Our crew is on the very tip of walking
- Thread startersoundop
- Start date
Oh, how sweet, Van was thinking of us... and on ANZAC day as well...
Funny... A Bachelor of Science degree is only 3 years down here...
And yes, walking yells unprofessional and unable to work effectively with others, an important skill in almost any employment situation. I think the advice of others covers it reasonably well.
Hi Chris I believe that if you are using the British system of GCSE and A levels you wind up with an extra year on what we would call high school, basically in a levels you get your core classes done, and then in your degree focus on your major.
US system is typically 5 years elementary, 3 years middle, 4 years high school, 4 years uni
Sharyn
US system is typically 5 years elementary, 3 years middle, 4 years high school, 4 years uni
Sharyn
Australian School System (in most cases)
Kindergarten, years 1- 6 - Primary School
Year 7-12 - High School.
University - depends on what you are studying 3 - 6 or more years.
Some private schools do "middle school" for yrs 5-8. K-2 are known as infants and there are SOME infants only schools. That and most primary schools are administratively divided between primary & infants divisions.
Clear as mud?
Kindergarten, years 1- 6 - Primary School
Year 7-12 - High School.
University - depends on what you are studying 3 - 6 or more years.
Some private schools do "middle school" for yrs 5-8. K-2 are known as infants and there are SOME infants only schools. That and most primary schools are administratively divided between primary & infants divisions.
Clear as mud?
Logos
Well-Known Member
Mind you in SA
Kindergarten/Reception
1-7 Primary school
8-12/13 High School
and in Tasmania
Kindergarten/Reception
1-6 Primary School
7-10 High School
11-12/13 Matric College
Closer to the US system
Some schools are beginning to offer the International Baccalaureate instead of Matric and I believe that is happening in the UK as well. It is supposed to get you into Uni's all over the world that recognise the system without additional training or testing.
Kindergarten/Reception
1-7 Primary school
8-12/13 High School
and in Tasmania
Kindergarten/Reception
1-6 Primary School
7-10 High School
11-12/13 Matric College
Closer to the US system
Some schools are beginning to offer the International Baccalaureate instead of Matric and I believe that is happening in the UK as well. It is supposed to get you into Uni's all over the world that recognise the system without additional training or testing.
Hmm... should have remembered that I was talking NSW and the other states are different. I guess that's what happens when I write these things at ridiculous ours of the morning...
Some states do year 1-13 instead of K-12. SA as Tony has mentioned. I know Western Aust. does the same.
Closest equivalent to a matriculation college as mentioned would be a senior high school. Some of them exist. But in the main, high schools goes 7-12. Where you have a senior, it tends to be that other HSs around will go 7-10 and then 11-12 at the senior high. Oh, and the term senior in relation to HS down here means year 11 or 12...
IBs are starting to become popular in some private schools. But bear in mind that at least according to our politicians, the NSW HSC is highly regarded internationally...
Some states do year 1-13 instead of K-12. SA as Tony has mentioned. I know Western Aust. does the same.
Closest equivalent to a matriculation college as mentioned would be a senior high school. Some of them exist. But in the main, high schools goes 7-12. Where you have a senior, it tends to be that other HSs around will go 7-10 and then 11-12 at the senior high. Oh, and the term senior in relation to HS down here means year 11 or 12...
IBs are starting to become popular in some private schools. But bear in mind that at least according to our politicians, the NSW HSC is highly regarded internationally...
OMG Don't get me going. My Wife is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Early Ed. Here in the States, we have the "No Child Left Behind Act" It mainstreams all kids. If there is a child with severe Cerebral Palsey, or Massive behavioral problems, or requires a heart lung machine. Thay are stuck in the same classroom as everyone else. If the behaviorial challenged student is disruptive you can't discipline them if their behavior is a result of their behavioral problem............... make sense out of that. If the kid with CP can't control their vocalizations or suffers seziures several times a class you simply have to deal with it. And the teachers are expected to teach all the kids to a level so they can pass government standardized tests. If you school doesn't meet the testing goals, you lose federal funding. Hmmmmm Makes sense, if you're from Kennebunkport, Maine, er ......Saudi Arabia, er ......... Crawford Texas.
tenor_singer
Active Member
I came in on this conversation a bit late. Adults out there...
I have never ran a fly system. I have seen them when I have acted these past mpshdtfmphhh *said with hand over mouth* years. What I have gathered form conversations, other blogs, reading, personal observation, etc., is that fly systems, when manned by experienced and trained people, are still potentially dangerous and when manned by inexperienced and untrained people, they're hazzardous at best. This leads me to some obvious questions...
