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Here's the lastest wardrobe rule from the choir teacher for the trip to Italy!!!

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Here's the lastest wardrobe rule from the choir teacher for the trip to Italy!!!

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Old Mar 13th, 2008, 10:56 PM
  #61  
 
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"an emergency at 35000 feet, my shoes won't matter one way or another"..oh janisj..isn't that the truth, lol.

I wonder if the choir teacher has students that wear their shoes with the laces untied. That is what the HS kids are doing here in my area. Along with their droppy pants and their untied laces they look..well sort of dorky, lol. But I know adults thought we did also when I was a teen.

Anyway missypie, your children are on their way to Europe and I truly hope they have a wonderful trip and no doubt they will. And I hope you get some R&R while they are gone. It sounds well deserved.
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Old Mar 13th, 2008, 10:56 PM
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I believe a teacher is clueless if he thinks any 17 year old with any sense of style would wear something he considers practical. :-B And controlling because he would send our wardrobe rules requiring teenagers to wear anything he would consider wearing.

I have three teenagers who have traveled to Europe with me. They don't care about having to take their shoes off at the airport to go through security because they don't un-tie them anyway. I guess you could call them lace up slip ons, lol.
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 12:52 AM
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<<I have three teenagers who have traveled to Europe with me. They don't care about having to take their shoes off at the airport to go through security because they don't un-tie them anyway. I guess you could call them lace up slip ons, lol.>>

Yup - got 2 teens and it's the same!!! And no matter what I say....the younger one still insists on wearing a belt that must be taken off for every security screening!!!!!
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 08:45 AM
  #64  
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Bringing new shoes, unbroken-in, to Italy would be a disaster. Tell the high school choir teacher he may have all of the students complaining of blisters every step of the way!
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 08:53 AM
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I too always have to take my belt off, and it wastes a whole 15 seconds of my time.
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 08:57 AM
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"Don't make me take my belt off!"
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 10:46 AM
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loves2sing (LOVE that screenname!!)....the fact that my dear, lovable younger son has to take off his belt several times before we board an airplane definitely bothers me more than it bothers him. AND....I think he likes that!!!!

For the record....where we live....you go thru security when you ENTER the airport......BEFORE you get to the desk to check in ......then BEFORE you enter the gate area to board the plane. That's THREE times!!!!!!!!!!

So......it's a real pain in the A$$ to have to watch the young whipper-snapper take off his belt each time!!!!!!
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 11:41 AM
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You people have really beat up this poor teacher; I can't imagine having to cater to all the privileged parents of all these privileged children.

1. The teacher probably makes a very small fraction of what missiepie's family earns. Her kids have frequently traveled all over Europe with their family. They've been extremely lucky. I suspect that if the teacher has kids, they certainly haven't been able to have all these opportunities.

2. If I were the chaperone I too would not want to wait in line behind 25 (or however many) kids waiting while they all unlaced and then put their shoes back on again. Start multiplying the time it takes for one person to do this and then multiply it times the nubmer of kids being chaperoned. You are talking a major time delay here. Remember, this is a large group traveling together, not a couple or an individual family.

3. From my perspective, missiepie has over-obssessed about this whole issue as demonstrated by the fact she felt she even needed to take pictures of the shoes the teacher was wearing at the airport in order to demonstrate her point that he has no sense of style.

Give the poor guy a break!

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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 11:46 AM
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My god grcc where in the world is that airport at....must be some place crawling with bad guys eh? I have never heard of that.
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 11:59 AM
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Julies, interesting that you should bring up the salary of a public school teacher. One would think that he of all people would not ask parents to buy their kids shoes and slacks that they will never wear again.

The teacher thought it was funny that I photographed his shoes....I told him that the subject of what shoes to bring had been a big topic of discussion in our household.
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 12:15 PM
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Reisender - we live in central Asia. In a former Soviet republic.

It's actually a rather small and easy to deal with airport. There is seldom more than 1 flight leaving or arriving at any one time, so the crowds are minimal. But the security is high!
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 12:17 PM
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I didn't think Missypie was asking anything of the teacher, it was the teacher asking the parents to cater to his request (at the last minute) to be sure the kids wear shoes that suit him....whatever his reasons are. But I still say the teacher is clueless because most teens don't untie their lace up shoes.
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 12:36 PM
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missypie wrote: "The teacher thought it was funny that I photographed his shoes....I told him that the subject of what shoes to bring had been a big topic of discussion in our household."

Had you the forthrightness to tell him that it had been a big topic of discussion in this forum?
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Old Mar 14th, 2008, 12:47 PM
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Well, I think it's nice that he had a sense of humour about it. I hope the kids are all going to photograph the feet of the Italian teens they see. They could do a photo-essay -- "Cool Footwear Across The Ocean".
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Old Mar 15th, 2008, 06:00 AM
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<< I hope the kids are all going to photograph the feet of the Italian teens they see. >>

oh -the "scrapbooker" in me sees GREAT potential for a layout!!!
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Old Apr 1st, 2008, 05:04 PM
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missypie, i have been following your posts re: choir teacher with interest. keen for some follow up information?
did the kids have a good time? did anyone lose a passport? did the dress code go ok? shoe code? did your kids order pizza alright? etc. etc.
i know you are now busy planning a bavarian trip but any follow up would be great!
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Old Apr 1st, 2008, 05:25 PM
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Julies, I don't know if you have read all the posts on this topic or not, but ,, the teacher is being the demanding pain, not the parents. I would be MOST UNHAPPY to have some teacher ( who is obviously clueless) tell me I have to go out and BUY NEW CLOTHES AND SHOES right before the dang trip, , and not only that but UNSUITABLE items at that which will serve no purpose after the trip. The uniform for performing is one thing, velcro shoes for touring is another thing entirely, and a JOKE!
As for unlacing shoes, have you actaully ever seen a teen unlace their shoes,, I have a feeling its been years since you had teens.

