Hi band, Kel Lee here.

Todays post is not good news. I'll post first, explain later.
This 'letter' is from Joel. He skipped band to go out with a few other people, and we told him to write a one page reflection. This is what he wrote.(This is 100% authentic other than spelling mistakes changed)

Why I skip Band is because I find it a waste of time on that day. I could always practice at home since I bring home my instrument every practice. Moreover it was a Friday and I had Saturday and Sunday to practice. Sectionals were more of like a practice session to me. What other description can you find the meaning of sectionals? Sectionals is practice and I can do my own 'sectionals' at home. Friday was a day meant to relax. I feel that if I go for sectionals, it would be a waste of time. Even so, I seldom skip practices. This is my second or first time skipping band practice and yet I suffered such scolding. Terng Fei lied to the top 4. His relatives came back from Malaysia the day before Friday which is a Thursday. We finished doing our stuff at 3pm or around there and suspect practice to finish at 5 or so. Even if we did come, what would one hour practice make a difference? It wasn't me who plan this idea and yet I get too much scolding from the top 4. Truthfully speaking it was Enrique's idea and I didnt not see him getting any scolding. I see this as unfairness and not partial. I also don't believe that everyone in band did not skip before. I have made effort in contributing to the band by practicing and I believe I am not as good as others because I learn slower than others and somehow I feel I am being penalised by this. I find it difficult to live with this pressure in band since last year. I actually wanted to leave band because of the pressure and I decided to ignore comments made by my senior from time and time again. The only reason that made me stay was Terng Fei because I felt I have gained a promising friend in band. When Terng Fei and I skip band on that day, we had no regrets. We take whatever punishment awaits us. We hold full responsibility to it.

This was what his 'reflection' letter said. And just to make things clear, this is not directed at Joel. If this is how the band is feeling, me, Timotheus, Janis and Sin Pei will have to do something about this. Firstly, I'm sure you all have different feelings towards this letter. Can you imagine how we feel, seeing our own members say that band is 'a waste of time' ?

Lets analyze his letter. His first point, band is a waste of time. We don't need you to be a musical genius to join. And we do not penalize people for not being able to play. All we need is your commitment when you join. If you think its a waste of time, I really have nothing to say.

Secondly, Joel says that 'Sectionals were more of like a practice session to me. What other description can you find the meaning of sectionals? Sectionals is practice and I can do my own 'sectionals' at home. Friday was a day meant to relax. I feel that if I go for sectionals, it would be a waste of time.'. We have sectionals for a reason. It is not for you to practice on your own. Its for you to work out your parts as a section. If you don't come because you think its a waste of time, and you can do it at home, think again. Your section wont be in your pocket to have sectionals whenever you like. You need to work together as a section. Like what we always say, ONE BAND ONE SOUND. Its not about playing individually.

Next, Joel said 'Even so, I seldom skip practices. This is my second or first time skipping band practice and yet I suffered such scolding.'. This is not true. Anyone who skips band is going to get scolding as well. You mean that if you skip once or twice, we are supposed to pretend like nothing happened? We chase after everyone to come for practices, and to give MC's or excuse slips. Not talking about the top 4 alone, there are still others in band with 100% attendance. If they can do it, I don't see why you are complaining.

Fourth, the part about 'It wasn't me who plan this idea and yet I get too much scolding from the top 4.'. This shows you don't understand why you got scolded, and you are still resentful. Let me explain to you. Even though it wasn't you who planned this idea, you still didn't come for band. So if someone tells you to not come for band for the whole year, are you going to do that and blame that person for giving you that idea? The fact is that you didn't come, no matter who instigated you. If it really is Enrique's idea, we will do something about it. You did not see him getting scolded because we did not know that he planned it until now.

Next, you said that your senior makes comments about you. If you are unhappy about it, you can tell us, and we WILL DEFINITELY do something about it. If you keep it all to yourself, how would we know what you are thinking?

Please do not think we are shooting Joel down. Seeing this will make us wonder whether its just an opinion by Joel, or if the whole band thinks this way. We asked him for a 'one-page reflection letter', and what we got is just one page of complaints, blaming everybody. It is still a fact that you didn't come. We are really not targetting anyone, and as Joel said, 'We had no regrets,' and 'We hold full responsibilty to it.'. If you even wrote it, you would not be ashamed if we posted it, and as you said, hold full responsibilty.

If any of the other band members feel this way, feel free to give CONSTRUCTIVE comments on the tagboard, its there for a reason. If you are shy, you can email us or put it under an anonymous name. Better yet, tell it to us personally. We dont entertain any criticism under 'anonymous', and retarded comments from people not from the band are not welcomed. If you are ex-member or teacher etc etc, your feedback is greatly appreciated.