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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Wimblees@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Wimblees@AOL.COM">Wimblees@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> July 21, 2002 1:42 =
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: no comp. was Re: =
Saying "No"
(was Convention is focused)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>In a =
message dated
7/21/02 4:32:53 PM !!!First Boot!!!, <A
href="mailto:BobDavis88@AOL.COM">BobDavis88@AOL.COM</A> writes: =
<BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
TYPE="CITE">Instructors teach at the most two classes. That's two =
periods
out of a <BR>> possible 20. That 10%. ....Why should =
instructors
get free registration, <BR>plus a >stipend of some sorts, =
<BR><BR>Because
the attendees are getting the benefit of MUCH more than 1.5 hours =
<BR>(*2)
of the instructor's time. The instructor doesn't just walk in and =
start
<BR>talking. Even after teaching at many conventions, I still spend =
NUMEROUS
<BR>hours revising the material to make it as clear and efficient as =
possible, <BR>and I can't count the hours before the first one I =
taught at.
Knowing the <BR>subject is one thing, but preparing it to be useful =
to 100
people, with <BR>differing levels of experience and different =
learning
styles, is quite <BR>another. <BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Bob <BR><BR>Everything you say is true. But =
everyone
who teaches a class has spent time prior to coming
to a convention to prepare for it. That is what we all =
do. But
how do we get compensated for that? Is free registration enough? Is =
one
night's lodging enough? No, it is not. If we truly wanted to get paid =
back, it
would cost the PTG too much. And how do we compensate for someone who =
has
taught the same class five or six times? There are =
classes I
teach where I just have to get out my notes, and I'm ready to go.
</FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>You're
contradicting yourself here, Wim. You either spend time preparing for a
convention or you don't. If you don't, you should be. Don't you see any =
problem
with presenting exactly the same class five or six times? How many =
times is
that class going to help attract me--or anyone else, for that?--back to =
a
convention? I'll go to most classes once. Some, I'll go to twice. =
But, Lew
Herwig's classes were the only ones I've gone to more than that and they =
were
never the same twice running. Nowadays, when the upcoming convention =
class
schedule arrives in the mail and I look down the list and see =
the same
class offered by the same instructor that I went to last year or five =
years
ago--sorry--been there, done that.</FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>When I hear
someone going on about how wonderful all of the great classes are =
at the
conventions, I have to wonder how many conventions they have attended. =
Usually,
it's not many. There are too many of our members who no longer attend
conventions regularly--if at all--because they've been to most of =
classes that
are offered on a regular basis and they don't see enough new and =
interesting in
the lineup whet the appetite. These folks are simply not willing to =
invest the
time and spend the money each year for those few classes that are new =
enough or
different enough or advanced enough. So, they start skipping a =
year or
two here and there until finally they just don't bother at
all. </FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>There is only room for so much at each =
convention and
with so much aimed toward drawing in relatively new and inexperienced =
bodies,
they are going to increasingly leave out the very people who have worked =
hard to
raise them to the level they have now achieved. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>Now this may be
an ideal scenario for you and Richard. It is not for me, nor is it for =
many
others. The last I heard, PTG, and its annual convention, is =
supposed to be
serving all of the membership, not just those who are beginners and =
those who
find themselves at some intermediate skill level. But that is what is =
gradually
happening.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>I would suggest
that most instructors who are presenting classes much beyond the =
elementary
level have been attending conventions somewhat longer than average. =
Certainly
they have been by the time they have gained much experience at teaching. =
That
means they have already had the opportunity to attend your classes--you =
know,
those you can repeat each year without any preparation by using the same =
old
handouts--at least once or twice. Maybe five or six times if they didn't =
get it
right the first few times. And they've probably managed to attend most =
of the
other standards at least once or twice as well. Couple this history with =
the
inevitable and unavoidable scheduling conflicts and as each year goes by =
there
are fewer and fewer classes of interest to choose from.
