them but after some correction they stop. They shouldn't be chewing recorders! You play on them!

Anonymous wrote:remembered this post. my dd has moved on from her own soprano and just brought home a school issued alto that she had been blowing for a week already. I was absolutely disgusted that I went out and bought her another! it was laden with teethmarks, inside was "crusty" from dried spit that you could "scrape" out with your nails when you took it apart! Yuck! Spent $25 bucks on it!

It is normal. I chewed my own recorder too and it did get "crusty" too when I ate snacks and played on it. I know it sounds disgusting but I didn't care about hygiene when I was young despite how many times my mother nagged me to clean it. Now repeat this x20 over many kids and other kids who didn't care for a school issued one.

I now just grab my daughters school issued one and put it in our family dishwasher. No fuss. No nagging.

remembered this post. my dd has moved on from her own soprano and just brought home a school issued alto that she had been blowing for a week already. I was absolutely disgusted that I went out and bought her another! it was laden with teethmarks, inside was "crusty" from dried spit that you could "scrape" out with your nails when you took it apart! Yuck! Spent $25 bucks on it!

No way. Our kids school definitely have instruments that are shared and belongs to the school. My dd even says that like bassoons and double reed instruments, sometimes the teachers/seniors help tests the condition of the reeds and then they immediately put that wet slobby thing into heir own mouths and play. My dd was a little upset that it happened but accepted it after a while. Plus they sometimes try each other instruments and share the mouthpiece. My younger dd uses the school's clarinet and the mouthpiece is also all chewed up with deep indentations. She uses her own reed but she first started out with the schools mouthpiece. (She has since bought her own mouthpiece)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But I was just thinking that when it comes to band.... its somewhat similar? no? You either rush out to buy your own or you use one that has been played on by another child?

In the MoCo schools my children attended, everyone had their own band instrument, whether it was in elementary, middle, or high school.

Even in MoCo, I would be very surprised to know that students purchase their own oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet, etc., rather than rent it from the school.

Anonymous wrote:But I was just thinking that when it comes to band.... its somewhat similar? no? You either rush out to buy your own or you use one that has been played on by another child?

In the MoCo schools my children attended, everyone had their own band instrument, whether it was in elementary, middle, or high school.

Anonymous wrote:Recorders and other instruments in the school band were shared when I was at school in the 1970's. They were never cleaned. I played recorder and clarinet and the mouthpieces were always smelly but I just got used to it. It never caused me any health problems using mouthpieces that had been in others kids mouths and I never even wiped them let alone washed them before I played them. People worry too much thesedays in my opinion, but I understand that it isn't nice playing smelly instruments and I admit that it made me feel sick a couple of times even though I would just put on a brave face infront of other boys in ny class. and put the mouthpiece in my mouth. I remember my best friend passing me his recorder to play once and the mouthpiece stank but I just put it in my mouth and got on with practicing so as not to offend him. Ah those were the days! Everyone worries too much about germs etc thesedays!

Actually you are quite correct. I remember in my school days too, friends who forgot to bring their recorders would borrow mine and I borrowed theirs. And yeah, she could blow into it first and right thereafter, I would just put it straight into my mouth. We didn't worry about germs, saliva etc. There was no washing, dipping into solutions etc. The same was with band! And if you didn't bring your own, you would just borrow one from the teacher which she kept in a basket free for all to take too. They are never washed, blown by many kids, teethmarks and all and stank to high heavens but we still played them anyway!

Nowadays, its like a crime to share even a drink with your best friend or a sister. My dd wouldn't even want to touch her sisters recorder or her drink!

Recorders and other instruments in the school band were shared when I was at school in the 1970's. They were never cleaned. I played recorder and clarinet and the mouthpieces were always smelly but I just got used to it. It never caused me any health problems using mouthpieces that had been in others kids mouths and I never even wiped them let alone washed them before I played them. People worry too much thesedays in my opinion, but I understand that it isn't nice playing smelly instruments and I admit that it made me feel sick a couple of times even though I would just put on a brave face infront of other boys in ny class. and put the mouthpiece in my mouth. I remember my best friend passing me his recorder to play once and the mouthpiece stank but I just put it in my mouth and got on with practicing so as not to offend him. Ah those were the days! Everyone worries too much about germs etc thesedays!

But I was just thinking that when it comes to band.... its somewhat similar? no? You either rush out to buy your own or you use one that has been played on by another child?

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry but that is disgusting. Kids blow, slobber and spit into recorders. If they are cleaned after each use and by that I mean inside and out -fine. If they only exchange mouthpieces absolutely not.

+1.
The way my kids use then, they look disgusting and don't even last more than two terms. We usually buy a new one at the start of a new year. We don't even think of passing them between each of my children. Surprised your school expects them to be shared with so many kids.

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry but that is disgusting. Kids blow, slobber and spit into recorders. If they are cleaned after each use and by that I mean inside and out -fine. If they only exchange mouthpieces absolutely not.

+1

OP here. Agree. Just dipping and washing the mouthpiece is no go for me. And surely these things never dry out properly either! My twins complained their recorders stank and when they smuggled it home, I agree it was absolutely disgusting. It smelt so bad! Washing aside, using a recorder with someone else's teethmarks is the other really yucky thing and it is shocking that the teacher still thought it was acceptable! I know all kids chew these things but there were even toothmarks on the other end in one of them!

Anyway for those with this ridiculous school policy to only use the school's, we came up with an idea to look around town and buy our daughters the exact same recorder. (The school's were Aulos though we wished it was yamaha as it was easier to clean and cheaper!) and They played only on their own and kept the school issued on the side.

I must admit my twins were not better than anyone else and they too ended up by the end of the term with smelly recorders and tooth marks on them but at least it was their own and not from 20 other kids. (we are not aloof and saying that we are better than everyone else and too "classy" to use a school issued one)

Can't wait for the next year term to end and we can throw out these recorders or donate ours to the sad pile for the next poor kid in line!

I'm sorry but that is disgusting. Kids blow, slobber and spit into recorders. If they are cleaned after each use and by that I mean inside and out -fine. If they only exchange mouthpieces absolutely not.

I remember communal recorders. At the end of class there was a large bin filled with antiseptic liquid. You had to turn your recorder upside down and stick it into the bin and swish it around. They were then turned over and laid out to dry. The liquid rinsed out the length of the instrument and everything was fine.

really, its only around 5 bucks. why use one that has been chewed by other kids, have spit of another child? Skip a latte and buy your child one of her own?

what do the rest think? isn't it obvious? no?