The teacher came up with some odd rules , that frankly would make me personally nervous entrusting him with my kids, they would have to be at least 16 before I would send them off to a foriegn country with such an obviously inexperienced traveller.

And why do people feel sorry for these teachers they CHOOSE to do these field trips, they are not FORCED,, ask all the other teachers who choose NOT to do them.

Missypie, can't wait to hear back!
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Old Apr 1st, 2008, 07:22 PM
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Hi Missypie,
I think that the teacher read too many tour books or travel blogs telling Americans not to look well, American. The ones that say "don't wear sneakers in Europe." Which is true if you are an adult, but every Italian teen will be wearing "trainers" or Adidas. Your daughters' broken in black Converse are perfect. As far as something nice to wear - if that's the rule your kids have to go with it. But your daughter can get away with a light skirt that she pairs with a top she would wear with something else, or a pair of brown or black slacks. Casual polo’s and khakis are fine for your son.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2008, 02:30 AM
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bozama wrote: "And why do people feel sorry for these teachers they CHOOSE to do these field trips, they are not FORCED,, ask all the other teachers who choose NOT to do them."

That is a reprehensible attitude. If a teacher voluntarily takes on extra work for the benefit of students, that teacher should be respected for that, and the students, their families, and society generally should be grateful. For some teachers, I suspect that the reason that they do not take on extra responsibilities is the low levels of support they get from those whose only role is a self-appointed one of sitting on the sidelines and passing judgement.

A parent who is concerned about, or worried by, any aspect of a teacher's behaviour should bring the issues to the teacher and the school, and not join the claque on the sidelines.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2008, 06:53 AM
  #80  
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Thanks for remembering us everyone! I asked each kid to rate the trip on a scale of 1 (bad) to 10. Our 17 year old son said 11. Our 15 year old daughter said 8. (Our daughter got very tired of having to get up very early every morning with no down time. She also came back with bronchitis, so that explains the 8 for me.)

Son and daughter were on different flights and different busses (and in Sorrento, even in different hotels), so they had many different experiences. Each child was to be in a group of 3 kids with one adult for independent meals, etc. Our son's group merged with another and lost an adult, so they were a group of about 8 kids and one adult; he enjoyed that. Our girl left our daughter's group because they moved too fast for her (she's a large out of shape girl); she joined a big group, so my daughter's group was a group of only 2 girls and a mom and she enjoyed that.

Son bought nothing for himself but food. Daughter came home with LOTS. (But she said she bought less than her friends because they were buying lots of souveniery things. She bought a red purse that I covet.)

The touring part KILLS me. I was glad they had been to Italy before and I feel sorry for those who may never get to go back. Even though they had a guide on each bus, the tours were so short. I guess they were trying to keep to a presumed low attention span. They spent 10 minutes on their "guided tour" of St. Peters. Their walking tour of Florence took less than an hour. (Of course, my daughter did complain that Pompeii was boring because the tour lasted an hour and a half, so maybe the guides know what they're doing.) Other than racing through the Vatican museums to see the Sistine Chapel, and a quick visit to David in Florence, they saw no art. No one talked to them about painting or sculpture.

The upper classmen were pretty mature. The problems were mostly with freshman girls and the few freshman boys. Lots of "romantic" drama. (Nothing highly physical.)

As for director....the kids who weren't on his bus basically didn't see him. My daughter didn't exchange two words with him the whole trip. The choir director's wife came on the trip and it was just the two of them for every meal, every bit of free time. They weren't assigned to chaperone any specific group of kids, so they didn't have to do bed checks, take them to get meals or anything.

However, in Sorrento my son and his roommates had a fabulous water view terrace and the director did tell them that they weren't allowed to go out on it.

Nothing was said about anyone's clothes or shoes. Each of my kids wore each pair of pants twice, so they wore jeans half the time and other slacks half the time.

Remember how I said I'd had an encounter with the head guy at the tour company (he got furious when I called and asked him a question regarding a trip 2 years ago)? Well, my daughter said that in person he's a real jerk and she can't believe that the choir keeps using him.

The meals that were provided were almost all pasta. They got home right before Easter and both devoured the pork tenderloin I made because they said they hadn't had meat during the trip.

Ordering at restaurants went fine. I don't think they had many great meals (or any?) but they didn't ever stop at McDonalds. They had gelato every day. No one lost their passport although it was rumored to have occured early in the trip. My kids used credit cards and even an ATM. I think they came back with everything they took except maybe my popup map of Florence. My daughter had a rather difficult roommate but they still returned from the trip as friends. Among the group they loaned and borrowed money and got paid back. My daughter's roommate's Chi (hair straightner) broke as I warned that it would, but no one's hair was burned off. My son got to know a girl in his choir that he hadn't talked to before and took her to a movie last weekend. The new suitcases I bought them for the trip are still in the hall because we have no room for them. Maybe they'll stay there until we pack for Germany!

Thank you everyone for your support and advice!
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