</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>This year there
were four classes listed in the class schedule I found of interest that =
I
haven't already taken. Combined, these four may have been enough to get =
me to
Chicago. Probably not, but at least I'd have considered making the trip. =
And
this was a good year--there have been some years when there haven't been =
that
many. Now, in Chicago this year I taught a total of 9 hours (every hour =
of which
required more preparation time than my partner or my family wants to =
even think
about) and all but one of those four classes was scheduled for a period =
during
which I also was teaching. </FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>So, with that
class schedule you and Richard would have happily pay for my own air =
fare to
Chicago, pay a full (or only slightly reduced) registration fee, pay for =
four or
five nights at an overpriced hotel eating overpriced (but otherwise
exceptionally forgettable) meals and lose a weeks work, not to mention =
the work
and family time I gave up to prepare for the thing. Oh, yes, I was able =
to pick
up a 'free' drink at the Steinway reception.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>Now, with
respect to Ron Nossaman, his class on bridges--while very good--was =
simply not
worth all that. It would have been cheaper and taken far less time to =
simply
have flown directly to Wichita and had him give it to me
personally.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>Much like the
1980s, our conventions seem to have reached something of a plateau. (We =
can
forgive Richard who, in spite of his rhetoric, wasn't around PTG then =
and so
can't really be expected to know much about those days. But you were.) =
They are
losing their attraction to an unacceptable--and, I think, =
growing--number of
long-term and highly experienced members. And they are losing an =
unacceptable
number of capable and experienced instructors. These are some of the =
best people
we have. These are people who don't just grab last year's outline and =
hop on a
plane. True, there will always a fresh supply of newcomers willing to be =
exploited, but unless we make begin now to make some fundamental changes =
we are
going to find ourselves locked into a continually repeating downhill
cycle.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>If the
membership ultimately decides this cycle is actually desirable, then so =
be
it--I'll not be around all that much longer anyway. It won't affect me =
all that
much. However, don't you then be surprised as you watch the vitality =
that has
fueled and driven our organization and its conventions toward excellence =
dwindle
and ultimately slid into mediocrity. Or will you even notice? Presenting =
the
same class year after year after year is mediocrity and I know you are =
capable
of more than that. Mediocrity is never acceptable, and we can't afford =
it.
Especially when the rest of our industry is already struggling under its =
own
ponderous mass of stagnation. And yet mediocrity seems to be just =
what you
are presenting as not only acceptable, but =
desirable.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>Our conventions
do not offer much to the relatively advanced technician. They can't
really--there are no longer many instructors at that level who are =
willing to
bear the financial and personal cost themselves and we've been letting =
them fade
into the sunset. Sure, there are always some bright folks coming up =
through the
ranks, but we'll soon burned them out just as those who have gone =
before.
</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080
size=3></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>We claim to
value the kind of experience and knowledge these people are working hard =
to
attain--until it comes time to pay for it. And then we say we don't =
need
to. Our convention are great just the way they are. And, yes,
o</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>ur conventions <FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>are a good
educational value for some. Less so, however, for a growing number =
of those
who have worked and struggled hard to raise themselves above the =
average. You
may be willing to write these folks off; I am
not.</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>At this point I'm not suggesting that PTG actually pay
instructors--that will have to wait for another day and probably another =
generation. A day when we are willing go beyond just talking about being =
professionals and become willing to pay whatever price is necessary =
to
actually become professionals. In the meantime this we can do: we can =
make it
less difficult for those who are willing to keep coming back each year =
to
educate us in the manner to which we've become accustomed. It is =
neither
reasonable nor fair for those who expect to profit from the experience,
knowledge, time and work of convention "volunteers" (of all varieties) =
and
instructors to demand that it be given to them free of charge. There =
ain't no
free lunch, folks. Especially at the hotels PTG typically chooses for =
its
convention sites.</DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3>Del</FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>