Don't you have to have some form of certification to run them? At the very lease shouldn't there be some form of requirement/proof of ability when training people on them?
Why are high schools even allowing students (14 - 18 year olds) to work with these things??!!?? A rail flew in and a kid was hit on the head??? Where in the hell was the adult supervisor?? A student stage manager training a newbie?? I give my SM some liberties, but she (this year) is NEVER far from my sight when doing something even remotely dangerous. This school sounds like a catastrophe waiting to happen (albiet I am forming an opinion from only one sided information).
Sorry to the high school-aged students who are a part of this community. I am sure that the vast majority of you are careful and work very hard within your prospective theaters. However, you lack the life experience, expertise and training to run an auditorium that a professional with years of college, internships and practical work experience has. A vast majority of early - mid adolescent aged children lack communication skills. They do not have the ability to say "get out of the way" or "hey... you're being unsafe". It would take a very big A type personality to be able to confront people at your ages. If you can do it... great! In my 15+ years of experience I have had 5 students who could confront their peers well on a consistent, regular basis and this is out of THOUSANDS of students that I have taught.
Chrimeny... I am speechless (I know... I know... for somebody who is so speechless you sure do talk alot).
Just be safe, soundop.
I have never ran a fly system. I have seen them when I have acted these past mpshdtfmphhh *said with hand over mouth* years. What I have gathered form conversations, other blogs, reading, personal observation, etc., is that fly systems, when manned by experienced and trained people, are still potentially dangerous and when manned by inexperienced and untrained people, they're hazzardous at best. This leads me to some obvious questions...
Don't you have to have some form of certification to run them? At the very lease shouldn't there be some form of requirement/proof of ability when training people on them?
Why are high schools even allowing students (14 - 18 year olds) to work with these things??!!?? A rail flew in and a kid was hit on the head??? Where in the hell was the adult supervisor?? A student stage manager training a newbie?? I give my SM some liberties, but she (this year) is NEVER far from my sight when doing something even remotely dangerous. This school sounds like a catastrophe waiting to happen (albiet I am forming an opinion from only one sided information).
Sorry to the high school-aged students who are a part of this community. I am sure that the vast majority of you are careful and work very hard within your prospective theaters. However, you lack the life experience, expertise and training to run an auditorium that a professional with years of college, internships and practical work experience has. A vast majority of early - mid adolescent aged children lack communication skills. They do not have the ability to say "get out of the way" or "hey... you're being unsafe". It would take a very big A type personality to be able to confront people at your ages. If you can do it... great! In my 15+ years of experience I have had 5 students who could confront their peers well on a consistent, regular basis and this is out of THOUSANDS of students that I have taught.
Chrimeny... I am speechless (I know... I know... for somebody who is so speechless you sure do talk alot).
Just be safe, soundop.
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tenor singer, I think, from reading your post that you would be surprised at how many high schools have fly systems and have students who run them. You have to learn somewhere. I understand the concern for safety, but if we tell people, "you can't do X because you don't know how" they have to be taught or they will never learn. I certainly agree that the situation described in this thread is less than ideal, but even well trained and experienced people make mistakes. This is all besides the fact that even high school students could possibly have training from working/interning at local community theatres or other venues.
I learned to run a fly system in high school. I was taught by older students mostly, but we did have a real staff TD who supervised everything, and the department head was also experienced, and we were not allowed to work in the theatre without one of them there.
Almost everything we do in theatre is dangerous. Saying that high school students shouldn't use a fly system is like saying they shouldn't use a table saw, or even a follow spot. Sure, all of these activities require the proper supervision and training, but that is why we go to school. You can't just pull someone off the street. At least the student who started this thread realizes that there is an issue in the way things are run at his school, and recognizing that something is wrong is the first step to correcting the issue.
I learned to run a fly system in high school. I was taught by older students mostly, but we did have a real staff TD who supervised everything, and the department head was also experienced, and we were not allowed to work in the theatre without one of them there.
