Negative Rant re: Americal Idol generation

[67firecracker]

Maybe this is PMS talking and I'll feel differently next week but for now I have to rant.

I went to a Talent Show at my kids' highschool last night. It was hideous. Hours of off key singing. It was like a karaoke night except there were no drinks to dull the pain of the horrific music. There were a few kids there with amazing talent but the majority of them were hideous. The scary thing is that they were so American Idolish - looking great and having real showmanship - but lacking in basic musical skill. I was waiting for Simon to appear and tell them to go home. (Oh I know I'm being cruel.)

I think it's good for them to have experience in front of an audience and think it's great that the audience cheers equally for the good as well as the bad BUT when does someone step in and say "Honey, this isn't your strongest area. You're so talented in...you might want to focus your energy over there." Should we be sacrifing honesty under the guise of "building self-esteem"?

My heart went out to one performer who I've heard numerous times at local events - she said she's been taking piano & voice lessons since she was little and she wants to go on to university to study music. I fear for her because somewhere along the way someone will burst her bubble and she's spent so much time focusing on this area. My heart was also saddened when I approached a Gr. 9 girl who has an amazing voice but who didn't sing in the show. I asked her why she wasn't singing and she said "I'm not very good." I reassured her that I think she has a great voice and she said "Yeah, that's what everyone says about everyone." ARRGGHHH!

Keep in mind that these were high school students - I'll cheer my head off for anything in elementary and jr. hi. Whose responsibility is it to be honest with them? Or am I wrong and their efforts are to be encouraged whether they can hold a tune or not? Am I wrong to think someone needs to be lovingly honest - preferably the parents, but at least the teacher? Does building self-esteem mean we can no longer be honest?

Trish

 

[allwildgirl]

Okay, this is an excerpt from a book by Charles Sykes called "Dumbing Down Our Kids" (and has been erroneously attributed to Bill Gates). Some of it is a little harsh, but it's reality. And check out Rule #8.

Rule 1: Life is not fair-get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make 40 Thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone, until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping-they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. You have to do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one

 

[Gayle]

Hi Trish,

I would think that a music teacher or guidance counselor would say something if a student with zero musical talent was committing to pursue a musical career.

If they don't hear the honest criticism in high school, they will definitely hear it when they try to get into a music program in college, or worse yet, when they actually try WORKING in the business.

 

[dss62467]

The parents might not hear or acknowledge how bad the kids are. You see this all the time on American Idol auditions. I don't know if I would be able to be the person who tells my child she's not good enough. Maybe if they heard a recording of themselves, they'd realize that they can't sing.

One time when I was a teenager, I had this delusion that I could actually sing well, if the music was playing along. So I set up a tape recorder, put on my "Dog and Butterfly" album and tried to sing along with Anne and Nancy. Well...I sure knew the truth when I listened to it back. Now I only sing when I'm alone and when the music is up so loud I can't hear myself.

Does anyone remember that episode of The Partridge Family where Keith was infatuated with this really pretty girl who thought she could sing? Keith thought she sang wonderfully too, but the rest of the family could hear her true voice. So finally they taped her singing and played it back for Keith and didn't tell him who it was. He was like, "that's awful! Who is that?" Then he knew and had to break the news to the girl. Of course, I wouldn't mind hearing it if it came from someone like Keith Partridge. He was soooo cute.