Those of you who know me will no doubt remember my horror sojourn at a particular private girls' school.
My life may finally be catching up with me, as (seemingly countless) of my students are trying for and receiving scholarships to said school. This has provoked a horrible (and irrational) fear that I may have to teach there. No such correspondence has been entered into... until today, when I arrived home to the following: (summarised for convenience)
Speech Night is coming up. We plan to play X. We want you to join us (translation: We have overreached the skill level of our students and are recruiting to make them look better than they really are) for MINIMUM two rehearsals and the concert.
Rehearsal times, contact details, yada yada yada.
Um.
Let's be clear. Not only do I NOT identify as a "past student", I left the school under openly hostile terms. There may have been threats to "set the education department onto [us]" and there was acrimony brewing for some time prior to my eventual exit. And frankly, if I'm one of the "few other musicians" you're inviting, this would be a JOB and you could OFFER to PAY me. NOT a community orchestra, effective casual employment to "augment certain sections of the orchestra" (read: instrumental tutor to violins).
Surprise, surprise, I've very nicely refused the opportunity to perform, since you know, I don't get enough of those with my own studio, and even resisted the furious outburst of "You goons ruined my adolescence and now you want me to give up hours of PAID work to sit in your substandard orchestra and make it sound better than it really is so hundreds of fleeced parents think they're getting value for money?" in my polite email reply.
Lucky I have this blog.
1 day ago
3 comments:
It cracks me up the way expensive private schools behave as though they are charities and thoroughly worth causes that anyone would want to support. My old school does the same.
Let's see, I want to support worthy causes - shall I pay for medical care in crises like earthquakes and cyclones in developing countries, micro-finance in Africa that creates business opportunities for marginalised communities, access to clean water for an orphanage in the Sundan... or shall I give money to an elite private school so the kiddies can have their own sauna, spa and country retreat? Hmmm... let me think...
lovely header!
How very... something.
Ironically, I was also contacted by the school in question, about the same time as you wrote this post, and invited to speak there at some point.
Given everything else that's going on in my life before the end of the year I had to decline, but I did have to wonder: what would I say to the girls?? And would the school actually want me to say it? *grin*
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