Almost everything we do in theatre is dangerous. Saying that high school students shouldn't use a fly system is like saying they shouldn't use a table saw, or even a follow spot. Sure, all of these activities require the proper supervision and training, but that is why we go to school. You can't just pull someone off the street. At least the student who started this thread realizes that there is an issue in the way things are run at his school, and recognizing that something is wrong is the first step to correcting the issue.
tenor_singer
Active Member
icewolf08 said:
I think that this is the key element. You had a staff TD and experienced department head who knew how to use them. Unfortunately a lot of schools offer drama as an extra-curricular activity that is often times staffed by a teacher who either has a minor in theater or who, like me, has dozens of years of experience in theater. I will admit to having zero knowledge of fly systems, but can, at the same time, see a person similar to me trying to figure out how to use them with no training... who in turn will try to teach their students.
Again the question is... is there any certification that you need to run them? A shop teacher has the advantage of 4+ years of college training them on proper techniques, etc and is licensed by the state to perform their tasks within a secondary school. Most extra-curricular drama advisors lack this education and because it falls under the pervue of "extra-curricular" do not have licensure as well. Thus, they really shouldn't be training or using fly systems (unless they themselves have gone through a program training them).
Toffee
Active Member
Well you have to call in a special group [forgot the name] to fly people around on the fly system and it is illegal to do it yourself. But I haven't really heard of an actual group that gives some sort of legal document stating you are qualified to run a rail. Though there may be one out there.
Though hopefully the TD at any theatre has worked in the bussiness for a while and knows how to operate a rail and doesn't allow crap to happen in his/her theatre. This is one reason why I hate reading the comments by High School Students stating that they are "Technical Director" when they just don't have the qualification or the experience to gain such a title. To be honest the school districts need to start giving a **** about theatre and start paying some qualified TD's to start coming in, for the safety of everyone.
Though hopefully the TD at any theatre has worked in the bussiness for a while and knows how to operate a rail and doesn't allow crap to happen in his/her theatre. This is one reason why I hate reading the comments by High School Students stating that they are "Technical Director" when they just don't have the qualification or the experience to gain such a title. To be honest the school districts need to start giving a **** about theatre and start paying some qualified TD's to start coming in, for the safety of everyone.
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Yes Tenor, Sadly there are many high schools out there with full fly systems and no one in the building knows how to use them or is even aware that they could possibly be dangerous. The English teacher who is asked to direct a play once a year is told that Johnny knows how to use the system because Billy taught him how last year. Billy was considered the T.D. because he figured out how to record a submaster on the old 2 scene preset console... so he obviously knows how to train someone else on the fly system. Billy graduated and so now Johnny's the T.D. because Billy taught him the secrets of the submaster before he left. Everyone assumes that they would never install anything dangerous in a school theater so it all must be safe.
Oh and the status of that fly system... it's the original hemp ropes that were installed when the building was built in 1964. It has never been serviced and the lines are badly frayed. The 3rd electric has been about 200 pounds over weight for 5 years but no one knows it's a problem they taped a sign to the break that says don't touch and they use a ladder to make adjustments to it. If they knew how to fix it they wouldn't be able to because there are no counterweight bricks... they are being used to prop the lunch room doors open.
Names have been changed to protect the guilty but that's basically how the high school I taught at was before I arrived.
Oh and the status of that fly system... it's the original hemp ropes that were installed when the building was built in 1964. It has never been serviced and the lines are badly frayed. The 3rd electric has been about 200 pounds over weight for 5 years but no one knows it's a problem they taped a sign to the break that says don't touch and they use a ladder to make adjustments to it. If they knew how to fix it they wouldn't be able to because there are no counterweight bricks... they are being used to prop the lunch room doors open.
Names have been changed to protect the guilty but that's basically how the high school I taught at was before I arrived.
One other thought:
Recently I started working at a large restaurant. The sound guy and the house band are not getting along. It's mostly the band's fault in that they want a lot of reverb in the monitors, they can't hear the monitors but they don't stand in the right spots to hear the monitors, etc., etc., etc.
The sound guy threatens to quit every night. But he keeps coming back.
So if you are going to threaten to do something, be prepared to act on it. Or be prepared that those in charge will push you out before you are ready to leave.
Otherwise, a less confrontational solution is in order.
Recently I started working at a large restaurant. The sound guy and the house band are not getting along. It's mostly the band's fault in that they want a lot of reverb in the monitors, they can't hear the monitors but they don't stand in the right spots to hear the monitors, etc., etc., etc.
The sound guy threatens to quit every night. But he keeps coming back.
So if you are going to threaten to do something, be prepared to act on it. Or be prepared that those in charge will push you out before you are ready to leave.
Otherwise, a less confrontational solution is in order.
Toffee
Active Member
Meh, my bad then. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that it was, well we learn a new thing every day they say.
