Which Seat Can I Take?

Ok, that title was mean.  I must admit, I have a lot of respect for one young Rebecca Black.  Friday wasn’t that good of a song, but she has a nice voice.  I don’t know how many of you saw her on Good Morning America, but she sang part of the National Anthem and she really has talent.  I think it’s just that stupid Ark recording thing adding too much autotune to her voice, and the lyrics for that song weren’t great either.  What really pissed me off where those terrible comments about her.  She was saying how the worst thing someone said was that they hope she cuts herself and gets an eating disorder so she looks pretty and then dies.  I hope that happens to the person who commented that because Rebecca is just a sweet innocent girl who wants to express herself through music.  If that song was sung by an emo guy with a guitar everyone would have loved it.  Well fuck you, everyone.  I really hope she continues to record music because she needs to show everyone how good of a singer she really is.  If you’re reading this Rebecca (which you are not, most likely), please continue pursuing a career in music and don’t let anyone else bring you down.  Good luck 🙂

Continuing with the arts, they are getting rid of all the music programs at my high school.  They say they don’t have the money to keep one of our teachers there.  This teacher is Mr. Mark Mercer.  He is an amazing teacher.  he came to our school 2 years ago and started 13 music programs including show choir, chamber choir, etc.  He also had plans to start and acapella choir.  Last night we had a town meeting and everyone from the show choir went and there was a lot of crying.  I watched in online today and I cried…I don’t cry a lot.  The show choir only has about 30 people in it, but they are truly talented and they are dedicated to what they do, and so is Mr. Mercer.  I’ll post some things people said about him.

“I hate how our town puts such an emphasis on sports that they cut music to make up for the shitty teams. Mr. Mercer is a better teacher than any of the coaches” -Marcel

“MR. MERCER IS OUR TOM BRADY!” -Evan

“I never met Mr. Mercer but I have only heard great things about him. I haven’t seen people so animated about music until Mr. Mercer came along. I can tell that he has made a difference in all your lives and he truly seems to bring the best out of his students, which marks him as a phenomenal teacher. I hope you all suceed in keeping the music alive at our school.” -Katie

My favorite though, was Rebecca’s..

To whom it may concern:

We were shocked to learn that there is a very good chance that Mr. Mark Mercer will not be with us next year. I cannot fathom how much we will lose with this decision. In only a few hours, tears had been shed, and a storm of incredulous emails and phone calls came pouring in. There was almost too much sadness and disappointment to bear.

 Mr. Mercer first came to our town last year in September. It was immediately apparent that he was unlike any other choral teacher that our town has ever seen.  Teeming with humor and optimism, he started the year with energy and brought smiles to all of our faces. Last year was when I finally decided to join chorus. Hearing my friends go on and on about how funny, or how amazing, or how much of an improvement Mr. Mercer was compared to our previous choral instructors was enough to sway me.

 I don’t regret it. In a mere year and a half, Mr. Mercer has transformed our choral program beyond recognition. He has managed to make our town’s music program stand out from the other ones in the area. Since last September, the number of students participating in chorus as nearly doubled in size. A show choir and chamber choir have been added to the program, and he planned to add many more in the future. This year, our show choir managed to take back a Grand Champion trophy from our varsity division at the New England Show Choir Festival, the school’s first trophy in choral music since 1992. The chamber choir showcased a collection of pieces titled Mid-Winter Songs, which had never been performed in the United States before.

 This man is one of the most hard working, diligent, persistent, and ambitious people that I have ever had the honor of meeting. He poured his heart and soul into everything that he did. Last month, he sat the show choir down and showed us his plan for the next three years. He was preparing to add a middle school honors choir, another show choir, an acapella group, and even more choirs before the freshmen graduated. Before this year was even halfway through, Mr. Mercer began planning the song selections for next year. He said to us during rehearsal, with the biggest smile on his face, “It’s going to be awesome.” It pains us to imagine the fact that it may very well not happen at all.

 Ambition and excitement is what our program really needed to get it in the direction it is headed now. There is an unbelievable amount of hope and potential resting in the students, parents, and Mr. Mercer himself. He has told us numerous times of the pride that he has for us, given us too many inspirational speeches to count, and has made us laugh in even the worst of times. He has managed to transform the members of all these choirs into a warm, welcoming family. We have come so far in a year. There has been so much progress.

 Years of research have shown that progress and education in the arts correlates with academic achievement and emotional and social development. Students involved in the arts improve in critical thinking, math, reading, cognitive ability, and verbal skills, as well as motivation, confidence, and teamwork.  Decreasing the funding for the arts will yield more negative results than beneficial ones.

 Taking away Mr. Mercer will take away more than just a gigantic chunk of  our town’s music program. With him will go the spirit, enthusiasm, and influence that he embodies. In the short time that he has been with us, he has touched each and every one of our lives. You will not only be affecting the life of a man who will be looking for a new job next year, but also all of the lives he has changed here. He has done so much and has given us a reason to do what we love. You are taking away from anyone who loves to sing, anyone who loves to perform, and anyone who had never expected to become so attached and close to this fantastic chorus director. We hope that you will reconsider.”

I cried when I read that for the first time.  I was actually going to audition for show choir in the spring.  That will no longer be happening.

So…school..

In World Civ, my teacher is annoying.  She always will be.  We got our projects back after a month of waiting and I got an 88 and I’m pissed because I told her TO HER FACE it took my 6 hours to make it.  Whatever.  NO.BIG.FREAKING.DEAL.  We also had a test today which I know I failed because it was one of those weird moments where you look at this test and you don’t know the first question.  I think I did really good on the essay though.  Every in class essay I’ve done in that class has been a 100% so I can only hope for the best.

In Study I listen to music and copy Songee’s homework.  Oh funny story.  When my mom asked me how schoolw as today I was telling her how i talked to Songee in study and she goes “What the hell is a Songee?”  And I just started cracking up..I hope Songee knows I love her.

In Gym, our teacher was absent so we played Mat Ball and I just talked to Stephi and she told me her relationship problems..

In Environmental we have a quiz Tuesday and I know from a certain Naomi that it is not easy.  But she got a 96%.  She’s a liar.  Haha no..Naomi doesn’t lie.  I don’t think…nah.  Also on Thursday we have a field trip (to the auditorium) to go see a power point on something about the Earth.  What’s amazing is the period after that there is a presentation for the Health classes but I’m going to that because the health teacher likes me and said I so I will be in the auditorium with my friends for 3 hours yay.

In math we learn stuff I learned last year but me and all the other idiots in my class were too lazy to pay attention too.  But that’s ok.  I’m learning it now.  And I feel smart knowing it when half the class can’t find the median of a set of data.  We had a test today.  I think I did really good.  Rachel had to stop taking it because she thought she was gonan throw up.  The whole time in the hallway I was like “If you faint I’m running” because last time she fainted I was so embarassed and at least Sophie was there today.

WAIT.  Today I was tardy for the 4th time in a semester so I have to stay after school with my gross World Civ teacher for like an hour on Monday.  I really don’t want to.

Glee went on hiatus for 3 weeks.  So there are only 24 days left!  Yay!  I know what songs they are doing but I’m too lazy to say them.  What I will say is that in a month Kristin Chenoweth will be reprising her role as April Rhodes and will sing an original song called “It’s 10 a.m. and I’m Drunk”.  I offivially can not wait.

Tomorrow I was supposed to go downtown with Naomi, Sophie, and Rachel.  But Rachel is sick and Sophie has a life, so me and Naomi aren’t gonan go alone.  So I guess I made plans with Brooke and Mary.  I’m not sure..

Well that’s it for now.  Bye!

-Matt!